The Spotted Bengal

      Kashmir was the first of our stud male spotted Bengal to obtain the championship title in 1998 at Montreal, Canada. He was born in August 1997 and he’s producing gorgeous kittens.

    The traditional color of the Bengal is that of the leopard, black spots upon a gold background. This color is sometimes referred to by breeders as the "leopard" color. The intensity and colors of "leopard spotted" Bengals can vary considerably. The spots might be deep brown, jet black, or may even be rosetted. The base, or background color can range from grey to sandy buff, or gold to bright orange. A warm rufous ground color is preferred. Some breeders may mention the "sorrel" color, which is actually part of the leopard or Brown Spotted division. Sorrels have brown spots on an orange background. 

   Bengal’s' spots should be random, with as few stripes on the body as possible. The quality of the individual Bengal is determined to a large degree by the richness of color and the pattern of the markings.

      Leopard and sorrel colored kittens go through many stages before they develop their true color. Often they do not attain their full rich color until they reach maturity at twelve to sixteen months. It takes a great deal of experience for a breeder to know what to expect from these kittens, as they go through their grey fuzzy stages. Often, just when the kitten is ready to go to its new home, it is at its absolute worst stage.

       As a rule, the blacker the spots, the slower the ground color is to come in. So these kittens, which look rather plain as infants, can be the most striking as adults with jet black spots upon a warm rich background. 

   Sorrels tend to be very brightly colored at birth, and make very striking kittens. The light sorrels however, especially out of a sorrel-to-sorrel mating, can fade with maturity.