The growth and advancement of the Bengal in America, over the last ten years, has been remarkable. Since the mid-eighties, when the breed was first established, American breeders have dedicated themselves to the refinement of the breed. The basic "look" had been achieved, but there were many details that needed to be more specifically defined. Since the country is so vast, and breeders so distant from one another, there were many "types" of Bengals in the various regions. USA breeders have been working to produce a more uniform type, as well as trying to replicate the more unique qualities of the breed.

The first Bengals were offspring of the Asian Leopard and Egyptian Maus. It took many generations to breed out the undesirable qualities of the Maus, the ticked coats, large ears, and fine bones. Now that we have a substantial gene pool, we are able to breed Bengals back to the Leopard cats, and not even introduce those undesirable traits into our new lines. We have access to many new Leopard Cats, and our gene pool is large and healthy.

We have seen a lot of success in the area of producing rosettes, although there is still work to do in that area. But there are many nicely rosetted Bengals now, with the full circular rosettes, not just the two-toned spots. Some Bengals have the rosettes flowing horizontally, exactly like their ancestors'. The rich rufus coloring, the silky pelt-type coat, and the special "glitter" are very popular, and most well-bred Bengals have these features.

The "leopard spotted" or brown spotted pattern is undergoing a tremendous change as we work with the rosetting factor. The spots are becoming much larger, more arrowhead shaped, unlike the typical mackerel tabby domestic shorthair. Here the influence of the Asian Leopard Cat is obvious, resulting large random diagonal spots.

We have seen dramatic improvement in the quality of our "snow leopards" and "marbles", since they have been accepted for Championship. We don't just get them accidentally now, breeders have designed programs to produce the best quality possible. The snows have very distinctive markings, and are identical in body conformation to the brown spotted tabbies. The marbles are breathtaking, with hot orange ribbons of color, and huge rosetted patches.

There are two areas that we are particularly interested in improving at this point. The ears of some Bengals are larger than we would like them to be. Many breeders, trying to improve the cats' muzzle and length of face, unintentionally lengthened their cats' ears. Cats with longer, narrower heads, also have bigger ears. The Bengals that we see with the tiny rounded ears, usually have shorter heads. This is a real area of challenge.

Another feature that is difficult to attain is the white undersides of the Leopard Cat. Because our standard calls for heavy rufinism, the undercoats are normally quite colorful in the Bengal. We are striving to keep the beautiful bright body color, while maintaining the white belly, throat and neck of the wild cat.

Our significant accomplishments include the ability to produce Bengals that are very consistent in type, very colorful, dramatically marked, clear coated, and with more feral heads. Reputable and knowledgeable breeders have virtually eliminated faults from their lines such as lockets, tail kinks, and heavily ticked coats. Our bloodlines are varied enough that we do not have inbreeding difficulties. We have had tremendous success in producing Bengals that are extremely gentle and sociable. Unlike the early days of the Bengals' history when some less agreeable cats were being shown, and giving Bengals a bad reputation, our Bengals now are among the best behaved in the show rings.

The pets we offer now are not just our culls. We are producing exquisite Bengals with great consistency, and are readily available to the public. The typical responses we get from pet owners is one of complete delight, and we often hear the comment: "The Bengal is the only breed of cat I will ever have." And "I have never had such a wonderful cat before the Bengal". The Bengals' fame is spreading rapidly, and new owners are our best advertisement. Bengals are rapidly becoming one of the largest groups of pedigreed cats being exhibited, and being sold as pets.

Gene Ducote
Gogees Bengals