The idea of a "living room sized" leopard cat
with a domestic temperament is certainly nothing new.
When the first small wild cats came out of the
wilderness to hunt for verman on farms,
the farmers were delighted not just for the help,
but for the enjoyment of the beauty of these animals,
and the willingness of some to be tamed and
come into their homes..
In researching the history of what we know today
as "the domestic cat", we find three wild ancesters:
The Jungle Cat, the European Forest Cat,
and the African Wild Cat.
All "domestic cats" decend from these three.
The Bengal Cat, however, decends from a fourth,
as well: The Asian Leopard Cat.
It is the influence of the Asian Leopard that
gives the Bengal it's vivid shades of gold,
it's long, small, low slung body,
small, "wild type" head, and a pattern of randomly
placed spots on a contrasting coloured background
that is unique among domestic breeds.
It is also the Asian Leopard Cat that gives the
Bengal the opportunity to produce a large, open spot
with the center a contrasting and often brilliant
colour. We call these spots "rosettes", and
they are highly sought after by Bengal fanciers
seeking a "wild look" in their cats.
Besides the Asian Leopard Cat, every Bengal
today has another cat in his ancestry.
This cat was a domestic named "Tori"
who was found.living as a feral on the grounds
of a zoo in New Delhi. Tori had an unusual
mutation to his coat that made the tips of each
of his hair shafts hollow. This caused his coat
to exhibit a brilliant sheen that came to
be called "glitter".
As all of the Bengal Cats we have today decend
from Tori, this glittered coat is a very
prominent feature among them, and is also highly
sought after by Bengal fanciers.
On long coated Bengals, the glitter will often
exhibit far down the hair shart to give the cat
.a truly glowing appearance.
In living with this unique breed of cat, we have found
them to be highly intelligent, to bond strongly
with their human family, to possess a genuine sense
of humor, and to display an energetic nature and
high activity level.
As with each breed of domestic animal, they are not
suited to everyone.
If, however, you are seeking a bright, sweet, loving, and awsomely beautiful cat who will retrieve like a puppy
and play in your sink like a seal,
And if you can forgive a few ounces of
inquisitive mischief and occasional racing down the hallway,
Gypsylane Bengals may well have the cat for you!
