Bengal Cats - Bending The Rules
Athletic, agile, and exotic in its appearance, Bengal cats belong to one of the world’s most popular breeds. This beautiful and graceful animal is a product of crossbreeding between the wild Asian Leopard Cat and the domestic cat, this breed is sometimes referred to as the “pet leopard.” This is due, in no small part, to its looks, which are very similar in appearance to cats found in the jungles. These animals are known for unusual beauty, intelligence, and a highly demanding, vocal nature. These cats need to be in homes that will provide them a lot of attention and affection. Experienced cat owners who can devote time out of each day for interaction will tend to be most successful in dealing with this breed. You cannot be active enough for one of these pets. A Bengal cat loves to scale walls, and they prefer to roost on top of high places either in your home or outdoors. They also are fond of opening doors and cabinets and they are quite good at figuring out them out. These pets can be easily trained to walk on leashes. These pets have panther like bodies with sleek, muscular looks, and a short to medium-length coat that is silky to the touch. This cat’s face has horizontal markings that are noted from the eye to the back of the neck, these are called, mascara. There are spots that mark the sides and back and there are often stripes on the rest of the body. Coat colors range from brown tabby and spotted and marbled patterns. The animals that exhibit the more obvious, spotted markings are highly desirable. These are actually smaller to average sized animals, with a female cat weighing 6-10 pounds, and males averaging 10-12 pounds. Another unusual characteristic of the breed is its fondness for water. This is a breed of cat that is known to play in water dishes and bathtubs. This attraction to water does help when it is time to give them a bath. Talkative and vocal, a Bengal cat has an astounding a range of sounds that includes many chirps and howls. Some of them even exhibit a very tough and unusual growl when they are eating. There has long been some serious controversy about this particular cat breed. Some people do not appreciate the fact that these cats are resulted from the intentional cross breeding of a wild cat with a domesticated house cat. The International Cat Association ranks this cat as the highest in popularity with cat owners. The Cat Fanciers Association, however, does not recognize this breed of cat at all. These cats were first exhibited at shows in the mid-1980s. The goal in the breeding of this cat is to maintain as many of the wild characteristics and features with the domestic cat’s gentler and tamer personality. To compete in cat shows, a Bengal cat must be at least a fourth-generation descendant of a cross breeding between a wild Asian Leopard Cat and a domestic cat. If one of these cats displays any signs of aggression toward a show judge is disqualified. Show-quality cats can cost as much as $2,000.
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