Bengal

The Bengal is an athletic, spotted domestic cat breed developed in the United States from crosses with the Asian leopard cat.

The American breeder Jean Mill began crossing the Asian leopard cat with domestic cats in the 1960s, aiming for a pet with wild markings and a tame nature. In the 1970s she took on hybrids from a research programme of Dr Willard Centerwall at Loma Linda University, who studied the leopard cat's resistance to feline leukaemia. The International Cat Association accepted the Bengal for registration in 1983 and gave it championship status in 1991. The Fédération Internationale Féline recognises it as well, and the Cat Fanciers' Association added it to its Miscellaneous class in 2016.

The Bengal is a medium to large cat with a long, muscular body, strong bones and hind legs slightly longer than the front ones. Females weigh about 3.5-5.5 kg (8-12 lb) and males 4.5-7 kg (10-15 lb). The short, dense coat feels soft and close like a pelt, and on many cats the hairs show a shine known as glitter. Patterns are spotted, often with two-coloured rosettes, or marbled, in brown, silver and snow colours. The standards describe a confident, alert and very active cat, and many Bengals like to play with water.

Weekly brushing with a rubber mitt is enough for the coat. The breed needs room to climb, sturdy cat trees and daily play that lets it chase and jump. Inherited conditions reported in Bengals include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that thickens the heart muscle, pyruvate kinase deficiency and an early-onset form of progressive retinal atrophy known as PRA-b.