Briefly, a Bengal cat is a man made hybrid cross between a small wild forrest dwelling cat (Felis Bengalensis) known as an Asian Leopard Cat or ALC, and numerous domestic breeds of cat. The breed was originally started in 1963 by Jean Mill. The goal was to breed several generations down from the wild, maintaining the beautiful color and basic wild look, but with the loving disposition of your favorite lap kitty.
What has been accomplished in the short amount of time we've been breeding Bengals is nothing short of phenominal. With your well-bred Bengal of today, you get an affectionate, highly intelligent, energetic companion. They get along wonderfully with other family pets. Many love to play fetch, play in water, and come to you when called by name.
Bengals come in two patterns, spotted and marble. If it is a spotted cat, then the spots should be formed in a random and horizontal pattern rather than a vertical (mackeral tabby) pattern. Rosettes are prefered over plain spots, but either way, good contrast is very important. If the cat is a marble, then the pattern should be flowing horizontally, rather than the bullseye pattern seen in a classic tabby, and should resemble marble. They come in many variations of color, basically in the gold or tan background tones with brown to black spots. They also come in "snows" which range from: lynx (blue eyed), mink (aqua eyed) and seal sepia (gold or green eyed). For more in depth information about Bengals please visit The International Bengal Cat Society web pages at http://www.bengalcat.com.
Asaalah Bengals is a small cattery in southern Missouri. Our main goal is to help improve the Bengal breed. We appreciate the hard work and dedication of the foundation breeders that came before us. We take our responsibility of continuing to improve Bengals very seriously, using the Bengal standard as our guide. We are striving to improve health, develop clearer coats, more rosetting and larger spots, and better type. While keeping a clear picture of the Asian Leopard Cat in our minds as we make our breeding decisions, we also never loose sight of the wonderful dispositions of our cats.
We are proud members of TIBCS, TIBBA and TICA. Most of our cats live in our home. All kittens are born in the house, and remain here until at least three months of age. The babies are handled from the second they are born, and are very well socialized. All Asaalah kittens are sold with a contract which, among other things, guarantees health.
Please enjoy our website, browse through the photos, and if you have any questions, feel free to call or e-mail me. Cindy Cartwright at (417-932-4460) or bengals @ asaalah . com (remember to take out the spaces).
