Expert: Marcia Owen - 8/20/2008

Question
Hi,

I have a "Tabby" that I got from a pet store. They never told me what specific breed he was when I got him (he will be 2 on Aug 30th).  I assumed he was a tabby because he was brown and black.

However, I've been looking at him for a while now and wondering if he is part or all Bengal.  He is brown and black but has spots on his sides instead of stripes. I've googled "spotted Tabbies" and it comes up with stuff about Bengals.  I've googled photos of Tabby/Bengal mixes and a lot of the immages look exactly like my cat.  I am wondering if it is possible that a Bengal breeder had a bastard litter of Bengal/Tabbies and gave them to a pet store.  My cat is unusually large and agile. He used to climb the doors and walk along the tops of them before he got too big. He has orange on his snout, and a white-beige chin. he has orange on his ankles and a spotted belly. his legs have very pronounced spots and stripes and his tail is almost raccoon like.

Do you think he is part Bengal? Below is a google image of a Bengal/tabby mix and this is almost exactly what my cat looks like:
http://www.animalnetwork.org/Photos_06/P_FEBRUARY_06/C_TABBY_NEMO_HILARY_2-22-06...

And here is a pure-bred type of Bengal, also almost exactly what my cat looks like:
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/943/737272.JPG

Thanks so much!
Laura

Answer
Hi Laura

This is something you will never actually know as quite often normal tabby cats can resemble a Bengal, without there being any Bengal actually in the parentage, especially when they have a spotted pattern.  By all means send me a photo of your cat to goldlay@gmail.com and I will see what I think.

Regards

Marcia