Long haired Bengal cats come in all colors and patterns. Longhair is nonstandard plus it is a recessive gene. Here at F1hybrids cattery our Bengal cat Tum carries for long hair. We found this out after breeding a F3 female that was three generations removed from a Maine coon female.
Long hair is Non standard which means that the trait is not accepted according to the TICA Bengal breed standard. Long hair cats can not be accepted for championship status with TICA. Longhair may not be a recognized colors but a Bengal that is long haired is a purebred Bengal.
Long hair is also referred to as a Cashmere Bengal cat. It’s nothing but a term used to make longhair sound more desirable. Cashmere or long hair Bengal kittens have been produced from short haired parents since the beginning of the Bengal cat breed.
Coats can vary from relatively short with only the tail looking long hair, like Somali or Turkish Angora cat breed or you can get the length of Mane Coon which seems to be more rare. Most Long hair Bengal cats are homozygous for longhair. Studies show that when breeding two homozygous you will get long hair every fourth kitten
As we have found out many long hair kittens are born with shorter hair than most short hair kittens. In our first litter of long hair savannah kitten we originally though we had dark charcoal short hair kitten with white googles.
Well come to find out that the kittens where brown with perfect black horizontal spotting plus black noses. Long hair kittens can appear to be born almost black, like the Somali is about 90% impossible to tell whether your kitten will turn out to be short haired or long haired.
Bengal cats have wild-looking markings, such as large spots, rosettes, and a light/white belly, and a body structure reminiscent of the Asian Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis. The Bengal cat has a desirable wild appearance with a gentle domestic cat temperament, provided it is separated by at least three generations from the original crossing between a domestic feline and an ALC.
All Bengals except the Seal Lynx Point Snow must have a black tipped tail and black paw pads. The Seal Lynx Point has a bitter chocolate coloured tail tip and can have a rose tinted nose and paw pads. Marbled kittens start with blackish grey coats with small streaks of lighter coloured fur scattered about their Blue and the Silver both come in Spotted or Marbled patterns, both are incredible in appearance.
