Fuzzing
Fuzzing (fuzzy – “frizzy", “indistinct") is a feature inherited by Bengal cats from wild ancestors - ALC or in another way Asian Leopard Cats. Surely, little leopards, beginning to perceive the world around, needed protection to survive in the jungle. And what can protect them if not a “disguising” coloring?
Fuzzing is a process that almost all Bengal kittens at the age from 1 to 4 months go through. Bengal kitten is finally cleared of fuzzing by about 8 months. And sometimes this change completely ends by 1.5 years. The kittens are covered with grayish or whitish pale strands of fur sticking out in different directions. If the fuzzing is not very strong, then the kitten's pattern looks slightly shaded and indistinct. In the case of strong fuzzing, it is almost impossible to see the pattern on the fur coat.
- Depending on the belonging to a particular tribal line, the phase of fuzzing has its own characteristics:
- The F1 and F2 first generation Bengals have defined and longer fuzzing.
- In the lines of Bengal cats laid on a mix with the American Shorthair, Siamese, Burmese and Abyssinian cats, fuzzing is almost absent.
- Kittens with glitter go through fuzzing faster than their brothers and sisters, whose wool has no shine.
- Bengal kittens have sometimes disguising down hair right away at birth, the beauty of their color is difficult to discern, and it is determined only by the undercoat, but these kittens leave the phase of fuzzing earlier than those, who entered into the phase at the age of 1-1.5 months.
You can see an example of fuzzing on the photos of the same kitten presented below (!)
ONE WEEK OLD
ONE MONTHS
2.5 MONTHS
4 MONTHS
6 MONTHS
18 MONTHS