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The Bengal cat has six official colours in the United Kingdom, the Brown (Black) Spotted, the Brown (Black) Marbled, the rare Blue-Eyed or AOC-Eyed (any other coloured) Snow Spotted Bengals, and the even rarer Blue-Eyed or AOC-Eyed (any other coloured) Snow Marble Bengals. There is much variation between each of these divisions.
Spotting and background colour differ between the cats. Spots can range from gold, tan, pewter or seal brown in Snows, and from chocolate to deeper brown through black in Brown Spotted Bengals. Spotting should be randomly aligned or aligned horizontally. Extreme contrast between background colour and spots on a clear unticked pelt is preferred.
In some Bengals, the centre of the spots seem to have changed to a rusty brown colour forming a spot called a rosette. Rosetted Bengals are especially prized in a litter. The rosette resembles a dark doughnut with a colourful centre.
Like the Bengal's wild ancestors, some kittens at around the time of weaning go through a stage called the "fuzzies". The pelt at this time shows grey guard hairs muting the bright pattern beneath. This stage usually starts at about seven weeks of age, and can last up to six months before the beautiful adult coat colour appears. The Bengal is slow to mature with many kittens not reaching their full potential until adulthood. It is important to note that the "fuzzies" should not be confused with ticking which does not fade with time.
The Brown Spotted Bengal...
The Brown Spotted Bengal is the most common and closest to the Asian Leopard Cat in appearance with it's striking spotted coat. There are many variations allowed in ground colour, however a great degree of rufinism yielding a yellow, buff, tan, golden, or orange ground colour is preferred. Contrast between background colour and spots should be extreme with a clear unticked pelt. Bellies are always spotted with a black tail tip.
Some cats have a translucent glittering effect on their coats. This is called Glittering and gives the cat it's shimmering, golden appearance in certain lights. Not all Bengals carry this gene, and although considered very attractive in appearance on a Bengal, it is not mentioned in the breed standard, and thus not mandatory.
The Brown Marble Bengal...
The Marble Bengal has a glorious swirled or marbled pattern. This is the effect of the introduction of the Tabby gene into the Bengal breeding program. Each kitten is unique in its colour with several colours and shades mixed together. There should be no circular motion to the shapes at all. Instead, there should be a horizontal, flowing feel to the alignment.
There should also be at least three colours to the patterns, a light base colour, a medium colour forming the shapes, and a much darker outlining around each of the shapes. Marble kittens can sometimes show two colours at birth with the third colour developing in adulthood. Just imagine stained glass with dark outlining and this is the same effect created in the Marble Bengal.
The Brown Marble Bengal can also be glittered. They can also show rosetting on their hindquarters or shoulders, but their bellies must be spotted like the Brown Spotted Bengal with a black tail tip.
The Snow Bengal...
The Snow Bengal can be either spotted or marbled, but instead of the warm colourful base coat, they have varying shades of cream, ivory or light tan as seen in the Siamese, Burmese or Tonkinese.
Some of these lovely cats have blue eyes called the Blue-Eyed Snow Spotted or Snow Marble Bengal which carry the Siamese colour distribution. Others cats have green, gold, or any other coloured eyes called the AOC-Eyed (any other coloured) Snow Spotted or Snow Marble Bengal which carry the Burmese or Tonkinese colour distribution. AOC Snow Bengals also tend to have a darker background colour and markings. The cats with the most contrast colour between background and spots are the most eye-catching.
Both the Marble and the Snow Spotted Bengal can also be glittered, but the effect is more like "pearldust" as opposed to the golden effect seen on the Brown Spotted Bengal.
Photo Credits...
The photos on this page of the Snow Spotted Bengal and the Brown Marble Bengal are kindly provided by Holly Webber of HDW Enterprises and Foothill Felines Bengals, a cattery based in Sacramento, California.
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