See photos of the Bengal kittens we have bred since 1996 on our Gallery page (more photos added 12th July 2009). This site concentrates on unbiased advice to help you in choosing your kitten.

Titan

Baloo (Click on any photo to display it much larger with more information)

What is a Bengal Cat? Bengal Cats are descended from an Asian Leopard Cat like "Baloo" (seen left). These beautiful wild Asian Leopard Cats (a different species from domestic cats) were bred together with domestic cats, mainly Egyptian Mau and also some Burmese to produce Bengal cats. Nowadays, they are mainly bred back to Bengal cats.     The chief glory of Bengal cats is the metallic golden glitter in the background colour of their coat. This glitter is visible in most bengal cats when the sun strikes their coats but in some bengal cats (including Titan above), golden glitter can be seen even on a dull day.     Bengal cats are muscular, acrobatic and lively cats. They are NOT aggressive - a bad temperament in a Bengal cat just means a timid cat.

Each generation of Bengal cats is numbered with an "F" number according to the number of generations away from the closest Asian Leopard Cat in their pedigree. So kittens from an Asian Leopard Cat (crossed with a Bengal or domestic cat) would be called F1 Bengal cats, their offspring would then be called F2 Bengals and so on. Bengal cats from F1 to F3 are not allowed to be shown, although many F3 Bengal cats are very friendly.         Asian Leopard cats or F1 and F2 Bengal cats may not be house-trained and need knowledgeable owners. They are often difficult to breed (F1 and F2 males are always infertile and F3 males are almost always infertile) with smaller litters. Consequently, when they are occasionally sold, they are much more expensive than later generation Bengal cats.

Titan stalking Cinderella, our F3 marble queen at 3 months

Baloo (2)

F4 (or later generation) cats, which take around one-sixteenth of their genes from wild Asian Leopard Cats, can be shown and make lovely pets. However, the Asian Leopard Cat "Baloo", as seen above and left, is tame enough to be stroked, even by strangers.     Upbringing has a major influence on temperament - we have seen friendly Asian Leopard Cats (Baloo) and F2s and we have also seen very timid F7 Bengal Cats.     The first few months of a kittens life are much the most important in fixing their temperament. If they are played with often, almost all F4 or later Bengal Cats (like any other breed, kittens do vary!) will grow up as lovely friendly cats.

	Sizes of Bengal cats Our Bengal cats vary from 21 inches (53 cm.) in length from nose to backside (Brownspot, Jacob, Bravo, all males) to 19 inches long (Titan, Leo, both male) down to 15 inches (38 cm.) long (Chakra, Melody, both female). Titan is 13 inches (33 cm.) high at the shoulder and about four inches wide (10 cm.).   Brownspot, a neutered male cat we bred, has become a companion for Titan because Titan can't be kept with the breeding queens! Brownspot is seen here at around 12 months old :	Brownspot
	See if we have kittens for sale on our for sale page. Do see also the lovely photos of our previous kittens on our gallery page. Browse our Choosing your Kitten page for detailed advice to help you find your ideal Bengal kitten, or visit the Who Are We? page to learn more about Norcastle and our kittens including normal pricing. To find other Bengal cat breeders or helpful books about Bengal cats, try our Links page. For technical details on these Web pages, read our Technical page.

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