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Bengal coat patterns

Bengal coat patterns

Bengals have two coat patterns, spotted/rosetted and marbled. Ideally spotted/rosetted Bengals have a random horizontal pattern with no stripes or rib bars, whereas the marbled Bengals have a random, horizontal, swirling pattern with two or more colors. There are many varieties within these patterns. At Pet Perfect Bengals we currently breed for the Rosetted pattern, which is not found in any other domestic cat breed. Spots are called rosettes when the spots center opens or blooms to reveal a contrasting color distinct from the Bengals background color.

The spotted/rosetted patterns range from:

  • Single-Spotted
  • Cluster Rosettes
  • Arrowhead Rosettes
  • Paw-Print Rosettes
  • Donut Rosettes
  • Chain Rosetting
  • Clouded Rosettes
  • The Marbled Cat

Image © 2018 Laurent Jaccard – Bengalcats.co

Single Spotted

Single-spotted Bengals have Cheetah-like solid spots splattered over their bodies in droplets on a contrasting background without any gradient in color inside the pattern

Arrowhead Rosettes

The arrowhead rosetted pattern is found on the Asian Leopard cat and can be either Spots or rosettes in a triangular (arrowhead) shape that point toward the back of the body with the base of the triangle open. A fluid horizontally aligned pattern is desired.

Cluster Rosettes

A Cluster Rosette has Small very dark spots that form a 'cluster' around the inner color that is darker than the base color. There may be a small dark spot in the center of the rosette similar to the jaguar.

The Paw Print Pattern

The leopard-like paw-print rosettes often look similar to a paw with the center or pad of the paw darker than the bengals background color but lighter than the outside toes or spots. These spots have a distinct distance between them. This rosette is never completely closed creating a pattern that looks like 'paw prints' walking across the background.

Donut Rosettes

Doughnut Rosettes have a very light background and are completely or almost completely encircled by a darker color surrounding a lighter center, making it look like a donut. Doughnut Rosettes can be found on the Margay Cat.

Chain Rosetting

Chain rosettes are a row of donut rosettes that are linked together to form a 'chain' that runs parallel on either side of the spine. The Ocelot shows this pattern off well.

Clouded Rosettes

Clouded rosettes found on the Clouded Leopard are large, stretched 'Clouds' that have a thick or thin dark outline with minimal spacing between rosettes.

The Marbled Cat

Marbled Bengals have a random, horizontal, swirling pattern with two or more colors. There are many varieties within the marble pattern including:

  • Tri-Color Marble
  • Horizontal Flowing
  • Reduced Horizontal Flow
  • High Acreage
  • Chaos Pattern
  • Sheeted or Closed Pattern
  • Bulls-eye