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They're Spotted on the Street

Denise Flaim | Animal House

May 16, 2000

TAKE A WALK on the wild side-and if you're a cat lover, you just might come home with a Bengal.

A cross between the diminutive Asian leopard cat (whose Latin moniker, felis bengalensis, gives the breed its name) and shorthaired domestic cats such as the Egyptian Mau and the Abyssinian, the Bengal cat has an appearance that is as exotic as its pedigree. Weighing eight to 18 pounds, these long, slinky cats-which must be at least four generations removed from their southeast-Asian ancestor to be considered pets-have silky coats with dapple-spotted "rosettes" or rippled marbling that make them look for all the world like mini- leopards. In color combinations that range from brown spotted tabbies (the closest thing to the leopard cat's coat) to the seal lynx point (a "snow" coloration whose blue eyes harken back to a Siamese in the pedigree), breeders strive for dramatic coats, with the greatest contrast between background and markings.

Bengal boosters say the breed's personality is as striking as its looks. The cats take well to leash training, come when called, and exhibit a distinctly uncatlike affection for water-inherited from their stream-prowling forebearer-that makes a running faucet or upright toilet seat hard to resist.

They are, say those who love them, like dogs in little spotted suits.

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David Margolin of Brookfield, Conn., thinks Sammy, his "sweet and smart and very people oriented" Bengal, fits that billing exactly. "If I'm sitting down, he's got to be in the crook of my arm-assuming the dog allows him to be there."

While the Bengal cat's jungle pedigree is part of its appeal, it is also responsible for some bad PR. Because the breed has "wild blood," it is not recognized by The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), although some registries, including the International Cat Association (TICA), does register Bengals.

The cats are illegal in Georgia, and visiting ones must depart within 24 hours-leaving Bengal breeders who exhibit at weekend-long cat shows there to cross state lines for accommodations. As part of legislation to curb wild-animal hybrids, Connecticut prohibited importation of Bengals in 1996, though some were "grandfathered" in.

"The spin on these animals is they're half-leopard and they're going to chew your kids' arms off when they're sleeping," says breeder Jane Tennyson Lee, whose Hunterdonhall Cattery is in Whitehouse Station, N.J.

Those misconceptions stem in part, she says, from the "F2 fallacy."

When an Asian leopard cat is crossed with a domestic, all the male offspring and some of the females are sterile. Bengal breeders take a fertile female from this generation, called an "F1," and breed her to a domestic male to produce an "F2." That scenario is repeated to produce an F3 litter, which will have fertile offspring of both sexes. It is not until the "F4" generation-the product of a Bengal- to-Bengal union of F3s or higher-that the offspring is considered domesticated.

Lee says, however, even early generations such as the F2 aren't aggressive. If anything, she adds, the quarter-leopard hybrid is shy and secretive.

"We actually bottle-feed the animal because we don't want them to pattern after their F1 mother," says Lee. "Those cats are so humanized in the end you wind up with a very needy animal-you can't go off on a 10-day vacation and leave them alone."

By the time they are "F4s" or higher, Bengals act like the domestic cats they are. But that's not to say they're for everyone. Though they're not "curtain climbers," says Sheila Cox of Greenmansions Cattery in the Washington, D.C., area, they are highly intelligent and active. "A Bengal is not going to sit around like a Persian," she warns. "It wants to follow you around and is very interested in initiating play."

Bengals have come a long way since 1963, when they were "invented" by cat fancier Jean Mill on her husband's Yuma, Ariz., cattle ranch after she put a black tomcat in with her female leopard cat for "a little company"; today, more than 20,000 Bengals are registered with TICA. "Pet quality" Bengals range from $500 to $800, depending on markings, and "show-quality" kittens from well-known parents can command between $1,000 to $2,000.

As for Margolin, he thinks Sammy is priceless. If there's a drawback to the breed, he says, "I haven't found it yet."