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- TROLLSPOTTING
LUNG PAO of CASAROCCA
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- TERMINOLOGY
FOR THE WHITED UNDERBODY PATTERN:
- 1)
Kitten
Whited (From
birth to about 5 months - I would say that perhaps 80% of Bengal
kittens being born today look cleanly whited. They are not to
be considered true "whiteds" because in 99% of the
cases, they do not remain white. Do not understand a kitten as
a true whited bengals, even if from two whited parents, if still
in the Kitten Whited stage of development. The kitten below changed
to a dark-hued underbellied adult!)
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- 2)
Juvenile
Whited
(From
circa 5 months to 2 years. (This is the time when we all have
thought - I'VE FINALLY GOT ONE! and we note how beautiful indeed
this aspect is on a beautifully rosetted and contrasted kitten
can be!... in 90% of the cases the whited mutes or dull or takes
on shades of the upper body colour)
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- 3)
Adult
Whited
(Cleanly
whited at least in the chest and down the legs, at least 2 years
of age). See the different types of Adult Whited in the patterns
described below: 1 - 5.
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- 4)
Adult
Whited Expression
(Traces
to evidence of the whited pattern, i.e. much lighter pigmented
area where white was as a Kitten and Juvenile)
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- Only
cats reaching the 2-year marker as whited cat be referred to
as "Whited Bengals". Once we have a base of Adult
Whited Bengals to work with, I feel certain that this aspect
will be fixed genetically for the future "Leopard Look"
of our breed.
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- A long-lasting nakedness in a kitten
is a good sign of the whited underbody pattern genotype.
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- CALCATTA
LAVALAMP of CASAROCCA
- "WHITED
EXPRESSION"
- the undertone is white but is suffused with colour - in this
case a light rufous brown.
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- black
NECKLACES
with
some BROWNING
OF THE COLLAR
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- SGCH
SUTERA HEART BREAKER aka"EDDIE"- EXTENDED WHITED PATTERN
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- CH
MILLWOOD FRENCH LACE - HOURGLASSED pattern (foto:
Kathy Ward)
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- AWAGATI
BROWN SUGAR of CASAROCCA
- a
frosted white domestic(?) pattern
- (author
of foto?) a LOCKETED
white
pattern (non-ALC, from domestic origin)
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- CASAROCCA
ARABIAN MOON - WHITE
TUMMY BENGAL with black rosettes and markings
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- WHITED
EXPRESSION:
when there is visual evidence of the whited underbody pattern
even though it is coloured-over with pigmentation from the upperbody
colour. Term first used before 2000.
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- HOURGLASSING
or HOURGLASSED: the browning of
the whited underbody pattern in the tummy area, creating a thin,
"hourglass" white pattern
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- EXTENDED
WHITED:
when the white goes to the tip of the tail underneath and up
on the sides of the tummy - usually seen in hot sorrels but yet
extremely rare in black-spotted whiteds. Important to say WHITED
and not WHITE because of the genetic distinciton between
the two. I'm not sure when exactly this was coined, but we had
long discussions about in on the genetics group last year. I
had been using it since my article, but do not think it was first
used there, being rather self-descriptive and obvious.
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- NECKLACES: the black striped
pattern from shoulder to shoulder across the chest (my goal with
the whited - to have crisp, black necklaces on a pure white background
on the chest/neck area). Not all bengals have this pattern, but
it is extant in the ALC and reallllly neat looking on our Bengals!
Used to describe ALC patterns for years.
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- BROWNING
OF COLLAR: this ususally occurs
even in our best whiteds, along with HOURGLASSING in that
the pigmentation of the upperbody extends across the area of
the necklaces.Term first used in my article in 2002
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- HOURGLASSING: this occurs even
in our best whiteds, along with BROWNING OF THE COLLAR in
that the pigmentation of the upperbody extends down onto the
tummy, creating a thin, "hourglass" white shape.
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- SPECTACLES: clean white around
the eyes - it gives a wonderful ALC look! Used to describe ALC
patterns for a number of years now.
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- ALC
UNDERBODY PATTERN (ALC WHITED) :
our objective: no hourglassing, no browning of the collar and
a grey or blue-grey undercoat to pristing white. Term first used
in my article in 2002. Kind of cumbersome, I know.. but then
there was no further confusion about "tummies" or "bellies"
or "undersides"...
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- DOMESTIC
WHITED:
A
term that I came up with to distinguish between the types of
whited showing up in our breeding programme since 2000. One type
of DOMESTIC WHITED can be seen in Anita Engebaken's Sokoke's
of Norway. This pattern, if genetically fixed with Bengal tummy-spotting
and rosetting, is just as valid, IMHO, in our quest for whited,
leopard-looking Bengals. This white has a white undercoat.
- Another
type of DOMESTIC WHITED is a white-tipped grey coat, as
seen in our AWAGATI BROWN SUGAR of Casarocca. This white
is only in the tips of the hairs and I feel sure it is genetically
the same as in Anita's Sokoke's.. I think that this term was
first used in my article in 2002, as I have no previous reference
of its use or coinage.
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- LOCKETS: white patches, spots
to entire areas of the cat in pure, pristine white with white
undercoat. Not accepted! LOCKETS, if in the whited area, will
supress tummy-spotting and necklaces. The pigmentation of LOCKETS
is also different in that it sharply contrasts with the surrounding
colour, having a clean edge as though the colour was grafted
in an implant. ALC whited usually has a subtle, if slight, blending
on the edge of the whited area. More on this could be said by
judges and other breeders who have more experience with it than
I.
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- A show-quality Bronze EGYPTIAN MAU - with a domestic
whited underbody pattern
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- WHITE
TUMMY: the most used term
for our objective, although it is odd because MOST whited Bengals
have an hourglass pattern on the tummy, so the "TUMMY"
is the least whited part of the pattern! Being historically the
first description used for this phenotype, it will be with us
probably forever. I personally use the term (ALC or DOMESTIC)
WHITED UNDERBODY PATTERN to use a description that seems more
specific to my goals.
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- ALC
white underbody pattern... the search
- © 2000 by Marc King - all rights
reserved, ALL IMAGES USED WITH PERMISSION
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- In a period
of extensive research before making purchases to start our Bengal
cattery in 2000, it became apparent that there was something
visually missing in achieving the true "leopard look"
in Bengals, i.e. the beautiful underbody pattern that was seen
in the ALC. Hundreds of hours were spent in researching, searching
for what had happened to this beautiful aspect of the ancestors
of the Bengal cat.
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- By ALC underbody
pattern I mean the true brilliant (almost blue-grey) "t-shirt"
whited (not light cream or pale beige / light brown colour) area
all under the body of the cats, as seen in most spotted felines,
from Cheetahs to Marbled Cats. This factor seemed to have completely
disappeared from SBT level cats, rarely resurfacing again. My
search then started in earnest to find out more about this phenomenon.
(pictured here above:SG CH Sutera Heart Breaker, a.k.a. Eddie)
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- The
Only Exceptions...
- At first
the only exceptions found were a number of F1 and F2 filial queens
and a very small handful of hot sorrel SBTs. But then a few others
caught my eye: F3s and SBTs that had varying degrees of true
whited underbody patterns. But they were rare. This fuelled a
personal vision to set this as our goal in breeding Bengals and
the quest began to put together a group of carefully-selected
cats that would assist in reaching this goal. Easily dreamt,
difficult to realise!
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- Whited
Belly??
- It became
apparent rather quickly that the term "whited belly"
was not used to mean the same thing in each case were it was
mentioned, nor were conclusive scientific evidence or precise
genetic patterns of inheritance available to study on the ALC
white underbody pattern.(illustrated at left: Millwood Butter
Brickle as a very whited kitten - as an adult her was no longer
whited) Indeed, the whited pattern seems to continue to avoid
nailing-down to a specific genetic behaviour. After numerous
hours speaking with breeders in America, Canada, Germany and
Sweden, it seems safe to say, however, that the ALC whited underbody
has behaved as an easily modified dominant gene complex. (it
seemed recessive because breeders who had this phenomena repeatedly
said "it just showed up". Since the first publishing
of this artilce, however, my assessment of this phenotype has
changed.) This would mean that a whited Bengal mated with another
whited Bengal would render all their offspring whited. This has
proven not to be the case in breeding results. The results I
have found of whited bred to true whited SBTs have not always
resulted in 100% true whited offspring. An example:
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- We have
with us here in Italy, for example, a long-desired young SBT
girl from one of the very few catteries in the world working
with whited to whited breeding. Both parents are whited and this
female was very white as kitten. Her kitten-age whited expression
is now, however, modified to a light tan. She only has hints
of pure white - a pattern I described below (in pattern No. 1).
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- Another
young female with us from at least 3 generations whited bred
to whited has, however, a pure T-shirt white underbody (pattern
No. 4 below). This would/could also indicate that the pooling
of these genes or groups of genes with ALC pattern modifiers
(reducing the effect of tabby gene modifiers on the white underbody
pattern), selecting according to phenotype, is possible. It would
also seem that there is the possibility to breed homozygous,
whited underbodied Bengals! My vision.
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- Because
so few breeders have had the fortune or privilege to have the
whited expressions or true white underbody patterned cats in
their breeding stock, there is very little previous experience
to refer to and work with. Those that I am in contact with that
have had some experience with whited underbody patterns emerging
in their breeding programmes usually said, "It just showed
up. I did not select for it." There is one cattery in particular,
however, that has been working exclusively on the whited expression
for more than a decade and it is from them that I learned to
most and am most grateful. (illustrated at left: Bundas Taro
Mystique of Casa Rocca)
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- ALC
Whited vs. Tabby Lockets
- An important
aspect of this particular white pattern in our domestic breed
of cat is its difference to the solid, crisply-contrasting white
of some of the tabby patterns, i.e. lockets. The ALC whited phenotype
displays a pure white area but with dark spots with its edges
blended softly (a softer edge) along the groundcolour of the
body, without hard, crisp separations of colour. There is also
a "tabby white chin" and body lockets in which a brilliant
white, spotless area may appear, both of which are not allowed
in our Bengals.
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- Hot
Sorrels and Marbles
- It is important
to say that for years only a small handful of hot sorrels have
demonstrated a clean white, extended ALC underbody pattern, and
that few of the other colours displayed this refinement up until
recently. Historically speaking the hot sorrels Millwood French
Lace, Sutera Labu
and Millwood
Midas Touch figure predominantly in whited pedigrees that
were found. I often thought to not introduce the hot sorrel colour
into our breeding foundation because of lack of contrasts in
their body patterns, but quickly determined by studying numerous
pedigrees that hot sorrels figure in the genotypes of most true
whited SBT Bengals of any colour. I do not understand the genetic
cocktail that made up all what we call Bengals, but it also became
obvious in this study that some of the most brilliantly whited
Bengals are/were also in the marbled patterns (Sutera Gentry,
Kingsmark Tantra, Rainforest Monkey Puzzle, Starbengal Banderas)
and that perhaps we have marbles to thank for the reintroduction
of this gene complex into some programmes.
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- Patterns
of the ALC Whited Underbody and Whited Expressions
- When the
white underbody pattern is extant, again here stressing the pure
white colour and not a lighter or creamy shade of the groundcolour,
there seem to be numerous modifiers from the genes introduced
in the creation of the Bengal that determine the extent of the
whited expression. It is important to note here that in all cases
of the ALC whited underbody pattern there are black to dark spots
in the light field of colour. If the spots are missing and the
underbody pattern pure white, it was considered by most breeders
as a locket inherited from the tabby. For my own personal understanding
of this underbody pattern, I created a few categories of the
modified ALC whited underbody pattern in the whited Bengals I
was able to gather information on:
- 1) The most
common lighter underbody pattern is what Carol Effinger referred
to me as "whited
expression"
(coined by Libbie Kerr), i.e. traces or influences of the true
white underbody pattern. This category is the reduction of the
original ALC white underbody pattern to a small portion of the
inside of the legs, a very small part of the chest, perhaps a
slight lightening of the groundcolour around the eyes and touches
of white in between the back legs, i.e. in the groin area. Cream
or light beige is often the predominant colour in the underbody.
Interestingly enough, the chin and jaws are often white. In this
category there is also often a thin strip of white on the belly,
connecting the chest area with the groin whited area. Sometimes
this strip reduces to just a lighter shade of the groundcolour
as the cat matures or disappears altogether. The collar area
across the chest, i.e. above the ribcage and below the chin,
is the same as the groundcolour of the back and head. This whited
expression is sometimes overlooked because of its lack of visibility
unless the cat is on its back with its legs stretched out. This
pattern is often the result of whited x non-whited mating. This
pattern can also be an extensive area of creamed or browned-over
cream, the results of modifiers muting an area of kitten-age
white.
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- 2) The next pattern "up the ALC ladder" would be
a noticeable increase of white in the chest area, widening up
into the neck, up into the face and extending down the inside
of the legs. The groin area of white is larger, with a clear
"hour glass" whited expression on the belly, connecting
the chest and groin whited areas. This pattern usually has a
distinct, sometimes wide "browned collar" across the
chest from the shoulders, where the black necklaces of the ALC
cross the white underbody pattern. In this type sometimes the
original black ALC necklace patterns are present but the necklaces
are usually brown. This whited pattern is usually only visible
when the cat is lying down or raising its paws to show the insides
of the legs.
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- 3) The next pattern group would be with pure white flowing
up through the face, on the cheeks, and around the eyes with
white or very light "spectacles", giving a distinct
impression of white when the cat looks at you. From the hourglass
whited belly, the pattern would extend up from the groin to near
the tip of the tail underneath, extending to cover the entire
inner legs (becoming very visible when viewed from behind) and
also extend further down the neck to the collar and necklaces,
if present. This pattern is very attractive in that the white
is easily seen when the cat is walking and playing.Good examples
of this type are Rosetta's Pawprint and Back To Basic STAR of
JSpots.
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- 4) The last group - and the rarest I've found in SBTs- is
basically the above whited pattern with the white on the belly
extending from ribcage to ribcage, i.e. fully visible from the
sides of the cat in a standing position, combined with a reduction
of the browned collar across the throat. I have only seen 3 or
4 Bengals at the SBT level that possessed this pattern, one of
which is an F4 now touring the United States and bedazzling judges
and onlookers alike!
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- 5) The ALC pattern. Wide brilliant white with jet black necklaces
and black spots without any trace of a browned collar. It is
also important to note that the pure ALC pattern is always accompanied
with pink pawpads and that we should perhaps reconsider the accepted
colours of pawpads when setting the ALC whited underbody pattern
as our goal in Bengals.
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- Extent of Underbody Pattern
- This may also be a bit far-fetched assumption, but the best
whited expressions of type No 4 - the wide, easily-seen-from-the-sides
of the cat pattern - I have found in non-hot sorrels were mostly
in 2 ALC lines so far - one particular line from ALC Taro and
one from ALC Phantom. The two widest, most spectacularly whited
SBTs I found in this on-going research were from the Phantom
line. There are also many whited from the Kabuki lines, predominantly
of the pattern types 2 - 3. In an attempt to combine the best
genetic basis for our foundation, we hoped and were very gratefully
able to procure some of these three lines.
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- A particular high-point in this search for more of the true
ALC whited patterned was discovering at the F3 level a single
Phantom filial queen (literally in looking up and at thousands
of Bengals) that has actually kept the exact ALC whited expression
with a rich rufous mahogany-orange groundcolour, black necklaces
and shaded rosettes and NO HINT of a browned collar. A complete
one-of-a-kind find, and, of course, we are now on the waiting
list for an F3 girl from this fabulously patterned Bengal!
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