Bengal colors

TICA only recognizes Bengal cats that are brown, silver, or snow as being show quality. These colors are the most common to occur in the breed. Along with their coloring, the Bengal cat will have markings and rosettes very similar to that of wild cats.

When you see a Bengal cat with one of the following colors, they can easily resemble a miniature leopard or snow leopard, but don’t be fooled!

Brown Bengal cats might be considered the most common of all Bengal cat colors. This is often portrayed as a textbook Bengal cat, so you’re likely familiar with this appearance. The color range is quite vast, with some cats appearing more reddish or even in shades of honey and caramel. 

A base coat of a brown Bengal cat will be lighter than the dark contrasts of their markings and carry many different shades. Their tails are usually solid black-tipped, and they have bright green or golden-colored eyes. This is the coloring of a Bengal most closely connected to the leopard, as it is very similar to their wild ancestors. 

Despite the name, the snow Bengal is not pure white in their base coat like the silver Bengal. Instead, they come in three variations of colors: seal lynx point, seal mink, and seal sepia.

Seal lynx point: When a seal lynx point snow Bengal kitten is born, they will be very light and have few visible markings. They have ice-blue eyes and resemble the wild Snow leopard. Their coats will darken as they grow, and the creamy-white base coat will have either brown, grey, tan, or marbled markings. 

Seal mink: These kittens are born with a light brown or cream-colored base coat and brown or caramel markings. Seal mink snow Bengals have aqua or blue-green eyes that are visually striking. 

Seal sepia: The seal sepia snow Bengal kitten is usually the darkest of the three variations, with a tan or brown base coat and darker shades of brown and caramel markings.

Marbled Bengals have swirls and stripes that are entirely random; no two marbled Bengals will look the same. The marbled patterns will consist of two or more colors. 

Spotted Bengals are the easiest to recognize because they closely resemble the pattern of a leopard. Spotted Bengals have different shading variations, but the spots will likely be much darker than the base coat of the cat.

The sparbled marking is a very unique pattern because it’s the direct intersection of the spotted and marbled patterns. It’s easy to spot because it looks so unusual, but you might not notice the marbled patterns within the rosette markings.