A man preferring to remain anonymous contacted us recently. This man offered me just to adopt his bengal cat. He told me he had saved the kitten in a food fair in front of a Chinese restaurant when the baby was only 2 weeks old. “I think his mother went on the menu” he said to me.  At first glance, I thought it was a joke or another person to believe they have a bengal cat while it’s just a normal street cat.  I answer therefore that I doubt that a cat of such value to finish in the dish of a Chinese restaurant.

He assures me and he is convinced that it was a pure cat. He describes that his cat does not meow but roars, also he is really robust and have a thick tail, loves water and he only eats red meat. I replied that the Bengals love water and they actually make strange sounds but not, that they do not just eat red meat. He then sent me pictures.

You see his cat was not a cat, it was a leopard! A real Asian Leopard, the ancestor of the bengal cat He explains thus be in Thailand. This famous fair food also sells all kinds of jungle animals, tigers, black panthers, wild buffaloes, etc. So he bought this 2 weeks old little kitten.  I shall have liked having this leopard, but the importation rules concerning wild animals are very strict in Canada. It is totally prohibited to have jungle wild animals. It is brilliant because we avoid abusive manors! In the U.S., if you want a tiger or a jaguar in your yard, you can.

I visited the animal shelter BIG CAT RESCUE in Florida,  http://www.bigcatrescue.org/

It is a shelter for hundreds and hundreds of wild cats. Tigers, panthers and snow leopards have found refuge. I saw so many bob cats and the famous savannahs. The savannahs are a cross between a bengal cats with a wild cat called a serval. Do you know why hundreds of these animals must take refuge to avoid euthanasia?  It’s simply because they can adapt to human life, these wild animal are not pets. Even after being bottle-fed and socialized, when the puberty comes, neutered or not, the instincts will get over them.  The famous Asian leopard has suffered the same fate, given at 11 months, it was time to let him go, he went to the zoo, because he would never survive in the jungle.

The bengal cat was initially created with the aim of finding a vaccine against feline leukemia.  Let’s stop mixing these wild animals! If you want the jungle, just adopt a domestic cat like the Bengal. So think about it when you want a wild animal. We want the look but not the character.

We had a golden opportunity to have had this man contact. I thanked him a thousand times for having saved the life of this little leopard. In addition, he offered us gracefully magnificent photos of the ancestor of the bengal cat.  Thanks to this man, I understand even better the chance we have to have Ms. Joan Mill in California who recovered the famous hybrid of Asian Leopard and domestic cat to make the bengal cat of today. Initially, it was for medical reasons and not for pleasure.

Where do the bengals come from?

The Bengal cat is a cross between an Asian leopard (Felis bengalansis) and a domestic cat. Here are photos posted by a cat lover who rescued a 2 weeks old leopard cub in Asia. Unfortunately by aging, the animal finds its primary instincts. For more information, visit the story of the rescued Asian Leopard page.

Here’s the story of how bengal cats are born:

A California researcher doing research on feline leukemia gave to Joan Mill, 5 to 12 hybrid cats.  She proceeded different matting’s with domestic cats from which the Egyptian Mau, Siamese, Abyssinian and burmese.

Very first Bengal to be presented in exhibition was in 1986 in the category new breeds and colors. The breed was officially recognized and accepted in competition in 1991 by The International Cat Association (TICA). They obtained their championship at the same time.

We call the first generation of bengal cats “foundations cat”, F1, F2 and F3 are the first generations. These first specimens had only spots, no rosettes. They are not allowed in competition because they are hybrids. After the 3rd generation (F4 and up), they can be called Bengal cat.  The more the breed progress, the more beautiful, with huge rosettes and a stronger contrast the bengal cat is. You should not forget that at the beginning, an Asian Leopard cats were mate with Siamese and burmese cats, resulting kittens having no common traits of the today’s Bengal, many kittens were also sterile. We kept breeding these cat and we obtained kittens having more and more the look of the Asian Leopard. We want the look but not the character!

Bengal appearance

The Bengal is a robust, athletic, agile and graceful cat. His approach remains very feline and sensual, a real little leopard in your living room. His gaze is direct and a little wild. When you approach to pet him, he drops to the side and becomes the most king of all cats. This is quite surprising and irresistible!

His fur is soft and silky. The appearance and texture of his fur is much closer to the leopard cat compared to the domestic cat. Moreover, many people allergic to cat hair have no problem with the Bengal cat.

There are two patterns recognized in Bengal: the rosettes (spotted) and marbled. In the first case, spots can be filled (spots) or having dark outside and light inside (rosettes). The contrast between the

background color and rosettes is important. The Bengal is the only breed of cat having a coat with rosettes. The marbled for their part, hold their pattern from the clouded leopard. Very dramatic!

The Fuzzy period

Like his ancestors the Asian leopard, the Bengal kitten has a period called Fuzzy or camouflage.

In fact it is a fuzzy coat that would allow him to blend in with nature to protect themselves from predators. This temporary coat masks the color and pattern for our kitten from the age of 1 month up to 6 to 10 months. Thereafter, gradually we discover the beauty and brightness of his coat that he will keep during his lifetime. Bengal cat will reached his full coat splendor often after a year and a half.

Gold powder or golden glitter

Some Bengals have a very silky and shiny fur that gives the impression of having been sparkled with gold powder. This unique feature makes the coat very very soft to the touch.

Bengal Behaviour

The bengal cat’s wild origins are fairly recent. It is therefore very important to choose a breeder who socialized kittens (no cage) and selects only the most gentle and affectionate cat in their breeding program. What feeling you’ll get when your wild looking cat jump on your knees to claim hugs.

Energetic and playful, bengal cat loves to play. He loves climbing and perching as high as possible. Like wild cats, he loves water and will not hesitate to join you in the shower.

When he is socialized very young, he is affectionate and loves to be hugged. The Bengal requires a lot of attention. He follows his master just like a dog. When he wants your attention, he will make sounds that do not resemble those of a cat, in fact, he talks … and it will not stop until he has obtained what it claims!

This kitten is only 5 months old and weighs already 8 lbs! Hurricane is a big boy, he purrs all the time and he’s just waiting to be cherished. We look forward to presenting him in exhibition on April 14-15th of this year in Sherbrooke, Canada.

This is our surprise! He’s born on may 5th 2011.
I was on a waiting list 10 months ago for this perfect boy.

He will arrive in a few weeks from United States.