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ABOUT THE BENGAL’S ASIAN LEOPARD CAT (ALC) HERITAGE

The Bengal is a hybrid breed of cat, formed by the cross of an Asian Leopard cat (ALC) with a variety of domestic breeds: Abyssinian, American Shorthair, Burmese, Egyptian Mau and some non-pedigree cats.¹

The name ‘Bengal’ has been taken from the taxonomic name for the ALC ‘Prionailurus bengalensis’, and it is the ALC bloodline that gives Bengals the ‘wild’-like appearance associated with Leopards, Ocelots and Jaguars.²

The ALC ancestor is a s a small (five to twelve lb.) timid wild cat of South and East Asia regions. Their habitat stretches throughout most of India west into Pakistan and Afghanistan, through the Himalayan foothills, across most of China, and north to the Korean peninsula and into the Russian Far East. They are also found on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Taiwan, as well as certain islands of Japan and the Philippines.³

There are twelve leopard cat subspecies, showing diverse variations in body color and markings, from reddish brown spotting on a yellowish-grey background, to more ochre-yellow to brownish. Each have a spotted or ringed tail with a black tail tip, black bands running from the forehead to the back of the neck which break up into elongated spots on the neck and shoulders. They all have a white underside, throat and cheek-flashes, and the underparts are spotted on the white background. The body markings can be solid or rosetted and sometimes snow marbling.⁴

Although the The Leopard Cat habitat is widespread, the population is declining in parts of its range due to habitat loss and to hunting for both pelts and for sale as exotic pets. Some island subspecies are included in the Red List of Threatened Species. ALCs have therefore been placed on the Appendix II of the CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and its trade is regulated as an endangered species.⁵

In the 1960’s, a woman by the name of Jean S. Mill (then Jean Sugden) acquired an ALC as a pet. There was an accidental mating between this ALC and a black shorthaired domestic cat at her home in California, and she discovered the female offspring to be fertile.

She made no further attempt to develop this hybrid cat breed until the early 1970’s when she received more such hybrids from Dr Willard Centerwall at the University of California, as part of a study of feline Leukaemia (the Asian Leopard Cat was thought to be immune, which was later discovered not to be the case).⁶ It was also hoped that by making such exotic-looking domestic cats available as pets, people might be less inclined to opt for their wild ancestors, and to deter people from wanting to wear fur-coats made from what looked like their friend’s domesticated pets.

In 1983 the International Cat Association (TICA) accepted the first Bengal for registry in the United States.⁷ The Bengal was Accepted as a new breed in TICA in 1986, and gained championship status in 1991. They are now one of the most frequently exhibited breeds in TICA. An enthusiastic group of breeders around the world have successfully fulfilled the goal of creating a docile, civilized house cat that wears the richly patterned coat of the jungle cats.⁸

For the typical pet owner, a Bengal cat should be least four generations (F4) removed from the first three filial generations of breeding (F1–F3), which are usually reserved for breeding purposes and often a license is required. It is the SBT (Stud Book Tradition) Bengal that is at least four generations removed from The Asian Leopard cat that can be kept as a pet.

The Bengal breed makes a loving, intelligent house cat. Through selective breeding they not only look like leopards but still carry some of their wild true nature such as their love of water and heights. They’re not aloof, skittish, or shy like their ancestors. Mostly, Bengal cats are outgoing, social, loving, loyal companions.⁹

References:

Lap Leopards; The Bengal Cat.

Bringing the wild inside

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