The ancestor of the Bengal cat is the Asian Leopard Cat (ALC), a wild feline species. The Bengal breed was developed about 50-60 years ago by crossbreeding an Asian Leopard Cat with a domestic cat. Generally, when two different species are crossbred, their offspring are sterile. However, since the DNA of the ALC and the domestic cat are not very different, female offspring remain fertile while males are sterile.
To establish the Bengal cat breed, female offspring (F1) were backcrossed with domestic cats. This process was repeated for four generations until the offspring could be considered purebred Bengals. Today, our cattery, BangkokCats, has three Bengal cat colors: brown, snow, and silver. If you want to see purebred Bengal cats in person, visit our cattery—you can compare colors and find the one you love the most!
