July 2, 2023 by Robyn Paterson I recently engaged in an online conversation about posting pedigrees. I always thought it was the done thing that responsible breeders posted their pedigrees, but it is shocking to see how infrequently pedigrees are posted on websites.   I wanted to find out why breeders who I know are acting responsibly in their breeding practices were not posting pedigrees. These were the top four reasons breeders used for not putting their pedigrees on their websites. 1. They help scammers. 2. They are meaningless because there is no DNA verification or public access to ..read more

Bengals descend from a small tree-dwelling wildcat - the leopard cat. By observing the ears of the leopard cat and other small tree-dwelling cats, we better understand nature's design.  In the top line collage are three small, tree-dwelling wildcats from left to right: leopard cat, ocelot, and rusty spotted cat. On the bottom line are three small ground-dwelling, grassland cats: serval, caracal, photographed by David Bygott, and a jungle cat. By comparing the tree-dwelling cats with the grassland cats, one immediately sees the difference between the ears - size and set. Except for the c ..read more

Bengal eye shape is a current hot topic due to the Bengal going through the process of becoming a championship breed in CFA.  The submitted standard was basically an old TICA standard with a few changes, but one thing that was left unchanged was the convoluted eye description.  CFA judges, rightfully so, are quick to point this out.  What is the problem with both the CFA and the TICA standard description of Bengal eyes?  They allow for three eye shapes - round, oval, and almond - none of which are an accurate description of the nocturnal, arboreal small ..read more

When you look at this picture, what draws your eye?  The head shape, the open mouth, the strong mascara?   For me, what makes this picture so stunning is how it shows off this cat's incredible body.  The body of a Bengal cat is an amazingly complex structure that is difficult to produce with consistency. When all the elements come together correctly, the Bengal moves like a fox and looks like no other domestic breed of cat. One telltale feature to indicate a Bengal has a good body that is easy for everyone to see - head to body proportion.  The head of a Bengal cat shoul ..read more

When we hear from breeders about what they are looking for in a Bengal kitten or see their comments in public forums, it seems that most people feel ear size is a top priority.  Everyone is trying to reduce the ear size - or people are complimenting ear size, or they're hoping a kitten will grow into their ears.  We're sorry to burst the ear size bubble; ear size really should be the least of your worries when dealing with the three major aspects of the ears, shape, set, and size. It is nearly impossible to talk about ear size without talking about the head's shape, and the ear set ..read more

The Rule of Thirds was originally taught to me many years ago by Les Hall from Junglebook Bengals.  Les was known for breeding Bengal cats with wild essence.  Her cats looked like small forest-dwelling wildcats. The Rule of Thirds helps one understand where the face's features should belong when looking at the cat in profile.  To make it easier to visualize, I rotated this Asian Leopard cat's profile picture to make his back skull and his muzzle be straight up and down.  If you apply the rule of thirds to the heads of the small forest-dwelling wildcats, you see the feature ..read more

The Leopard cat relies on its ears.  Yes, those large nocturnal eyes do catch movement in the dark shadows of the night, but, often, before the movement has been spotted, a sound has been captured, directing the eyes to the source of the sound.  While your household cat never misses the opening of the refrigerator, the sound of the drawer that contains the can opener, or your "here, kitty, kitty" call at dinner time, the demand on the ears isn't quite the same as the sound of a mouse scurrying over a moss-covered tree branch. What gives the Leopard cat such sensitive hearing?  T ..read more

Last week we wrote about the Bengal Body and explained what the ideal adult Bengal body should be, but as a breeder, how do you select a Bengal kitten with this great body shape? One can start to see the general ideal shape of a Bengal body quite young.  Since we don't have a Leopard cat ourselves, finding pictures can be a challenge, but you can typically see the ideal body shape even in a less than an ideal picture.  In the picture of two Leopard cat kittens, one can already see the arc in the back and the depth in the latter half of the body on the kitten on the right. You can st ..read more

The pattern is a pretty important part of the Bengal breed.  The Bengal breed is most notably known for its large two-toned spots called rosettes. But a rosette, in and of itself, is not a pattern. Patterns are how the different markings on the cat are positioned or aligned. The Bengal cat has some interesting and unique features in its patterns beyond the marking of a rosette. Bengals have tabby coats - which means that they have tabby markings.  What exactly are tabby markings?  There are four different types of Tabby body patterns which are clearly displayed in the diag ..read more

Countershading - often referred to as the white tummy in Bengals - is the expression of a dark topside and a light underside.  Current Biology published how modern technology has allowed scientists to learn about the camouflaging patterns, including countershading, in dinosaurs.  This amazing, beautiful, purposeful pattern has been around for, literally, millions of years. It may seem odd that a white tummy pattern could be so effective in its purpose that it permeates the animal world from crustaceans to amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.  So how doe ..read more