The Bengal is a beautiful and very popular breed that originated as a cross between a domesticated cat and an Asian Leopard cat.
Seeing this breed may make you think that you’ve come across a wild cat. Although Bengal does resemble a small leopard with its spotted coat, its temperament is one of a loving domestic cat.
This cat’s coat is short, thick, and soft. The only three recognized coat colors with the Bengal breed are brown, silver, and snow.
However, there are many other colors and patterns possible with this breed that aren’t officially accepted.
Let’s look at the seven types of Bengal cats and help you decide which one is your favorite!
1. Brown Bengal
While brown cats are considered to be rare, brown is the traditional and the most popular Bengal color. It’s also one of the TICA-recognized coat colors.
The grounded color here can be any shade of brown, while the marks can be either brown or black. These marks can be in the form of spots, swirls, or rosettes, and are always darker than the coat.
Brown Bengals have a black tip tail and green or golden eyes.
The term brown in the case of Bengal’s coat refers to a wide spectrum of colors. One of them is the cool brown, almost grayish, while the reddish/orange brown is on the other end of the spectrum.
2. Silver Bengal
Silver Bengal has a whitish-silver base contrasted with black and grey spots. This color is another one that’s accepted with the official breed standard. A silver Bengal can have marks in the form of spots, rosettes, or marbles.
Bengals with this coat pattern also usually have green or golden eyes.
As Bengal Cat Republic explains, silver Bengal was developed at the end of the 20th century as a product of crossbreeding a Bengal with an American Shorthair. This crossbreeding was possibly influenced by the Egyptian Mau breed.
The silver hue is absolutely beautiful and very rare, making it even more appealing for cat fanciers.
3. Snow Bengal
The Snow Bengal cat has three different coat variations. Let’s look at all of them to see how exactly they are different.
Seal Lynx Bengal
These Bengals have a very light, white-cream coat base. Their markings can be either light or dark seal. The tip of their tail is a deep seal brown.
Seal Lynx Bengals have blue eyes, which gives them even more striking looks. Out of all possible variations of a cat’s eye colors, I believe many of you will choose the blue ones!
This is the most common color variation of Snow Bengals. Since the gene for this coat pattern is a recessive one, both parents must have it for their offspring to inherit the Seal Lynx color.
Seal Mink Bengal
Seal Mink Bengals have an ivory or cream base color. Their markings come in light seal or dark seal mink.
Their eyes are either blue or blue-green.
Seal Sepia Bengal
These Bengals have the darkest base color within the Snow color variations.
Right at birth, it’s easy to distinguish a Seal Sepia Bengal from a Seal Lynx, since it has darker markings from the beginning. This cat’s markings can come in either marbles or spots and range from seal to deep chocolate.
Its base coat is ivory or cream, but sometimes can appear almost to be brown. Seal Sepia Bengals have golden or green eyes.
4. Blue Bengal
If you’re looking for a truly unique Bengal cat coat, you’re gonna love the blue pattern!
According to Indian Creek Bengals, the blue gene in felines is a recessive dilute gene. This means that the markings on Blue Bengals will have a diluted color instead of the traditional black.
This is one of the rarest coat colorings with the breed, but also one of the most highly wanted, making this cat quite pricey.
This cat’s base coat is powder blue or grey with cream tones. They can exhibit either a spotted or marbled pattern with dark blue or metallic grey coloring. The blue color is usually more visible around the cat’s feet and face.
Blue Bengals typically have green or hazel-brown eyes.
5. Charcoal Bengal
This is a very special coat pattern that almost makes Bengal look like it’s in disguise!
These cats can have a dark grey, brown, or carbon base color. Their markings are commonly called “Zorro” markings. They have a dark face mask, white goggles around their eyes, and a dark stripe running down the length of their back.
Their dark mask begins at the forehead and spreads down the bridge of their nose. Charcoal Bengals can come in all three recognized Bengal colors.
6. Black Bengal
Black cats are often associated with spiritual meaning and there’s always some controversy around them.
I don’t know much about spiritualism, but I can tell you one thing about the black Bengals: They’re certainly fascinating and stand out from the rest with their resemblance to the black panther.
Black Bengals have a black ground color with black spots. As Royal Bengal Cattery explains, their markings are also called “ghost spots” since they’re barely visible.
The best way to catch this cat’s markings is to observe them in daylight.
These Bengals typically have hazel, green, or golden eyes.
7. Cinnamon Bengal
This is a rare coat color and one that has only been developed recently within the Bengal breed.
Cinnamon Bengals can appear to be brown. However, Adelhills Bengal breeders point out how a brown Bengal always has a black-tipped tail, while cinnamon Bengals don’t have this trait.
Cinnamon coat color is an orange-cream variation with a darker orange pattern. This is a beautiful, yet non-standard Bengal coat color.
Conclusion
With the looks of a smaller wild cat and the temperament of a domestic cat, Bengals indeed make wonderful companions.
When it comes to their coat coloring, there are only three accepted colors – brown, snow with three variations, and silver.
Still, there are other non-standard colors, such as blue or black, that prevent Bengals from competing in shows, but are still remarkable.
It’s a bit challenging to choose only one pattern, since, in my opinion, they are all just breath-taking.
Read Next: 9 Beautiful Brown Cat Breeds With Green Eyes
