# Hi! Bengal Cat?!!



## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Hi! 4 siblings were found in a cardboard box and I adopted a little girl who I adore at roughly 12 weeks. She's now a robust 4.5 months old. I thought she was a completely regular black/grey/white with a tinge of orangey/cafe au lait belly side-mackerel shorthair or something, but I noticed the stripes on her flanks are breaking up into separate patches and her stomach is completely cheetah spotted all the way from her chest to the inside of her thighs. Her love of splashing around in water intrigued me too. Also, her very vigorous chatting. Also, that she began to play "fetch". All these things began to look like one of her parents may have been Bengal. People commented on the two vivid streaks on her cheeks from her eyes, they were so vivid I was toying with calling her Apache because they looked like Indian warpaint. I finally gave her the apache name for little one: Ayasha because of this. The bengal is well known for two vivid lines across the cheeks called "Mascara". When she does that pharyngeal smelling thing cats do, I usually joke and say: "Uh oh, shes going black mouth", because when she opens her mouth her lips look all black - as do bengals. Black paw pads - like bengals. Ive also been noticing how she's growing from a skinny kitten into a more muscular cat then I originally thought she would recently and been monitoring her diet carefully because if this - bengals are muscular cats.
And she does seem to have a glittery sort of fur. 

What do you think?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I think you found a very beautiful domestic short hair kitten. People who own Bengals generally do not indiscriminately breed and leave the kittens in a box to be found. Cat breeds are created by taking a bunch of cats with desired characteristics and interbreeding until those characteristics are consistently reproduced, so there are many cats out there with the characteristics of purebred cats, which is more than likely the situation with your cat.


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## Jack&Harley (Nov 2, 2008)

I agree with doodle.

I too so hoped Jack was a Maine ****, but he's just a DLH. He has lots of the characteristics but most people breeding them aren't leaving them in alley's.

The characteristics are merely coincidence. Jack talks constantly, plays fetch and loves water, just as an aside.

Leslie


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Jack&Harley said:


> Jack talks constantly, plays fetch and loves water, just as an aside.
> Leslie


Which is pretty funny, cause Holly, who has the pedigree, won't play fetch and doesn't like water. But of course she pulls up heating vent covers, so what more could I ask! :lol:


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Thanks for the answers. Yeah, the logic would be they got dumped because a non pedigree cat got a bengal pregnant or vice versa. So cheetah spotted belly can happen in regular shorthairs?


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

The cheetah belly can happen in normal DSH cats... my friend has a kitty very much like the one you described! Spots on the belly and everything. Without papers no one can really call their kitty "purebred" but you can always say that he just _looks_ like a bengal, because I bet he is just as beautiful as one! Do you have any pictures?


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Ill try to get some pics of her cheetah spot belly today, if she'll oblige me


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Meanwhile, she looks very much like this:









(thats a bengal)


She has less but the same orangy/cafe au lait color on her stomach, inside thighs, throat, in general she looks very similar though more black/silver. About the same fur thickness, same proprtions, same mascara, same black footpads etc lol. Perhaps slightly slimmer, she's 4.5 months. Also, a bright orange slightly broad lionish nose. The spots on the stomach are identical.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

faithless said:


> Her love of splashing around in water intrigued me too.
> 
> What do you think?


There are 'Fishing Cats' (not to be confused with 'Fisher Cats') that come from the area of the world that includes Bengal. I don't know if your cat is an accidental cross with one of these, or even if they can cross-breed. But if lions and tigers can do it, why not. The Fishing Cats actually go into the water and catch fish. Check the paws to see if there is any sign of the webs between the toes that Fishing Cats are said to have. To check looks, you can do a Google image search.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

A couple of old pics meanwhile, at about 3 months age, though Ill agree she looks very standard here. Havent managed to get her tummy, I did try earlier today with a friend but she wasnt interested lol...have to get her when shes happily stretching on the rug.
You can see that bright orange/brown nose even in such a bad pic:













Mascara shot. just missed where her 4 rows of spots run on her stomach:














And finally (this is all I have at the moment). You can see she has less defined spots on her flanks, they're more defined on her stomach. Broad orange nose.


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

She certainly has an interesting coat pattern. What does the coat feel like? My bengals feel like bunnies they are so soft.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

She is heavenly soft! I can kiss her stomach for hours lol


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

My bengals are softer than almost any bunny I have ever felt. I've never felt a cat that is as soft as a bengal. You can't exactly prove what you have because of where you found your lovey, but you can always dream  Beautiful girl you have!


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Thanks, you too!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Wow! What a stunningly beautiful cat! :luv


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Thanks a lot! 

Sort of got her belly her, she was very reluctant:










Stark mascara lines


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

I think Im mainly interested so I can figure out her temperament and needs better.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Oh. You'll be like the rest of us and trying to figure that out for years to come! :lol:


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

heh


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

She's a very lovely brown mackerel tabby.  Most tabbies have spotted tums (both mine do), and sometimes their stripes break up; sometimes they don't. Your kitty is lovely--be proud of her street kitty heritage!


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

I will! Thanks for the info!


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

Ok, this aint no bengal cat, this is an attack cat!


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

Bengals can sometimes be a sub breed of attack cat.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

How interesting, thanks Ill have a look. Shes at 5 months and shes been good as gold up to now but, recently shes entered a more feral sort of attitude as she begins to approach sexual maturity. More restless, more easily bored, and not as cuddly  This will all pass when I castrate her at 6 months Im sure.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

She follows me everywhere, but lately she's started to whine a lot. I had to cut out answering her back with a meow because she started whining at 4 o'clock at night, and she immediately grew quieter. I've done that with her before when her chattering becomes so much she starts meowing at anything at all, I grow quiet and she follows suit within a day. Actually, she doesnt really have a meow, she mainly has a large variety of cackles. I try to take her out about every other evening for about 50 minutes (thats usually when she suddenly decides to make an unannounced dash for home like a little arrow with me hanging on for dear life) but not every evening, because I dont want her to start sitting at the door looking heartbroken at me  I dont know who has the most laughs, people watching me try to keep up with her sprints or me trying to heh. Also, shes moved down from sleeping around my chest/face, to stomach or behind my legs, which made me sad 
This to me is all part of her going through an independence stage. Ill take her to the vet after xmas.

She doesnt really have a name. I originally called her Ayasha which is Apache for Little One, because her stripes in her face make her look like she's war painted, but Ive only ever said "Sweetie pie" to her lol...


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

A beauty, great emerald eyes...on a sidenote she woke up cuddle crazy this morning, havent seen that for a few weeks so Im happy again


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