Bengal cats are part wild leopard cat, which is why some places ban them
The Bengal is the only domestic cat with true rosettes, the ringed spots of a leopard. It inherited them from the Asian leopard cat, a small wild species crossed with house cats. That wild ancestry is why Bengals are banned in Hawaii and New York City, and Australia stopped importing them in 2025.
A leopard cat and house cat hybrid was mentioned as early as 1889, but credit for the modern breed goes to Jean Mill of California, who deliberately crossed a leopard cat with a black domestic tom in 1963. Serious breeding took off later. The International Cat Association accepted Bengals as a new breed in 1986, other registries followed through the 1990s, and the conservative Cat Fanciers' Association admitted them only in 2016, and only cats at least six generations from any leopard cat ancestor.
Genetically they are mostly domestic. A 2024 study sequencing 947 Bengals found an average of 3.48 percent leopard cat DNA, though scattered so widely it covered 93 percent of the leopard cat genome. The first three generations are called foundation cats, and their males are often infertile, so breeders pair foundation females with later-generation males. Long-haired kittens, once excluded, are now bred deliberately as Cashmere Bengals.
Popularity has soared. The International Cat Association had 125 registered Bengal breeders in 1992, and by 2024 the Bengal was its most popular breed. Claims that Bengals are hypoallergenic are common, but unproven, and one feline geneticist says no cat is truly hypoallergenic.
The breed carries some health baggage. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart muscle, is a major concern, with one 2013 study putting prevalence at 16.7 percent. An inherited retinal disease can blind cats by about two years old, and a UK study of vet records found Bengals averaging 8.51 years of life against 11.74 for cats overall. Laws vary widely: Connecticut bans every generation, while most US states treat fifth-generation cats as ordinary pets.
Source: Bengal cat
