Varieties of Bengal kittens. F1, F2, F3, F4, SBT

Have you decided to buy a Bengal kitten and you are confused? Faced in the process of searching for a Bengal kitten with various offers on cattery sites, buyers often cannot understand why Bengal kittens have such a different price. Prices are very different – from 1500 USD to 10000 USD. The appearance and size of Bengal kittens varies, which becomes noticeable even with an unprofessional look. Let’s figure out why.

Bengal kitten is a representative of a hybrid breed of cats. Why hybrid? Because this breed originally appeared as a result of crossing a wild Asian Leopard Cat (ALC) with a domestic cat. The Asian Leopard Cat is the smallest of the wild cats in Southeast Asia, has an unusual color and is the same size as a normal domestic cat. Bengal kittens, born from ALC, acquire its color and appearance, the size does not exceed the size of the usual cats of other breeds. We will classify such kittens as a kind of Bengal cats from ALC.

More recently, a new species of domestic Bengal cat has appeared. This species is also a hybrid. He was born from a wild Amur Leopard Cat (Euptilura, Prionailurus Bengalensis Euptilurus, Tsushima leopard cat) and a Bengal cat of a domestic breed. The Amur Leopard Cat is a northern subspecies of Asian cats, also called the Amur Forest Cat and the Far Eastern Leopard Cat (Prionailurus Bengalensis Euptilurus, Euptilura, Far Eastern forest cat, Tsushima leopard cat, Amur forest cat, Mainland leopard cat, DLC). He lives in the Far East, on the territory of Russia, China and Japan. The Amur Leopard Cat is larger than both the Asian Leopard Cat and domestic cats. Has a more flexible character than his Asian counterpart. Therefore, a Bengal kitten, born from this wild representative of Bengal cats, gets not only an exotic appearance, but also a large size. The weight of such first generation F1 Bengal kittens can reach 33 lb. Bengal kitten of the second generation F2 from the Amur Leopard Cat will weigh about 22 lb. Therefore, if you want to buy a Bengal kitten with a perspective to have a large Bengal cat, choose just such a hybrid.

The Bengal kitten, despite its exotic origin and variety, is considered domestic.

In addition to the two varieties associated with different subspecies of the wild ancestor, studying information about this breed, you can find the following designations. For example, Bengal F1. The “F” stands for “filial,” and the number next to it stands for “generation” and refers to which generation from the wild ancestor the Bengal kitten belongs to. Thus, F1 is the first hybrid generation from the Amur or Asian Leopard Cat, that is, one of the parents is a wild cat, and the genes are distributed in this way: 50% from the Amur or Asian Leopard Cat, and 50% from the domestic Bengal cat. F2 is the second generation from the wild (grandfather or grandmother – DLC or ALC), that is, Bengal F2 is the second hybrid generation, in this case, obtained from the crossing of a female Bengal F1 with a male domestic Bengal cat. Wild ancestor genes do not exceed 30 percent. Bengal F3 is the third hybrid generation, obtained by crossing a female Bengal F2 with a male domestic Bengal cat. Wild ancestor genes do not exceed 13 percent. And so on … until Bengal SBT. Bengals F1,F2,F3 are all referred to as Early Generation Bengals, or EG’s.

What is Bengal SBT?

Bengal SBT is a Bengal kitten familiar to everyone, found at shows, as well as in many catteries of the world. SBT stands for Stud Book Traditional. SBT is also derived from ALC or Amur Leopard Cat, but it has been removed for at least 4 generations. Bengal SBT is a “pure” Bengal kitten, the genetics of which has at least 3 generations of purebred Bengal cats without admixture in these three generations of wild cat blood. Today, there are Bengal cats with the abbreviation SBT only from ALC. The hybrid from Amur Leopard Cat was created quite recently and now there are still cats of the first generations from the Amur Leopard Cat (DLC).

Now about the prices. F1 Bengals are the most expensive. The reason for this is simple: wild cats are valuable and it is expensive and difficult to breed them. In addition, the closer a Bengal kitten is to a wild ancestor, the less common on sale. Bengal kittens F5, F6, F7, etc. from the Asian Leopard cat are now common, as the breed is now at its peak. They are less like their ancestors, but have already acquired their breed characteristics. They are easier to breed, and breeders do not need the experience that is required to breed F1, F2 cats … The varieties of Bengal F1 and F2 from the Amur Leopard Cat (DLС) are very few in number at the moment, so their price is higher than that of the Bengal F1 from the Asian Leopard Cat (ALС). Bengal kittens of this variety in the third and subsequent generations are not yet found at all.

Prices for Bengal kittens:

Prices are indicated when buying a Bengal kitten as a pet (castration or sterilization is required), Prices for Bengal kittens with the right to breed are higher, check them separately.

All kittens are professionally bred in “Benaby” cattery. Therefore, no matter what generation or variety of Bengal kitten you buy from us, you will receive a pet with excellent health and temperament corresponding to the generation.