The Bengal is a cross between the Asian Leopard and a domestic cat, such as the Egyptian Mau or the American Shorthair.  The Bengal is the single fastest growing domestic breed in terms of popularity. 

There are many reasons for their popularity. One of the most obvious is the luxury of having the beautifully exotic look of the wild cat in your home - without all the dangers of wild cats! The bengal has a gorgeous brown, silver, or in the case of a Snow Bengal, a creamy off-white, spotted, rosetted, or marbled coat. Each of these fur patterns is beautiful in its individuality, and choosing a fur pattern is mainly a matter of personal preference.  We specialize in the brown spotted Bengals. However, we have happily added Snows to our lines.

Another reason the Bengal is so popular is its infamous personality. With the proper human interaction and attention from a young age, the Bengal is molded into a laid-back, yet playful cat. Bengals are very social, and love to cuddle with their owners or other pets. They are famous for their "head butts." This is when a Bengal wants attention and gently lifts its head into a person's hand, cheek, leg, or any other body part they can reach. Our Bengals are definitely known for this. Our bengals have even been known to head butt our Golden Retriever, Dante.

Bengals are sometimes also known for being shoulder cats. They are very loving cats, really more like dogs than cats. However, because of their overly friendly nature, they do require a great deal of love and affection from their owners. If an owner does not have the time to give attention to their Bengal, problems may develop. The cat may begin to head butt things that end up getting knocked over and broken.  So Bengal owners need to be prepared to dish out a lot of love!

Bengals are also very vocal cats. It is not uncommon for a Bengal to call out to greet you when you come home or walk into  a room. They will also call out when they want attention, or can't find you. Many Bengals will even come to you when called. I know ours do! And if for some reason they cannot come to us - such as they got locked in a room with the door closed, they will call out to us like a child in distress so that we may go and rescue them from their solitude. This rescue is generally followed by an attack of head butts, purring and "talking," as if they were telling us all about their ordeal.

The Bengal is also very popular because unlike ordinary house cats, Bengals stay active well into their adult years. While the Bengal will grow out of the kitten phase, they will still play with toys much like a kitten, only slightly less often. Our Bengals still enjoy playing like kittens on occasion.

Bengals are highly active, very muscular cats - like their "wild" relatives.  They spend a lot of time jumping and running and, of course, climbing. Providing a proper climbing area is highly recommended.

Of course, like any cat or kitten, it is the instinct of the Bengal to sharpen their nails. You should provide at least one, but ideally several scratching posts or other kinds of scratching toys. This will limit or eliminate the scratching of objects that you probably do not want scratched up. If you fail to provide a proper scratching area for your cat or kitten, it will find things to scratch - corners of beds or couches, the carpeting, coffee or end tables, or even the corners of your walls.

Some Bengals even enjoy playing with water. Depending on the individual Bengal, they might flick the water with one paw, or jump right in the bathtub with you. We provide our Bengals with a running fountain of drinking water to eliminate their desire to get on our counters to play with the running water out of the faucets.

Bengals are also highly intelligent. They can be taught not to climb on table tops and counters. They understand commands that are taught to them, if  the commands are consistent, and given a reasonable time to catch on. Our Bengals have been taught to take treats from us "easy" - so that they don't accidentally get our fingers. Some Bengals will even play fetch with their toys. One of our cats brings us her mouse every night to play fetch. Bengals can also be leash-trained if it is begun early enough in their development. The possibilites are virtually endless!

The Asian Leopard