# Whats A Chin Strap?



## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

what is a chin strap? Its apparently the one unique feature of bengals apparently and I still have have suspicions my little gal might have a bengal parent, what with her enjoyment of water, cackling instead of talking, spotted tummy, "necklace" etc...checking her for the chin strap, whatever that is, could be very helpful...

Edit: ok, she has a stripe midway on her throat which looks like a motorcycle helmet strap. I guess thats what they mean?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I just checked my tabbies (Louie, Boo and Malibu) for a 'chin strap' and 'mascara' markings and all three have those traits. I suspect it is a common factor in tabby markings and as stated in the "Bengal Standard" description; they desire strong/bold markings that are clearly defined and stand out from the base-coat with distinctive high contrast.
http://www.acfacat.com/bengal_standard.htm

_IMO, the chances of Bengal crosses is minimal because most people who have spent the money to purchase one of these desireable cats is not going to allow their 'investment' the ability to roam and potentially encounter fatal or injurious situations. However, because escapes can/do occur, it cannot be ruled out, either. I simply feel it would be highly unlikely._
Do you have any photos we can see of your kitty?


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

yeah, its probably unlikely, though it could be several cats living together that got pregnant. Someone wasn't planning this well because all 4 kittens were dumped in a cardboard box at about the age of 12-13 weeks. Her fur is just regular brown mackerel though.
She's got a great spotty tummy but she never lets me take pics of that 


First pic shows her spotty tummy continuing on her flanks, also shes quite muscular for a lil gal:













Second shows her necklace:











Third shows strong mascara











And the last one you can just see the chin strap:


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

OMG! 8O 
First, she is beautiful ... but now I think I may have to revise my opinion about bengal-traits in her.  She has a *something* about her that just looks wild, you know? _...but her MARKINGS are what have me all geeked-out!_ I love genetics and patterns and learning about them and the various ways they work together and _she_, is unusual. Offhand, she looks Mackerel, but it looks *wrong* to me. The Mackerel pattern is described as 'thin/narrow fish-bone' markings. Her stripes are too thick, even on her legs, like they would be for a classic marked cat. But if you look at her body markings, I can see a spot in her center, where a classic 'target' would be placed, and her stripes are thick/wide like a classic tabby. I wonder if she is carrying genes for both mackerel and classic and they were 'warring' between each other for dominance and instead expressed as a mix. I wasn't aware that could be possible, I had thought some tabby markings were dominant and others recessive and there couldn't be a mix of expression, so either she is 'breaking new ground' or she could have some 'wild' ancestry there, like the Bengal cats.

May I request a clear side-shot of her markings? Have you seen my "agouti" thread? Can you get a close up of her coat? Would you post those pics in the agouti thread?
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54570
Wow! I'm excited!


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Wow, now youve got me excited! Shes sleeping now and I dont want to disturb her but as it happens I do have a vague pic of her flanks. If shes a breeder you better tell me quick because shes got an appointment with the doc on tuesday...I can get a better pic tomorrow though

Bad pic of tummy:












Side:










Thanks so much for the compliment btw, I adore her. Ill post them in your thread. Where is this spot youre talking about?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Spay her. Keep that appointment.
I *do* think she is unusual, but without papers and certifications she is simply a common domestic cat and because I help with rescues, I cannot encourage breeding an unproven animal (_non-pedigreed and/or in the case with horses; no distinctive and exceptional skills_) animal, even though it does have unusual markings. I see no point in breeding an unknown, not knowing what the results would be, not having a market for it and adding to cat over-population issues by breeding without a purpose or a plan towards improving a breed standard. So go ahead and have her spayed, be happy in the knowledge that someone other than you also finds her special and unusual. 
I just don't think that is enough of a reason for a kitty to reproduce. :wink: 

***_I hope I was able to express myself clearly ... I am not dispraging or insulting your kitty, because I think she is beautiful and unusual, I just happen to have strong feelings about breeding for things other than purebred. I sincerely hope I haven't offended you._***

Her belly photo also appears very interesting to me. All tabbys have spots on their bellies, and again, her markings look unusual to me. I guess they seem to not fit a known pattern, like what I was saying earlier about two tabby patterns warring together for expression. 
_*I'm gonna go check my tabby bellies and see what I can see... BRB*_
Well ... Mallie, Pretty and Shasta have too much belly white. Boo's orange colors blend in too well on his belly to show his pattern clearly and Louie (_tabby w/ no white_) is sleeping under the coffee table, I can't check his belly right now.
From what I recall about belly markings, I thought they were more rounded spots and your kitty's belly spots look more angular, trapezoid, in shape. Just ... different.

Abyssinian/ticked:







Classic/blotched:








Mackerel (spotted & striped):







Mackerel (broken-striped):









Various tabby hides from MessyBeast: http://www.messybeast.com/spotted-cats.html









Anyhow, this is the photo I felt I could see the hint of a classic circle in her belly. Her stripes are also wider than a mackerel tabby's stripes usually are. Their width reminds me very much of how wide the classic tabby's markings are. However, the other pic you posted, the "side" shot, doesn't show as much of that classic target as I thought it did, but her stripes do appear wider than usual for a Mackerel pattern.
She is still a very interesting cat...


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## Mikayla (Aug 14, 2009)

Absolutely gorgeous!!


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Thank you! Most cats are though lol 
Her stripes are thicker on her upper body and thin out out on her lower. I think the "wild" look may be her lion-ish nose. You cant really see it on the photos, well I can but the colors dont show well here, but shes got this quite broad, bright brick colored, leathery nose that is quite prominent.



> From what I recall about belly markings, I thought they were more rounded spots and your kitty's belly spots look more angular, trapezoid, in shape. Just ... different.


 They are indeed, they're more angular squares like the diamonds in a pack of cards than round.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Have you seen this topic? viewtopic.php?f=7&t=64749 
I'm telling you, these interesting kittehs are coming out of the woodwork! :lol:


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