Bengal Cat Colors and Patterns
Bengal Cat Colors: Who Knew There Were So Many?
The six main colors bengals come in:
Brown Bengal Cats
Their ground color can range from a gray-tawny tone to a vivid orange-gold. These bengals have gold, green, or amber colored eyes.
Snow Bengal Cats
Their ground color can range from very light white to ivory, cream, light tan, and tan. These bengals can have a wide range of eye colors from blue, blue/grey, grey, aqua, green, green/gold, and gold .
Snow Bengal Cats Come in Three Different Colors
The light or white snow bengals cats can be broken down even further into three different snow colors:
Seal Lynx Snow Bengal
A very light white or cream color. Dark or light seal markings. Blue or grey blue eyes.
Seal Mink Snow Bengal
Ivory, cream, light tan color. Various shades of seal mink to dark seal mink markings. Blue, green, or aqua eyes.
Seal Sepia Snow Bengal
Ivory, cream, light tan, tan color. Various shades of seal sepia to dark seal sepia markings. Green or gold eyes.
Silver Colored Bengals
Silver Bengal cats come in different shades with backgrounds varying from white to a very dark steel color. Green or gold eyes.
Charcoal Bengal Cats
Charcoals have a dark grey-ish/brownish or carbon colored backgrounds with very little to no rufous (reddish-brown) and a very dark spotted or marbled pattern.
Blue Bengal Cats
Blue Bengal cats have a powder blue/grey coat with some cream and peachy tones. The spotted or marbled pattern is a dark blue or metal grey color.
Melanistic Bengal Cats
Solid black Bengals (a,a agouti genes) have black patterns on a black ground color that remind us of the melanistic color variant of leopards and jaguars. The spots on these bengal cats are barely visible.
Bengal Cats Come In Two Patterns: Spotted or Marbled
Spotted or "Rosetted" Bengal Cat Pattern
A spotted Bengal is the most popular and most recognizable pattern variety, at times closely resembling baby leopards. The spots are usually small to medium-sized patterns that are scattered all over the cat’s coat, with large, dark spots on a light background being the most highly prized variation. These spots can appear in many different colors and shapes, each with a distinct category described by breeders.
Single Spotted
This is the simplest variation of spotted Bengal, but just as eye-catching. The pattern consists of small monochrome spots that are spread on a contrasting base coat, without any gradient in color inside the pattern. The spots are similar to a cheetah in that there is no second color to the small spots, and they are usually a dark contrasting color, like dark grey, brown, or black.
Cluster rosettes
Rosetted patterns are spots that have two contrasting colors that are distinct from the base coat. Cluster rosettes are the least dramatic version, consisting of a center color that is darker than the base coat, punctuated by small clusters of even darker colored spots.
Paw-print rosettes
Similar to cluster rosettes, paw-print rosettes consist of dark spots edging one side of the second color only, but never enclosed. They resemble small paw prints strewn across the cat’s back.
Clouded rosettes
These rosettes are spaced close together and are large in size, with subtle signs of a second color around the edge.
Doughnut rosettes
This pattern is defined by spots that are surrounded by an even darker colored outline. This is one of the most popular spotted patterns, giving the cat a leopard-like appearance. They can also appear as what is known as pancake rosettes, which have thinner outlined rings than the doughnut rosettes.
Arrowhead rosettes
Arrowheads are a fairly uncommon pattern that can be monochrome or outlined, with varying degrees of a rosette. They are triangular-shaped patterns that point toward the back of the Bengal and can vary greatly in size and density.
Marble Bengal Cat Pattern
The marbled pattern occurs nowhere else in nature, while called a brown or snow marbled, these bengals actually have a tricolor marbled pattern. Patterns should be symmetrical on both sides of the body and the pattern should swirl and flow around the body, like the colors in a glass marble. Marbled Bengals also come in all three snow variations, the Seal Sepia, the Seal Mink, and the Seal Lynx Point.
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The Blue and the Silver both come in Spotted or Marbled patterns.
Bengal Cat Appearance
Bengal cats have "wild-looking" markings, such as large spots, rosettes, and a light/white belly, and a body structure reminiscent of the Leopard Cat or more specifically the Asian Leopard Cat. The bengal's rosettes or spots come in many different styles. Donut, arrowhead, pancake, cloud. All bengal cats have smaller solid spots on their bellies. Bengals also may be a "marbled" pattern with swirls on the back and sides one top of a lighter background and spots on the cats belly. (More info on the patterns later in this article.) The breed also features "mascara" (horizontal striping alongside the eyes), and foreleg striping.
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All bengals except the Seal Lynx Point Snow must have a black tipped tail and black paw pads. The Seal Lynx Point has a bitter chocolate colored tail tip and can have a rose tinted nose and paw pads.
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The International Cat Association (TICA) recognizes several Bengal colors (brown, seal lynx point, mink, sepia, silver) and patterns (spotted and marbled) for competition. In the New Traits class, other colors may be shown, as well as longhairs.
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Bengals are medium size and muscular cats. Some lucky Bengals carry the glitter gene, which makes them shimmer as if they were rubbed down with gold or platinum dust. Bengals should retain the look of the wild but with the temperament of a well balanced domestic cat.
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Regardless of colors and patterns, all Bengals should display the same conformation which is reminiscent of their ancestor the truly beautiful Asian Leopard Cat.