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Why Bengals?

Well, First of all, who would not want a miniature leopard in their living room?

Perhaps the most obvious appeal of the Bengal is their appearance. Bengals are bred to have a muscular build and for their patterns, as well as their build, to mimic a wild cat. The original goal of the breed was to create a domestic cat that looked like an Asian Leopard Cat. (For more information regarding the history of the breed, visit our history page.) But breeders have surpassed that goal. Now, rather than shooting for the small ALC, we are shooting for patterns like the Leopard or the Clouded Leopard (in the case of marbles.)

For all of their wild looks, bengals have a soft personality. They love attention and affection. But more importantly, they love to play. They are active and extremely intelligent and can learn almost anything you could teach them. Many Bengals walk on leashes, ride in the car, play fetch or play in the tub. I even know some who are toilet trained.

Bengals are communicative members of the family as well. If you ask them a question, they will answer it with two more. They tend to favor one member of the family more than others, but will love all members and show affection to anyone that provides it. And of course, they have individual personalities. I have never met two who were exactly the same. Take a look around, I?m sure you will want one to join your family.

Our Story

We are a small cattery centered in the heart of Alabama. We got our start in 1999 when our father wanted a bengal for father's day. He searched through breeder directories and browsed breeder sites. He was looking for something specific: a cat that would be friendly and intelligent, have a temperament suitable for children and a beautiful appearance. He found the Bengal and soon realized they were the perfect cat.

We decided on a small (at the time) snow kitten with bright blue eyes that we later named CC. We loved her immediately --she was exactly what we wanted.

From there, my father got the idea to breed. We called a family meeting and discussed the prospect-- we all agreed it would be a good family venture and possibly a way to pay for some of our college. After a few hours of discussing it, we had decided that we wanted to be a cattery.

After that, it's all gone well. We've managed to affiliate ourselves with other catteries, some larger ones such as Bosque Bengals or Millwood, and Gogees, as well as a few smaller, local catteries. Our cats feature championship lines, incredible, leopard-like appearance and the temperament that can only be achieved by hand-raising each kitten in a home environment. Our cats are bred to be family cats, to be loved and to be companions.

About Bengals

Bengals originated as a cross from the Asian Leopard Cat and domestic cats. (For more information, go to History.) The main appeal of the breed is not only their wild appearance (breeders strive to make them look as much like wild cats as possible) but their wonderful personalities. Bengals are known to be playful and perform many tricks such as playing fetch, fishing, even using the toilet. The cats have a generally muscular appearance and should look strong but friendly.

Bengals are an internationally known breed and are recognized by most major cat organizations, including The International Cat Association. (TICA). Bengals require no special feeding or care and are not more subject to turn on people than other breeds. They do not have a higher occurrence of disease. The only difference between bengals and other cats is that bengals can be more playful, more striking, and less aloof. It is not uncommon to have bengals sleeping beside you in bed or, with minor coaxing, jumping into the tub with you!

Over the past twenty years, bengals have grown to be one of the most popular breeds, both because of the wonderful and engaging personalities as well as their striking appearance.

There are two major patterns of the bengal: Spotted and Marbled. Spotted bengals strive to look like spotted wild cats. They are the dominant pattern and some consider them the most popular. Second is marbles. The goal of marbles is create a cat that mimics the marbled cat or the clouded leopard. Marble bengals have lighter patterns on a darker pattern and have patterns that resemble clouds or swirled ice cream.

Within the two pattern categories are several color categories, which can occur in both marbled and spotted Bengals. TICA recognizes three color types: Brown Spotted, Snows (seal sepia tabby, seal lynx point tabby and seal mink tabby,) and silver. Brown spotted can range from a light sable to a deep mahogany to a vibrant red. Their spots can range from deep, inkjet spots and vibrant multi-color rosettes. In general, resetting is preferred and the larger, more intense the rosettes and spots are, the better the cat. Snows are white with light spots ranging from dull orange to moderate browns. Bengal Companions does not specialize in snows, preferring instead the more vibrant silvers. Silvers can be any range of silvers and grays. These cats tend to have little to no browns or reds in their coats but concentrate more on intense contrast that comes from almost black spots on an almost white background. There are also other colors such as the black (melanistic) and the blue bengals that are not recognized (yet) for show. However, both of these colors can be striking and only made more impressive by their incredible rarity. (In close to a decade, we have only produced one black and one blue bengal.)

Because bengals are a hybrid breed (one resultant from a cross between a wildcat and a domestic) there is an additional category: generation. The generation is determined by the distance in heritage from a wildcat. For instance, the child of an ALC would be a F1 (Foundation 1,) and the child of a F1 would be a F2, and so on. Any generation after F4 is considered a Studbook tradition and is eligible for show. Bengal Companions does not currently use any foundation bengals or ALC.

And now that you know the basics, take a moment to look through our website.