Bengal cats colors

Bengals are one of those unique feline breeds that are considered highly sought after due to their distinctive and catchy appearance and unique character traits. The breed first appeared in the States, where a wild Asian leopard cat was crossed with a regular short-haired cat. For the first time, Europeans were able to see such a wild cat in the northeast of South Asia - in the historical area called Bengal, from where the name of this magnificent breed originated.

The main difference that a modern breed has is a unique leopard pattern, which helps the color of animals to be considered unique. This kind of feature Bengal cats received from their distant ancestors living in the wild. The coat of the representatives of this breed is distinguished by a very beautiful and even shine, which becomes especially noticeable in the bright sun.

Experts today distinguish 3 main colors characteristic of this breed: brown (almost golden), silver and 3 more rich snow colors. In any of these color nuances, there are 2 recognized pattern types: stains and marble. There are special tables by which you can easily determine the color of the Bengal and a description of the features of its color.

Any designation of the color of the cat's fur has a number of groups.

• The name of the breed itself - 3 large English letters.
• Color base name - 1 or 2 lowercase letters, while the second s means silver color, the second y - golden (n is the black color of the breed, ns is black smoky color, ny is black and gold).
• Secondary part the current index will be specified if needed and will be two numbers.The first is the type of the very trait that is described, for example, the color of the eye or the presence of white spots on the coat, and the second number characterizes the trait itself.

Many people identify the correct color of Bengals by number:

• From "0" - the presence of white colors in the wool;
• From "1" - tipping size in the silver breed group;
• C "2" - the type of pattern in the tabby breed;
• From "3" - highlighting the type of color of the point group;
• From "5" - expression of the length of the tail (if tail anomalies are present);
• From "6" - eye color, it is indicated when colors may differ.

If, when breeding this breed, breeders strive to bring the appearance of cats to the original (wild) as much as possible, then in colors they have long defeated even nature itself. First of all, here it is necessary to mention those pets from which the Bengal received all the best for his breed. Abyssinian cats allowed adding warm tones of apricot to the background of Bengal fur. Burmese cats have passed on their unique color called sepia.

The Siamese brightened the hull, while leaving the bright points dark and much more contrasting. Mau from Egypt donated her silver and bronze color. American short-haired cats have laid the marble color in the breed. As a result, a surprisingly bright and beautiful cat came out.

There are many more varieties of color Bengals than one might think. Any special trait of color in a given breed has its own separate name and a certain characteristic. The Bengal cat is presented in many different colors, they can be divided into 3 types:

• marble;
• rosette;
• spotted.

A distinctive quality of this amazing breed is its special color.

The wool of Bengals has a peculiar and bright pattern - a spot. It is also often called "spotted" - from English spotted or "marble" - from English marble, and it should be as sharp as possible in transitions.

The spots are in the form of a well-known rosette - this is a large spot with a dark-colored edging and a much lighter middle. It can have the form of a circle, oval, or even a pointed shape, which is called in informal circles "oyster", "dart", "tip", "paws".

Marble colors are priced slightly less than others, but are more difficult to work with. Marble clear streaks are located strictly in the horizontal plane. In cats, brown tabby is the most common in all its large selection.

The traditional color (brown tabby) is inherent in this breed from the very first days of its existence. It is this color that the wild nature gives to the leopard cats of Asia. At the same time, the color of the eyes changes from rich green to bright yellow.

Classic marble is simply unique in its appearance, and it is almost impossible to repeat a similar pattern. It represents a large number of different spots, sometimes even the strangest parameters. Such a cat can appear only after crossing its parents with similar spots and characteristic patterns on their body. Marble color patterns are always uniform in color, they are quite clear and bright. On the body of such a cat there are no streaks or half-washed areas of hair.

The basis of this kind of coat color in Bengal cats is considered to be spots of different sizes, close to a circle. These spots most of all resemble a pattern on the body of a wild leopard - an ancient cat from which the Bengals originated. Horizontal stripes in color are also common, but only on the shoulders of the cat.

The color range of coloration can range from very light to bright brown, and even to charcoal black.This kind of color can be considered one of the most popular today.

Rosettes (rosettes) look like stretched rings and half rings, they can be remotely similar to a small footprint, a dart or even a bunch of grapes. Large rounded spots with full color are also called rosettes.

It is imperative that they do not merge into tiger stripes, as this is considered a disadvantage of the breed. Large types of outlets should also not go over one another.

The standard for today's breed of Bengals is the following original pattern on the muzzle:

• sideways - very dark but bright stripes;
• on the forehead - an image similar to "M";
• on the neck - stylish "necklace".

Small spots, stripes, or a butterfly-like pattern are visible on the shoulders. The pattern on the legs can be speckled or even striped.

The tip of the ponytail will only be black, along its entire length there may be rosettes on gold or bright rings. On the belly, chest, chin, as well as on the pads and the inner side of the legs, the ring is always lighter than the main background; specks may be located on the belly.

Of the huge number of species of colors, nature has presented these little wild predators with only one - "black spotted tabby", and it is ideal for high-quality camouflage in the wild. At the same time, the wool can have colors from delicate sandy and gray to the darkest chestnut, depending on the habitat of the cats. At the same time, the process of hybridization has made its own changes in the breed of Bengals, and very interesting varieties have appeared in the standards.

The TICA standard identifies 5 different colors. All of them, according to genetics, are black, but due to the increased degree of rufism, the colors of cats often look like yellowish-brown, leopard. Therefore, these colors are called:

• brown spotted marble tabby;
• silver spotted marble tabby;
• seal sepia spotted marble tabby;
• seal mink spotted marble tabby;
• seal spotted marble lynx-point.

In all of the above colors, specialists allow 2 types of patterns described above. In addition, a number of standards take into account blue colors. At the same time, there can be combinations of all 4 listed colors and 2 patterns with silver wool.

Sometimes breeders get completely black cats (melanistic), chocolate-colored kittens, and even mauve cats with tortoiseshell colors.

It is the brown tabby that is considered the original variety of the modern breed of Bengals. The wild cat Malaysia, which was crossed with an Abyssinian black cat, had a similar color at one time. Spots and stains (and monochromatic as well) in their offspring are either completely black, with a transition to a shade of dark chocolate, or brick-brown, and even with a yellowish-brown undertone.

In this noble breed, rosettes are very highly valued. They are either two-tone, or consist of 3 colors, with 3 shades still preferable. It is a brindle-colored breed that is very popular with potential owners.

This is the most original color in the breed. A bleached color of the coat can be considered characteristic here, and sometimes the cap color can be based on a whitish or light gray color. The snowy color is rich in a range of colors.

On top of the pale light background of the picture, you can see various tones: from dark brown to bright orange, while different forms of the picture itself are allowed. There may also be noticeable streaks or even spots. The color of the eyes of such a cat is bright blue, but the tip of the tail will be brown, but sometimes you can find other options.

Usually it has shades ranging from pale yellow to rich golden, while the pattern itself can be black or chocolate. The standard for such an unusual color is a catchy black outline, which emphasizes the cat's eyes, outlines his nose and mouth.

The cat will have paws and a tip of a tail of black color, but spots in other parts of the body may be close to a chocolate tone. At the same time, the eyes will be green or even bright yellow, but with different shades.

The male of this color has the main white-silver shade of the background, with a discreet grayish tint. A drawing against such a silvery background is strikingly distinguished by a bright black color with contrast, most often it is most clearly outlined. The shapes of the spots are different, long stripes or small spots are acceptable.

In the area of ​​the back, the cat may have a slight darkening of the coat, but it may not be. In the wild, there is a snow leopard that has a similar color.

The base color of the red color will be warm - from bright yellow to rich golden tone. Drawings on the body of the cat will differ in black or the darkest color of chocolate. The color of the animal's eyes is noble shades of bright yellow or green, almost emerald green. The cat's feet and the tip of its tail will be in the usual black color. The main feature is the black membrane around the eyes, nose and mouth.

Sometimes, but there are Bengal cats with a completely unusual color.

This is usually called the black Bengal cat, because it is considered the owner of black patterns placed on the same black background. This pattern resembles the coloration of a black panther (a special color variation of a wild leopard).

The drawing and the title background of such Bengals are black. In the sun's rays, the pattern is clearly visible, and therefore one can understand that this is a Bengal breed, and not some other breed.

The black Bengal cat is an extremely rare species of this breed. Breeders' associations often discourage this kind of color, so it is not considered popular.

In this case, the basis of the color of Bengal wool is cool and light tones of gray colors. The main drawing will be most clearly and clearly outlined on them. There are almost no blurry spots or stripes, the pattern is bright and clearly visible against the faded background of the main color. This cat has a light rim around the peephole. The spots are scattered on the body of cats quite evenly, the color is similar to the traditional spotted color, but stands out with a brighter and darker color pattern.

This is a very rare color for Bengals. The coat of babies with a similar color is similar to silver, but has a pleasant blue tint.

Most often they are in the form of a circle, there may be stripes on certain parts of the body.

On the belly and in the chest area of ​​a kitten, you can often see a peach tint. The blue color is considered today the last Bengal color of those that appeared officially, and which a cat may have.

The snow color, which is recognized as the lightest, and at the same time is also very effective and original, is divided into the following types.

• Sepia. It is considered the darkest of all types of snow colors of Bengals. The background is a bold gold, very close to the highlighted orange. The colors of the body and the spots are not very distinguishable. The paw pads and the tip of the tail will have a bold brown tint. The eyes play with a golden or bright yellow undertone.

• Minx. The main background is cream or golden. The patterns on the body of the cat are both dark orange and light brown, quite contrasting in relation to the main color. The tip of the tail is brown. Eye color - bright blue, piercing.
• Lynx. The main color has stunning shades of ivory and sometimes cream. The patterns on the body are most often marbled, but rosettes and even spots can be found. Paws, muzzle, tail and ears will be much darker than the main background. The eyes are blue.

Kittens of all the listed colors at birth have a white or light color, as they grow (not earlier than the animal is one year old), the pattern begins to change - it becomes clearer. The color "matures" completely by about 1.5 years, when the cat becomes an adult.

More information about the Bengal cat is described in the video below.