Guide to F1 Bengal Cats – Kittens for Sale & Price
If you are in the market to get a pet Bengal cat, there is something that you must know. If you are even thinking about trying to get an F1 Bengal cat, you must first go into your search for one with the understanding that the chance of you actually getting one is going to be extremely unlikely. Why you ask? For starters, even having an F1 Bengal cat, or any type of hybrid cat for that matter, is actually illegal in some states. But on top of that and what makes finding an F1 Bengal cat for sale just about impossible, is that even the Bengal cat breeders don’t even have F1 Bengal cats within their breeding programs.
Now keep in mind that Bengal cats actually originate from breeding a domesticated cat with an Asian Leopard Cat. The United States Government Fish & Wildlife Service has put very heavy restrictions in place in regard to this particular breed of cat as a pet.
While Bengal cat breeders have been in a huge battle for years to get the harsh restrictions on Bengal cats removed, what they have been able to do is to get Bengal cats that are several generations beyond their first generation (also referred to as ‘F1 Bengal cats’), to be accepted within the United States. What this means is that while you can still get a Bengal cat as a pet, is more than likely that the one you are able to get is going to be a minimum of at least 5 generations past from when the original breeding with the wild Asian Leopard Cat occurred.
Now, this isn’t really a bad thing at all, but it is the actual reality if you are looking to own a pet Bengal cat within the United States. The upside here is that you are still going to get to own an extremely exotic looking cat that has its very own personality; however, this particular cat will be several generations away from the original Asian Leopard Cat. But again, this way you will not have to deal with any of the restrictions that many different states currently have in place.
F1 Bengal Cats, What are They?
So, what exactly is an F1 Bengal cat and why are they so impossible to have as a pet? How were they originally developed and are they closely related to cats that you can find in the wild?
To fully understand what an F1 Bengal cat really is, you are going to need to understand what an Asian Leopard Cat is. An Asian Leopard Cat is a smaller sized, non-aggressive feline that can be found in the wild and has a coat that is covered in small black or dark brown swirls, or even rosettes. They will typically weight anywhere between 13 and 15 pounds and are native to East and South Asia.
While these Asian Leopard Cats are typically going to be very shy, they also love water. People were originally interested in breeding these particular felines with various domestic cats in hopes of producing some kind of household pet, as they were in love with their shy temperament, their size, and especially the patterns on their coats.
While there are rumors that the breeding of domestic cats and Asian Leopard Cats was happening as far back as the 1800s, today’s Bengal cat breeding can be traced back to the 1970s. Originally being bred because of their distinct coat and desired temperament, they would also be used for cancer research in laboratories at the time. This particular use never saw the Bengal cats moving past F1.
When you have an Asian Leopard Cat who is bred with a domestic house cat, the litter that is produced is called an F1. As for the name ‘Bengal’, it comes from the Asian Leopard Cat’s scientific name, Prionailurus Bengalensis. It does not matter which breed of domestic cat is used for mating, as it will always end up producing a Bengal cat. The litter of kittens resulting from this mating will simply half one half of their characteristics from the Asian Leopard Cat and the other half will be from the domestic cat that was used.
As for the ‘1’ in F1, it simply means that this particular cat is the very first generation that is underneath the Asian Leopard Cat. The ‘F’ in F1 is just a shortened way to say ‘Filial’, which means ‘Befitting a good daughter or son.’ The more that Bengal cats are bred, the further out their generation will become from the original Asian Leopard Cat that was used in the first breeding. This is going to be represented as F2, F3, F4, and F5.
For example, once you have an Asian Leopard Cat that has successfully bred with some type of domestic cat, they will have a litter, all of which will be referred to as F1 Bengal cats. The F1 female s will then be bred with another male domestic cat, which that litter of kittens will be referred to as F2 Bengals. The females from the F2 litter will be bred with another domestic male cat which will result in a litter that will be known as F3 Bengal cats. The female cats from the F3 litter will eventually be bred with another domestic male cat to produce F4 Bengal cats. The process will continue on until you reach F5, which they will then normally be referred to as simply ‘Bengals’.
And in case you are wondering why it is always the female Bengal cats that are used for breeding instead of the male ones, it is because all of the male Bengal cats up until F4 Bengal cat males are going to be born infertile.
If you are sold on getting an F1 Bengal kitten, you can expect to pay a minimum of $2,000, the price ranging all the way up to $5,000, depending upon the specific Bengal cat breeder that you are getting it from.
