# Introducing Tigrito - Does anybody think he has some bengal in him?



## J-a-x (Apr 11, 2012)

I don't think I formally introduced my new cat so I thought I would post in here. We rescued another kitten from the street, this guy was about 5 weeks when we got him. His formal name is Chango Tigrito Yataco Myers but he goes by Tigrito. The vet classified him as a regular old tabby, but I always thought he looked kind of unique with his spots and stripes and light colored belly. When I was reading the Wiki article on bengals, I saw a photo in there that looked almost exactly like him. Does anybody think he might be a bit of a bengal mix?


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

Love that last pic. Such character!

I think the odds of a street moggie having some Bengal in then are slim-to-none. Papers make the breed, in most cases.

He's still cute, though!


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

He is very, very cute! He looks like a tabby with belly spots.

My last cat Sophie had spots on her belly too. I love belly spots! My cat Lily looked a little spotty on the outside too when she was younger, but she is now is just mackeral-striped (meaning her stripes are irregular).


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

Super cute! He looks alot like my Tiger Lily. She had belly spots too, but all her spots and stripes have faded as she has gotten older. She's more like a ticked tabby now, with stripes only on her legs, tail, and face.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

Jacq said:


> Papers make the breed, in most cases.


The above statement is very true. Your Tigrito is very cute, but unless you can prove his breed, he is just a DSH. It is impossible to tell a cat's genetic makeup by physical appearance.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

J-a-x said:


> When I was reading the Wiki article on bengals, I saw a photo in there that looked almost exactly like him. Does anybody think he might be a bit of a bengal mix?


No.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

He's very cute! Bengals are rare and expensive...those that own them do not let them mate randomly and then have the kittens on the street. So no, I don't think he's part Bengal.


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## J-a-x (Apr 11, 2012)

What if a bengal escaped or was abandoned and reproduced? Or what if somebody's pet bred with a neighbor's cat or a stray? I always hear about people abandoning expensive parrots and other pets so I wouldn't doubt it could happen with an expensive cat. I would have never thought this except his spots look exactly like the wikipedia photo example of a bengal kitten. It's just fun to think about what his genetic makeup could be. I guess if what you say is true and bengals rarely breed with feral cats, it's unlikely that he would have any bengal in him. I just thought that maybe there was a spotted cat like that somewhere in his lineage. Do regular american shorthairs ever end up with spotted bellies like that?


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

>>Do regular american shorthairs ever end up with spotted bellies like that? 

Yes, especially kittens.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

J-a-x said:


> What if a bengal escaped or was abandoned and reproduced? Or what if somebody's pet bred with a neighbor's cat or a stray?


I think you stand a better chance at winning the lottery....or getting struck by lightening. 

It's my understanding that most tabbies have spots on their bellies as kittens and most (I guess not all) fade as they get older. MowMow has some faint spotting on his belly as well. It's like saying all black cats are Bombeys or all grey cats are Russian Blues.... it's not likely and unless you have papers it always be mere speculation.\

ETA: I googled "tabby kitten bellies" and chose images and it appears that spotty bellies is quite common. There are TONS of pictures of spotty kitten bellies on moggies, so unless there are a LOT of Bengals getting out and producing it seems like a pretty common marking. 

I won't deny that it's *ADORABLE*  but not rare enough that it suggests Bengal lineage.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Great little cat. Love the pics.

I looked up the Bengal breed and it's a created breed that's only about forty years old. I suppose it is possible that some wild, parallel breeding has taken place that has produced some similar markings, but as other posters have pointed out it's doubtful true Bengal blood has been mixed.


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## Lenkolas (Jan 18, 2011)

2 of Rulos' litter mates looked exactly like that. Feral mom was identical to them. Rulos has a spotted belly himself, tho with all that hair you can barely see them :mrgreen:

And there are no Bengals in my country, or if there are, probably jus one breeder or one person willing to become one...

So no. Your kitty is adorable  and some Bengal blood in him won't make any difference, will it?


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

Egypt is an adult DSH I adopted from a shelter a few years back, and she has a spotty belly, too. She doesn't let me see it very often, but it's really cute


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## robert4301 (Aug 27, 2011)

That's a beautiful mackerel pattern tabby!


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## J-a-x (Apr 11, 2012)

> It's like saying all black cats are Bombeys or all grey cats are Russian Blues


I see. I wasn't saying that all spotted cats are bengals, but i was suggesting that they might have some bengal lineage (ie one grandparent or great grandparent or something like that). I was just having some fun with genetics and speculating, like I can say I am a quarter Irish and half Jewish.

However I get what you are staying. I hope his spots stay. This is the bengal kitten on Wiki that looks like Tig.
File:Spottedbengalcat.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

The spots may indicate some genes from Egyptian Mau.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

Tutubean said:


> The spots may indicate some genes from Egyptian Mau.


Maus are spotted cats. They have spots on their torso. This cute kitten is a mackerel tabby with strips on the torso, so it's not even close.

I've seen quite a lot of domestic cats with spotted belly. It's adorable but nothing special.


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