Patterns & Colors
Spotted
All images © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co
But don’t let the 2 coat categories fool you: there are unique varieties of each type of pattern and a myriad of Bengal cat colors out there, which we’ll get to in a moment.
Before we look at Bengal cat colors, the first thing you should know about Bengal cats is that there are 2 coat patterns.
Marbled
All images © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co
The spotted coat
The coat is covered in random, diagonally or horizontally aligned spots on the torso, tummy and legs. Large dark spots on a light ground color is usually preferred.
Of course, there are variations to the spotted category and there can be many different types of spots on a single Bengal cat.
All images © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co
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All images © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co
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Donut rosettes are spots that are darker than the background’s coat color and outlined with an even darker color.
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Paw-print rosettes are shaded spots open on one side with smaller and darker spots on the edge. A paw-print rosette is never entirely enclosed by the darker, surrounding color.
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Single-Spotted means the spots are monochrome. It’s just solid spots splattered in droplets on a contrasting background, similar to those of wild cat like Cheetahs or non-hybrid spotted cats (Ocicat, Egyptian Mau, Spotted Shorthair or Australian Mist).
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Arrowheads can be solid and monochrome in the single spotted group or they can be rosetted with different colors fading into the background. Well-defined arrowhead rosettes are rare and sought after by Bengal cat owners and breeders.
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Paw-print rosettes are shaded spots open on one side with smaller and darker spots on the edge. A paw-print rosette is never entirely enclosed by the darker, surrounding color. Inspired by the Leopard’s coat, paw-print rosettes earned their name as they often look like little paw prints walking across the cat’s coat.
All images © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co
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Asian Leopard cats have many different types of coats but the arrowhead pattern is one of their most visually spectacular one. Arrowhead-shaped spots are a great camouflage in the dappled light of a forest habitat. With such a coat, a cat who stands very still in the trees or fallen leaves can be very hard to spot.
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The Bengal cat breed standard calls for spots to be horizontally aligned instead of the classic tabby’s vertically aligned spots. The arrow-shaped spots on a cat’s coat give them a particularly fluid horizontal appearance and create a unique illusory motion.
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Clouded rosettes are large, full rosettes that appear to fit together like a puzzle with little spacing (acreage) in between. Inspired by the Clouded Leopard’s coat, this reticulated spotting has an almost snake-like appearance.
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Chain rosetting describes a connected row of donut rosettes linked together horizontally and running parallel on either side of the cat’s spine. Chain-rosetting can also be seen on wildcats like Ocelots.
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Cluster rosettes are small spots forming clusters around the center color. So if you’re looking for a Jaguar, Leopard or Ocelot look, for example, you’re looking for the rosetted pattern.
All images © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co
The marble coat
The marbled coat pattern is derived from blotched tabby stripes that swirl. The ideal marble Bengal cat has a horizontally flowing, random, asymmetrical pattern made up of swirls of two or more colors.
The marble Bengal cat has four official types—reduced horizontal flow, horizontal flow, chaos pattern, and sheet marble patterns.
All images © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co
The sparble coat
Did you think that spotted and marble patterns wouldn’t ever meet?
Enter the sparble pattern – where spots and marble collide. “Sparbling” isn’t really an official pattern category but in breeder lingo, it is used to describe Bengals who possess both rosettes and marble markings or spotted bengals with marble-ish patterns!
The sparble is considered a spotted/rosetted Bengal and not a marbled.
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Bengal colors 101
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Like other breeds of cats, Bengals come in a variety of colors. There are about 6 Bengal cat colors, divided into standard and non-standard by The International Cat Association (TICA).
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Bengal cats come in many colors, but the most common breed-accepted varieties are brown, snow, and silver. Recently, the agouti gene, which alters fur coloration, has produced a new charcoal pattern that can overlay any existing coat color. Breeders who understand their cats' color and agouti genetics can predict possible litter colors using a Punnett square. Genetic testing to determine coat color traits is inexpensive and readily available through companies like UC Davis and Wisdom Panel.
Standard
* Brown
​* Snow
* Silver
Non-standard
* Charcoal
​* Blue
* Melanistic
Brown Bengal's and the brown spectrum
All images © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co
The brown Bengal cat (C,C color genes) is the most popular of the Bengal cat colors and it was also the first to be recognized by TICA in 1983.
The traditional brown colored Bengals have green or gold eyes.
The ground color can range from a gray-tawny tone to a vivid orange-gold.
The spotting, rosetting or marbling color can range from black, light brown to a darker or reddish brown.
The brown coat has the greatest range of tints among all the Bengal colors. Think of the color brown on a spectrum with grey at the coolest end and orange at the warmest end. A Bengal's coat can fall anywhere in that range, and it is classified as brown as long as its tail tip is black.
Bengal breeders have many terms we use to discuss the different shades of brown.
Cool Brown to warm brown
