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© 2007 The Blue Bengal Group Last updated 21 February 2008
The Blue Lagoon
A quest to find the blue Bengal gene pool
Where does the dilute gene that causes the normal expression of dark pigmentation of a cat to turn to a grey or blue colour come from?
The colour variation discussed here is that which occurs at the Maltese /dilution locus. Clumping of the melanin on the hair shaft results in colourless areas which allow more light to pass through the shaft diluting the appearance of the pigment and giving the characteristic grey tone, called blue in the Cat Fancy.
Blue Bengal (7)
The dilute gene is already known to occur in the American Bobcat and the Canadian Lynx (1) (2). Could it also occur in the genetics of the Bengal cat’s domestic ancestry?
The ancestor of today’s ‘European’ domestic cat is the African Wild Cat, Felis sylvestris lybica, while the ‘Asiatic’ domestic breeds are from Felis.s Ornata, the Indian Desert Cat for the Siamese forms, and Felis.s.nesterovi for the Persian forms. Some authorities believe these two later subspecies are in fact actually variations on F.s.lybica. (2) and not true sub species.
Felis s. lybica
A pale stripped tabby, F.s.lybica, can range in ground colour from sandy through to steel grey (2) dependent mainly on habitat.
Felis s. ornata
While F.s.Ornata’s ground colour is a pale sand through to a grey tone covered in spots of varying sizes and shapes. (2)
The belief that the Asiatic breeds have ancestry from the Jungle Cat, Leopard Cat and Pallas cat have been disproved by genetic testing.
Could this be the source of the dilute in the Bengal cat? Undoubtedly it is a source but might the dilute also exist in the Asian Leopard Cat (ALC)?
In private conversions with some Bengal experts the author has been told that the ALC does not carry the dilute gene, but when we look at the phenotype of the ALC and its many sub species this may not be the case.
The World Conservation Union, the IUCN, has stated that the sub species of the ALC will never be fully understood until complete genetic testing has been carried and that very little has been done to date.
Asian Leopard Cat 1
Asian Leopard Cat 2
The coat colour of the ALC can be affected by diet, climate, and topography on top of the genetic factors inherited from the parents. The ALC has a broad geographic range. Found throughout Asia from India across to China and Russia down to the Philippines, the ALC lives in lowland tropical evergreen forests and dry coniferous forests in the foothills of the Himalayas. It also thrives on farmland and on coastal areas.
ALC coat colour is described as pale silvery grey or greyish brown in the northern range to darker ochre and brown in the south. The Pakistan sub species also tends to be very grey in tone. (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)
From this there is a phenotype argument that the ALC may carry the dilute gene but it is still a long way from being proved. To resolve the debate it will be necessary to do at least the following;
Track down as many ALCs in breeding programmes to ascertain if any F1 offspring were blue
Get as many ALCs genetically tested for the dilute gene as is feasible
Garner more phenotype data on ALC sub species from zoological gardens
Engage the assistance of genetic testing labs and geneticists
Work has already begun on several of the above and the findings will be available
in update articles to follow and on the Blue Bengal Group website (www.blue-
While all of the above is the author’s own opinion, it has been formed from many sources, the primary ones I have listed below:
1) Robinson 1976
2) The Wild Cats, Andrew KItchner
3) Wild Cats of the World, M & F Sunquist
4) IMAGINIQUE BENGAL CATS
5) IUCN Specialist Survival Commission.
6) Cat Survival Trust Web Site
7) RoyalBG Blue Knight, shown with permission of Jacky Bliss of Purebliss and Carol Hebden of Eriador
Written by Jim Turner of Kushiel Bengals
www.kushiel-
A proud member of The Blue Bengal Group
www.blue-