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Ailsa xxx

It is nothing whatsoever to do with what an individual breeder deems is "undesirable", nor petty breeder squabbles nor "discrimination" nor competitive advantage, it is about what the breed as a whole feels is "desirable".

Blues and melanistics are not in the breed standard as being desirable, no matter how pretty they look.

All breeds have a look, they all have evolved with certain traits, eg the Siamese is a colour-pointed cat, the Abyssinian has a look as has the Burmese, the Bombay, in fact any breed you care to mention. You can look at a cat and say I know that is a Somali, or a Persian.

There is no place for a pure black Siamese or a spotty Abyssinian, or a Bombay with white feet or a pure white Burmese. There are breed standards and although it would be quite easy to introduce certain "new" traits into any breed, they are not seen as the real article, not "acceptable" nor "desirable".

The Bengal is exactly the same, certain colours are "undesirable", because those breeders in the breed that decide where the breed is and are responsible for the breed standard through consultation, have decided not to accept certain colours into the breed. That includes blue (dilute) and melanistic (solid), it also includes red, chocolate, and cinnamon, white spotting, and blue and pink eyed albinos. They feel it would muddy the waters, and the breed would lose its identity.

If anyone wants a spotty cinnamon cat then go get an ocicat as the cinnamon colour is acceptable in their breed standard.



It is not about any discrimination, it is about maintaining breed identity.

I personally do not think breeding away from the standard can be advantagious (sp) the breed standard is there for a reason...

the only real time I get annoyed though is when people breed to over exagerate features...I think with dilute colours like blue it is enevitable for them to crop up in litters and to an extent I dont have a problem breeding non-standard colour to non-standard colour (I have a white german shepherd!) but I dont think mixing the non-standards in with standards is really the right thing to do either as then you are carrying the colour gene into different lines where it wasnt necessarily present - I dont find this to be beneficial to the breed....

Some people in different animal breeds will purposely breed non-standard colours...some because they simply prefer that colour...but others to make a quick buck labeling them as 'rare' - I would class the latter as a BYB...
Also people who breed only for colour can then instead of widening the gene pool actually start inbreeding or line breeding too closely trying to obtain the desired colour and can risk bringing health issues into a breed..


I do however think there maybe reason for exceptions, for example; if I were to have a blue bengal female - I might think that there is excellent lines, the cat has amazing pattern, head, profile, body shape etc - I might think everything about this cat is perfect (apart from the colour) and then I could think to introduce it to a 'standard' stud and breed out the colour but use the other attributes to produce kittens that would be an improvement on their parentage...i wouldnt however use for example a blue stud as you are not breeding out the problem, you are breeding in...

Obviously these are just my ideas of what I think is more preferable...I also would not personally have a non-standard colour bengal as a pet not because they arent lovely but they are not what my idea of a bengal should be....

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Ailsa xxx

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Ailsa xxx

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I would consider buying a non standard colour as a pet hence answering yes on the poll. It comes down to all of the factors I normally take into consideration when buying a pet which are essentially, health, temperament, and appearance - and especially if I have been "chosen" by a particular kitten. The blue seal mink boy shown here http://www.oakleybengals.co.uk/ourstuds/ourstuds.htm is one of the prettiest cats I have seen - although he doesn't look anything like a wild cat IMO, he has a striking uniqueness about him that I love. I can see why when he cropped up his breeder decided to keep him as a stud and acquire a blue queen.

There are a few breeders who specialise in non standard colours, and they can also crop up with any breeder from time to time. So for any pet owner who is desperate for one you can always get your hands on one if you look hard enough.

"Undesirable" in the context of the breed standard has nothing to do with desirability to pet owners, many of whom neither know or care what the "ideal" Bengal should look like and quite rightly go for a kitten/cat that steals their hearts. For all of us, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not what a show judge would think.

Having said that I appreciate breed standards and why most breeders select against non standard colours and not for them. Remember many breeders also like to show, and that may be part of their motivation for staying away from non standard colours. Also I expect there is a "commercial" driver there as brown rosetted cats are without doubt the colour in highest demand.

I guess there has to be a "critical mass" of popularity of a new trait before a colour becomes accepted, and bred on a larger scale. Silver certainly was not accepted when I got my first Bengals, for example, yet now they are highly popular and accepted.

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with best wishes

Tim and the Family Feline

Tigra, Azlan, Bilbo and Zion

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Ailsa xxx