The Bengal Cat was originally developed in America, before arriving in the UK and other European countries. European breeders are now working hard to achieve recognition by FIFe (Federation Internationale d’Europe), so that the Bengal breed can eventually be shown to Championship status in Europe. Here, Els Smits, a pioneer Dutch breeder, outlines the status and development of the cat in Holland.

In Holland there are two kinds of Cat clubs. Two of the clubs are affiliated to FIFe, all the others are independent. FIFe has still to recognise the Bengal, but other, independent clubs recognised the Bengal 6 years ago. Bengals can be shown to Championship level within the independent clubs, but not at FIFe shows as yet.

This year the British Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) recognised the Bengal so, we hope FIFe will not wait very long before recognising this breed as well. This will enable Dutch breeders and owners to show Bengal cats eventually to Championship level at FIFe shows across Europe.

At present, the judges in Holland use, for all other cat breeds, the GCCF standard of points, but for the Bengal the TICA( The International Cat Association) standard is used because up until recently, the GCCF didn’t have a standard.

Dutch judges really love the Bengal and say it is a very promising breed for the future. They also warn breeders to take care of the gene pool and to keep it large. We still have to import new blood quite often to be sure we do not have to inbreed too much. Up till now, we have not had many "Blues" and we hope we can go on this way. Not many deformities are occurring either; maybe we are just lucky having the right cats.

One of the breeders here in Holland imported all her cats from the States, and I imported mine from England. Her cats have different blood-lines from the cats I have and they make very nice combinations with healthy sweet babies. Many European breeders have a strong connection with the British breeding scene, and the practice of sending cats from Europe to the UK, as well as from the UK to Europe is now being made easier with regards to the quarantine procedures. For example, Indra Cats’ Pitstop will leave my cattery in Holland to go and live in England at the Gaylee cattery from mid 1998. He will add a very nice colour with lots of rosettes to the already strong Gaylee gene pool. Llandar Halcyon Daze, who has very bold, random spotting, will be leaving England and coming to Holland during mid 1998 to join our cattery.

The first few years it was difficult to sell the kittens because they were quite expensive. Dutch people normally do not spent a thousand pounds on a cat. We had to reduce the prices for pets, but those people who want to breed will always spend the money. This is because they know what efforts we had to make and how much money we had to spend to breed a new breed as unique as the Bengal is. Today more and more breeders are buying a Bengal cat besides the breed they already have, and they become addicted to the Bengal breed. Also the kittens that have to go as pets are not really difficult to sell anymore, because many more Bengals are to be seen at shows and people are just love them. There are many "Ooh’s and Aah’s" and a lot of people instantly fall for them. We found out the Bengal gets along well with all the other breeds and they are not aggressive or possessive at all. Like other breeds, they only fight with other cats if they have to defend themselves and I do not blame them for that.

If people inquire for a kitten and they want to breed from it we normally tell those people to take a real close look at the kittens. My advice is, that if you want to breed, do not go for a kitten that’s already very warm of colour. It will be too dark when it is two years old. A kitten with a lot of stripes is not suitable for breeding and neither are blue kittens, kittens with a long coat or kittens with a lot of ticking. Personality is one of the most important things in a Bengal. Look carefully to see if the kitten is friendly to people and to the other cats in the household. Choose a kitten that really likes to sit with you and which doesn’t mind being picked up. Kittens that hide when they see strangers and do not play with the other cats, are not the ideal choice.

Most Bengal owners in Holland are members of the Neocat Catclub. We now have enough members within Neocat to start our own Breeding club. The Neobengalen Nederland Breeding Club will be launched in the beginning of 1998 at the first International Cat show where we will have the first Bengal Special in Holland.

By Els Smits
Indra Cats