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| Cashmeres |
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| are
the
longhaired
variety
of
the
Bengal
cat.
They
are
vivid, |
| mischievous
cats
with
luxurious, semi
longhair coat, incredibly
soft
and
silky |
| to
touch.
The
hair
is
so fine,
that
it
does
not
need
grooming. |
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The
very
first
beginning
of
the
Bengal
breed: |
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| Tori
of
Delhi
(left) |
Millwood
My Thai |
Millwood
Praline
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| Bengals
are
known as
a shorthair |
|
breed and
you may wonder
why
there
are born
long
haired
kittens
from
time to
time: |
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| Bengals
did not develop naturally
like so many other breeds,
but were created by
Jean
Mill,
who had
the
vision
of a
little
leopard
with the
loving
personality
of a
domestic
cat. |
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In
the beginning
there was a cross
breeding with an Asian Leopard Cat (Felis
Bengalensis) and domestic cats. The first attempts did not lead far and in
1980 she started from new.
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One
of the first domestic cats Jean bred to the small forest
dwelling wildcats was Tory, whom she found within the
Delhi Zoo. He was a golden colored, nicely spotted
male with dense and silky coat. Besides his emerald green
eyes he brought glitter and shine into the breed. |
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In the very beginning Jean Mill used 'what was right at
hand (excerpt from her homepage). Domestic cats with
unknown back ground and an Himalyan are belonging to the
foundation cats of the breed. They brought with them a
bundle of genes like red, silver, color point, solid
and diluted colors, marble and/or longhair. |
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| The
dominant ones
like
silver,
red and
calico
are shown
by any
cat, who
has
them,
and
therefore
can be
bred out
easily,
when not
desirable. Other
the
recessive genes
like
blue,
solid black,
snow and
long hair.
From the
outer
appearance
it is
impossible
to tell,
which
recessives
a cat is
be
passing
on. They
stay
undiscovered,
until
a kittens
receives
them by
both
parents.
So they
may be
carried
on for
generations,
until
they pop
up
again.
That's
why
breeders
say:
Recessives are forever. |
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| Egyptian
Mau,
Abyssinians, Exotic
Shorthair
and
Ocicats
are
belonging
to the
ancestors
of the
Bengal
breed as
well.
Later on
there
were
bred in
Burmese,
who
brought
with
them
seal
sepia
(which
combined
with
lynx
creates
seal
mink),
but also
cinnamon
and and
chocolate.
The
latest
outcross
to
American
Shorthair
blessed
us with
the
silver
Bengals. |
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| Today
it is impossible to tell which single cats
brought the longhair gene with
them, but it
is known for sure, that there have
been born long haired
kittens from time to time since
the very beginning of the Bengal breed. |
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Bengals
were created as a short hair
breed and
one
may imagine that long
haired kittens were not
appreciated. Many beautiful cats
carrying for the long hair
gene were eliminated from the
breeding programs. Long haired
kittens were - and mostly still
are - not only petted out, but
also denied and hidden away. Meanwhile
the acceptance for the longhairs
slowly is growing, but it still
is quite difficult to get high
quality Cashmeres for breeding. |
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| Meanwhile
a few
breeders
world
wide are
working
with
these
beautiful
cats.
They are |
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bred
as long
haired
Bengals,
Cashmeres
or
Cashmere
Bengals. |
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| While
most
of
the
American
breeders
are
trying
to
get |
| them
accepted
as variety within
the
original
breed,
the
European |
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breeders
are
working
for their
acceptance as |
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New Breed
"Cashmere". |
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