Cat Breeds Codexery

Bengal

A historical and geopolitical region in South Asia, divided between Bangladesh and India.

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The Bengal is a domestic cat breed derived from crosses with the Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis).[1][2] The breed's name comes from the Latin geographical adjective meaning "of Bengal".[1] The modern Bengal breed is attributed to Jean Mill, who lived in California, US.[3]

Biology and range

In 1986, TICA accepted the Bengal as a "new breed," and it gained championship status in 1991.[4] GCCF accepted the breed in 1997, and FIFe accepted it in 1999.[4] Long-haired Bengals have occurred since early breed development, and the long-hair trait is recessive.[5] Harrison Weir's 1889 book Our Cats and All About Them contains the first recorded reference to a hybrid between an Asian leopard cat and a domestic cat.[6]

By the 1970s, the Bengal breed had undergone more complete development.[7] Rosette markings, a trait passed down from the Asian leopard cat, are found exclusively in the Bengal breed among all domestic cats.[8] Domestic cats employed in the breed's foundation backcrossing are believed to be the source of the long-hair gene.[5] According to a UK investigation, Bengals have an average lifespan of 8.51 years, whereas the general feline population averages 11.74 years.[9]

Although Bengal cats are frequently marketed as hypoallergenic, as of 2020 no scientific evidence supports this claim.[10][11]

What the specialist sources record

A unique ulcerative nasal dermatitis of Bengal cats was first reported in 2004, presenting between 4–12 months of age.[12] The International Bengal Cat Society created a policy in 1996 discouraging use of foundation-generation photos in public advertising.[13] Research published in 2013 indicated that 16.7% of Bengal cats examined had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.[14] Efforts to locate genetic markers for HCM in the Bengal cat were underway at North Carolina State University as of January 2019.[15]

The origin of this dermatitis is not fully understood, it is believed to be inherited, and topical steroids may provide effective treatment.[12] Bengal progressive retinal atrophy leads to sight deterioration starting at roughly 7 weeks old, with severe vision impairment occurring by about age 2.[16]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cat Fanciers’ Association. "Bengal Breed Profile". Cat Fanciers’ Association. Retrieved .; Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In: Wilson, D. E. & Reeder, D. M. (eds.), Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "Asian Leopard Cat Cross to Bengal, Prionailurus Bengalensis", June 4, 2018. facts only, no text reused. bengalcat.co.uk
  3. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, "The Pet Cat That Evokes the Leopard", The New York Times, September 20, 1992; Hamilton, "A Little Cat Feat: A Covina woman's efforts at cross-breeding wild and domestic felines are paying off handsomely.", Los Angeles Times, March 10, 1994, p. 2 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bengal Breed", TICA.org, August 13, 2018; "Bengal", GCCFCats.org; "Breed standards", FIFe; "Moments in History of ACF", ACF.asn.au; "Bengals Take Their First Step in CFA", ShowCatsOnline.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Long-Hair Test for Felines", VGL.UCDavis.edu (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Weir, "Our Cats and All About Them: Their Varieties, Habits, and Management", Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1889, p. 55 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, "The Pet Cat That Evokes the Leopard", The New York Times, September 20, 1992 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barsh, "Tabby pattern genetics – a whole new breed of cat", Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, 2010, p. 514–516 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Teng, "Life tables of annual life expectancy and risk factors for mortality in cats in the UK", Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bengal Cats—Are They Hypoallergenic?", BengalsIllustrated.com, 2012; Dhir, "Suffering From Allergies? You Can Still Adopt a Cat", NECN.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dhir, "Suffering From Allergies? You Can Still Adopt a Cat", NECN.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bergvall, "A novel ulcerative nasal dermatitis of Bengal cats", Veterinary Dermatology, 2004, p. 28; Newton, "Clinical Atlas of Canine and Feline Dermatology", Wiley-Blackwell, 2019, p. 363–373; Bergvall, "A novel ulcerative nasal dermatitis of Bengal cats", Veterinary Dermatology, 2004, p. 28 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  13. "From F to G for Better Understanding", Bengal Cats, March 29, 2019. facts only, no text reused. bengalcats.co
  14. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Longeri, "Myosin-Binding Protein C DNA Variants in Domestic Cats (A31P, A74T, R820W) and their Association with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy", Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, January 17, 2013, p. 275–285 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  15. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Meurs, "Genetics: Bengal Cat Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Study", CVM.NCSU.edu (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  16. Wikipedia, "Bengal cat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA-b) (Bengal) - Veterinary Genetics Laboratory", vgl.ucdavis.edu (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Bengal cat (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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