Welcome to Pleasant Pond Bengal Cat Colors and Patterns page.  Our intent here is to graphically present the colors and patterns of Bengal Cats along with short verbal descriptions.  We are not going to do an in depth discussion of the differences genetically or include any of the coding used by The International Cat Association (TICA) for the various Bengal Cat colors and patterns.  If you are interested in these specifics, please visit websites of TICA at http://www.tica.org or The International Bengal Cat Society (TIBCS).  I will mostly use pictures so that you can see the differences in the various colors.  Most people who are looking for a nice Bengal Cat to spend the next 20 years with as a pet are really not too concerned with the cats genetics or TICA's color coding, but are very interested in what the cat looks like now, and, if a kitten, will look like in coming years.

Some of the colors described below are less "desirable"  from a Bengal Cat fancier's perspective.  However, this does not make the cat any less Bengal, nor is it an accurate prediction of future popularity!  From a pet owner's point of view, we have found several people who actually prefer the blue Bengals when viewing them side by side with a brown spotted.  Some of the melanistic Bengals are spectacular, displaying silky pelted coats that would knock your eyes out.

Some breeders will tell you they never have a melanistic (black), blue spotted or marbled kitten, or a kitten that looks like a marbled Siamese, meaning having the darker points like a Siamese.  If you have encountered a breeder who swears they have never thrown any of the above with their cats, you may want to explore their credibility on other issues.

Like any new endeavor, when the breed was first starting, it was necessary to set standards for the outcome of future breedings.  TICBS has a wealth of information on Bengal Cat colors and patterns as well as how the standards evolved.  If you are interested in more specifics on this, visit the TIBCS site at http://www.bengalcat.com

The International Cat Association (TICA) was the first registry to recognize the Bengal Cat.  The colors they recognize in Bengals are Brown, Seal Lynx Point, Mink and Sepia.  TICA also recognized two Bengal patterns; Spotted and Marbled.  It is possible to find Bengal Cats with any of the above colors in either pattern.  The color and pattern most often associated with the Bengal Cat is the Brown Spotted Tabby or leopard.  Within this color classification, you will see several shades of background that may include; reddish-orange, mahogany, sorrel, golden, tawny or gray.  AS you can see, Bengal Cats have a tremendous variation even among the recognized colors.  When looking at Bengal kittens, usually when a few weeks old, you may encounter the "gray fuzzies".  This is a camouflage stage displayed with some kittens.  In the wild, this stage most likely correlates with the time kittens begin to wander out of the nest, and so, from a survival perspective, it is a useful stage.  Unfortunately, it is not particularly useful when you are shopping for a kitten!   It is a stage however, and will pass between 3 and 6 months.  What was a very clear coated kitten at birth and up to 2-3 weeks,  can suddenly look like the basket

 full of babies pictured here.    If you have an interest in attending cat shows or purchasing a kitten to show, you will also note that TICA has a separate class, New Breed/New Color which is for other Bengal colors colors not yet recognized within the Bengal standard.  If you were to purchase a blue or solid black Bengal, and wished to show it, your cat would be show in the New Breed/New Color category.  For more "Bengal terminology", please visit our Bengal Information page!