Colour, Pattern and Type
COLOUR
The Silver Bengal
Here at Silverstorm, we have specialized in breeding Silver Bengal cats since 2005. If you would like to discover more about Bengal cat colours and patterns, including their wild genetics, this guide will introduce you to our magnificent varieties. The silver coat is the one we think is most like the magnificent Snow Leopard, with icy cool backgrounds and high-contrast ink black rosettes. Our stunning cats can come in varying silver shades, but the most desirable is a clear white/silver background with markings in ink black.
We talk of the silver “colour,” but silver is not actually a colour at all; it is a lack of colour, created by the ‘I’—inhibitor—gene. A regular silver Bengal is actually a brown cat. The ‘I’ gene inhibits the yellow/red pigment from showing through, creating the silvery effect.
If a Snow Bengal, whether a seal-lynx, mink, or sepia, carries the ‘I’ inhibitor gene, the result is a silver-snow Bengal (silver seal-lynx, silver-mink, or silver-sepia). The effect is magical: icy silvery tones and a crisp white body.
Silver was originally introduced into the breed by outcrossing to the Silver Spotted American Shorthair and mimics the beautiful Snow Leopard, one of the most strikingly beautiful cats in the world…
The Snow Bengal
The term “snow” covers the three variations: seal-lynx, seal-mink, and sepia. These cats have varying degrees of warmer tones if they do not carry the inhibitor gene. Their background colour ranges from ivory to cream, with markings in varying shades of brown.
The beautiful seal-lynx always has blue eyes. This colour originated from outcrosses to Siamese cats in the early days of the breed. Lynx kittens are usually born completely white, and their pattern gradually emerges as they grow.
The seal-mink is born with a visible pattern, usually darker than a seal-lynx, in a rich mink-brown. Their eyes are typically aqua, sometimes gold. Seal-mink colouring occurs when a kitten inherits one seal-lynx gene and one seal-sepia gene (from either parent).
The seal-sepia colour comes from outcrosses to Burmese in the breed’s early development. Seal-sepia kittens are born with a visible pattern, in sepia-brown, and their eye colour ranges from green to gold.
At Silverstorm, we sometimes produce beautiful lynx or silver-lynx kittens, but we do not breed mink or sepia.
The Brown Bengal
The brown Bengal, the colour of its wild Asian Leopard ancestor, comes in many shades, from cool brown through beautiful golden tones to hot “rufus” with its red/orange hues.
Markings can range from shades of brown to black, and strong contrast is especially desirable, giving the Bengal its wild, striking appearance.
It is also desirable for brown Bengals to have a white chest, belly, and inner legs. This “whited” trait comes from the Asian Leopard Cat and is difficult to achieve, particularly when paired with dark, high-contrast markings.
Although we do not specifically breed for brown Bengals, they occasionally appear in our litters, and we love seeing these naturally gorgeous cats appear.
The Charcoal Bengal
Charcoal Bengals are very special. This striking coat pattern and colour is not seen in any ordinary domestic cat — it is a direct result of their wild Asian Leopard Cat heritage. In fact, even wild Asian Leopard Cats sometimes show a faint “charcoal mask” effect, hinting at the dramatic dark markings we see in Bengals today.
Charcoal refers to both a colour and a pattern. We can have Silver-Charcoal, Brown-Charcoal, and Snow-Charcoal.
The Charcoal Bengal has a darker coat with distinctive “Zorro markings,” including a dark face mask and cape. The mask runs from the outer corners of the eyes to the bridge of the nose, enclosing white “goggles” around the eyes. These markings are inspired by those seen in Asian Leopard Cats, though the Charcoal Bengal’s mask is black.
We do occasionally breed stunning charcoal kittens.
The Charcoal pattern is created when the Asian Leopard Cat’s Apb Agouti gene combines with a domestic cat’s non-agouti gene. While the Apb gene is present in wild ALCs, its expression varies; in Bengals, the charcoal mask and cape are most pronounced when specific genetic combinations are present (Apb/a). This is why Charcoals are most often seen in the earlier generation Bengals.
Non-Standard Colours
Bengals can also appear in a few colours that do not meet the official breed standard, which means they cannot be shown as standard Bengals. However, they are still Bengals, with the same wild ancestry and temperament, and can produce standard colours in a breeding programme. Many breeders and pet owners find these non-standard colours beautiful, and they are often highly sought after.
One of the most commonly seen non-standard colours is blue, which is a dilute form of brown. At Silverstorm, we do not breed blue Bengals, as they tend to have softer markings and less of the crisp contrast and wild appearance that we value in our cats. However, they remain loved and appreciated by many within the breed.
The following headings describe the non-standard colours that we love and occasionally breed at Silverstorm, which we feel have that distinctive “wild look” about them.
The Melanistic Bengal
Just like the black panther, which is actually a melanistic leopard in Africa and Asia, and a melanistic jaguar in South America, melanistic Bengals share the same sense of mystery and presence.
Their gleaming black coats, often showing subtle shadow rosettes, make them a striking example of the wild look in a domestic companion. With elegant type and a muscular, athletic body, a melanistic Bengal is truly a miniature panther in your living room.
While the rosettes may be faint at first glance, they are always there, adding depth and texture to the coat and reveal themselves in the bright sunshine or light. This hidden pattern, combined with the cat’s confident, playful personality, makes every melanistic Bengal a captivating mix of elegance, power, and intrigue.
The Smoke
A melanistic Bengal with the ‘I’ inhibitor gene we mentioned earlier is a Silver-melanistic, but its proper name is a smoke. Like the silver Bengal, the silver-smoke has a white undercoat. This, combined with the black topcoat, gives the overall colour a soft, smoky appearance.
The pattern is more visible than in a melanistic Bengal, allowing subtle rosettes and markings to show through beautifully.
PATTERN
Our kittens, much like snow leopard cubs, are often born with solid spots. As they mature, the centre of the spot lightens, transforming into a rosette, just like the development seen in the Snow Leopard.
This Silverstorm kittens’ rosettes can be seen changing from solid spots into rosettes with lighter centres as he grows older.
Just as the solid spots on snow leopard cubs transform into rosettes on the magnificent adult Snow Leopard, the Bengal’s pattern continues to develop and refine with age.
Each Bengal kitten is completely unique, with its own individual leopard print and wild type. Through wild cat genetics and careful selective breeding, the Bengal’s pattern has evolved to imitate almost every type of pattern seen in wild cats.
Below are some of the patterns we have produced, or that have contributed to our cattery.
DONUT ROSETTES
The donut rosette is so named because of its complete, or nearly complete, dark outline surrounding a lighter centre. This type of rosette takes inspiration from the Jaguar, which has larger, fewer, and more widely spaced rosettes than the Leopard. Donut rosettes often contain tiny black spots or dots within the rosette itself. When these rosettes are particularly large, they are sometimes referred to as “pancake” rosettes.
ARROWHEAD ROSETTES
The striking arrowhead rosette is shaped like an arrow, with all tips pointing towards the back of the cat. Arrowhead rosettes are often horizontally aligned, giving the cat the appearance of motion even when standing still.
CLOUDED LEOPARD ROSETTES
As the name suggests, these rosettes form large, cloud-like shapes that often extend over the shoulders, creating a dramatic and flowing pattern.
PAWPRINT ROSETTES
Pawprint rosettes take their name from their resemblance to a paw, with a lighter centre (the “paw pad”) and darker outer markings forming the “toes”. Like a Leopard’s rosettes, a pawprint rosette is never fully enclosed by the darker outline. Pawprint rosettes tend to be closer together and cover less surface area than donut rosettes.
AND OF COURSE, OUR DREAM…
THE SNOW LEOPARD
Like the donut rosette, the Snow Leopard’s rosettes are fully outlined, but with a finer, more delicate black edging. Enclosed yet softly shaped, these rosettes stretch into flowing forms that appear to float in a graceful horizontal motion from shoulder to tail tip.
More important than the specific rosette type is the intensity of contrast — the way ink-black outlines and spots stand out sharply against a crisp white to silver background — and the horizontal flow of the pattern from head to tail, which gives the Bengal its unmistakably wild appearance
TYPE
What Is Wild Type?
If you could take the pattern away from your Bengal, would it still look like a cat that has just stepped out of the jungle — or would it look like a domestic cat?
The qualities that give a Bengal its wild appearance include small, rounded ears set wide on the head; a thick, leopard-like tail; large, nocturnal eyes; a muscular, athletic body with flowing movement (that leopard-cat walk!); a wild, panther-shaped head; a substantial chin; and puffy whisker pads. All of this, and more, is known as type.
So, is there a “perfect” Bengal that has it all? No. But the more of these qualities a Bengal possesses, the less domestic it appears and the more convincingly wild its look becomes.
The Bengals shown on this page are SBTs (Stud Book Tradition), meaning they are at least four generations removed from the Asian Leopard Cat.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the key elements of type.
EARS
What Should They Look Like?
First of all: the smaller, the better — with rounded tips. We do not want tall, pointed ears.
Large or pointed, triangular ears are common in domestic cats and immediately detract from the wild look of a Bengal’s head. Most wild cats — Snow Leopards, Lions, Cheetahs, and Asian Leopard Cats — have small, rounded ears set on the sides of the head.
Ears like this give Bengal kittens a wonderful cub-like appearance and adult Bengals a much wilder, more authentic look.
TAILS
Thick and Leopard-Like
The ideal Bengal tail is thick and powerful — as far removed from a thin, “whippy” domestic cat tail as possible. An outstanding Bengal tail should be muscular, carried low, and finished with a blunt, rounded, almost black tip.
This gives the Bengal the same balanced, grounded look we see in truly magnificent wild cats — such as the Snow Leopard, whose tail is as striking as it is functional.
The Snow Leopard remains one of the most mysterious and beautiful cats in the wild.