Longhair (Cashmere) Bengals, where do they come from?

The Longhair Bengal (Cashmere) is exactly that, a bengal with long hair!  Bengals originally developed from crossing the wild cat/s (Asian Leopard Cat, Margay, Ocelot) with domestic cats to create a spotted wild pattern domestic breed. 

When you introduce a hybrid the offspring of that joining will carry genes from both parents forward onto the next generation like spotted patterning and even longhair. Some genes are what we can visually see as attributes called phenotype.  Like spots, you can see the generations of spotted cats come through from those original wild cats, but some genetics genotype while present from a great-grand parent may sit in the "background" of their genetics unseen for generations and without DNA testing we don't see the fact that the gene is there by their "looks" (phenotype). 

This is what has happened with the longhair gene in Bengals, the gene has been sitting there in the background of the cats genetics for many generations but only will the phenotype of a longhair appearance arise when it matches up with another longhair gene in the offspring.  What that means, if you want to have a Longhair (Cashmere) Bengal they require 2 copies of the longhair gene to be present from both sides of their ancestors. This is called a double recessive trait.

So while we might not be seeing many longhair Bengals that doesn't mean they aren't carrying the gene that enables them to produce longhair, it just means that 2 copies of that gene haven't matched up together in the same offspring.  This means that breeders may unknowingly have longhair recessive cats in heir programs. 

DNA testing for the Longhair gene

These days with genetic DNA testing it has given breeders a "window" view to what genetics our cats carry and we are now able to DNA test for longhair genes and so we are able to track the lines that carry (Cashmere) Longhair Bengals.  This means when it comes to breeding and selecting pairings we are able to decide to or not to have the chance of creating longhair bengals.  So breeders who don't want to breed them can select cats that are tested N/N.

Here at Adelhills we have had four (Cashmere) Longhair Bengals born since 2015, so with knowing that, I have DNA tested for the longhair gene in all our lines to better track which cats carry the genes to produce Longhair Bengals for us here at Adelhills.

The gene we're testing for is any of the the following M1/M2/M3/M4 as they are all longhair genes.  The majority of Bengals that have the longhair gene carry the M4 gene.  If you review our cats profiles you will find those that are M4/N (which means they have one copy of the longhair gene, so that makes them a shorthair Bengal carrying the ability to have a longhair offspring if mated to another longhair carrier).

When you breed a carrier M4/N x M4/N you will likely get the following break down of coat/genetic types in the litter:

50% Carriers M4/N

25% ONLY shorthair N/N 

25% Longhair (Cashmere) Bengals M4/M4 

This means that having a cashmere kitten born even from carrier parents is rare and only has a 25% chance of happening.  This is why breeders before DNA testing might claim they didn't have longhair genetics in there cats becasue even when you breed two carriers together you may get zero longhair kittens.

Here at Adelhills we've proven that percentages don't always follow the genetic likelihoods and if we didn't have DNA proof that our cats were carrying the gene we might have assumed they didn't.  From 2022-2023 we've bred 18 kittens from parents who are DNA tested and both carry the longhair gene and we've had NO longhair kittens eventuate.  So before DNA testing many breeders would have had to assume these cats didn't carry and were shorthair only lines.  This is how the longhair gene has perpetuated through the generations even with breeders who didn't want the gene as they just didn't know it was still present and moving down in the generations. There's an old saying by breeders pre DNA testing "recessives are forever" because even when you watched your phenotype to try and guide your decisions some cats still carried the recessives without us knowing.

In 2024 we were successful and had two Longhair kittens born.

Cashmere Kittens

Since 2022 we have been purposefully breeding our Longhair carrying cats together to protect this variety and their genetics that have been carried forward in the breed since the beginning of the Bengal Cats breed development. As we find value in the ability to have the fantastic bengal traits along with the joy of the semi-longhair coat. This is a personal opinion for us but because it is a naturally occurring gene in the bengal breed since the beginning we would like to see it be acknowledged and celebrated rather than shunned and hidden.

We will keep working towards our goals with the Longhair Bengals but availability will be limited for kittens being available while we proceed with the development of the lines in our program. Depending on what arrives in the near future we will likely need to retain any Longhair (Cashmere) kittens to help perpetuate the future in our program and to include in our show team for exposure to the feline show community.  Families wanting to show their Longhair Bengals (Cashmeres) will be preferred at this time.

6wk old Longhair Bengal kittens

Because they are hard to come by we have priced the Longhair Bengal (Cashmere) kittens based on their rarity and the fact that we are the only breeder as of 2022 in Australia focused on perpetuating the longhair (Cashmeres) currently with breeding pairs. In 2024 we were able to inspire other Bengal breeders to embrace the Longhair heritage within the breed and there are now breeders who are looking to develop longhair lines in NSW, TAS, VIC and ourselves here in SA.  The costs to import and develop the Longhair Bengals is as such that they are priced adoringly.

If a Longhair (Cashmere) Bengal kitten is available, we are accepting applications without booking fees atm and will notify any interested families when a kitten is available but we are not accepting paid bookings until we know we have an available kitten to assign to a client at this stage. 

If you have your heart set on a Cashmere then you'll need to be prepared for the possibility of a long wait and once achieved a cost of $5000+gst for desexed kittens due to their rarity and the expense in developing them.

 

These are the same two kittens as pictured in the above collage (now at 4mo of age), this shows the development of their pattern and coat.

Misguided Opinions

Recently we have seen young breeders posting false statements and unfounded concerns about the Longhair Bengals (Cashmere).  While we respect any individuals personal opinion as to their like or dislike of longhair vs shorthair cats we would like to ensure accurate statements only are made and perpetuated.

Longhair (Cashmere) Bengals are not a new idea, nor are they new to the bengal breed.  They have been present from the very beginning of the breed development as we noted under the genetics section, the genes from the domestic cats used originally to produce the hybrid F1 Bengals (Asian Leopard Cat x Domestic Cat) had the longhair genes in those domestic cats used and those genetics have perpetuated from the beginning. 

Many breeders selected for only shorthair kittens however back in that era there was no DNA testing available for the Longhair gene so while breeders attempted to asses the phenotype of the kitten (how it looked) to keep their best quality kittens for breeding that were shorthair they were unable to determine in many cases if that kitten carried one copy of the longhair gene.  So for many years while only the shorthair Bengals were celebrated and bred forward, the kittens that arrived that were longhair were quietly placed by these breeders as pets because at the time they didn't want it known that their shorthair bengals were producing longhair kittens. For this reason there is very little documented history on the first longhair bengals as they were not valued.

That brings us to another suggestion that the longhair recessive gene could "ruin" the bengals coat texture. If this was truly accurate then back in the era of not wanting longhair genes the breeders would have been able to feel the texture of their kittens coats and determine based on the phenotype that a kitten carried the longhair gene and they could have eradicated the variety.  But as we now know it does not always effect the texture of the coat of shorthair cats carrying.  So while some carriers may feel different not all can or will.

Further I have been testing and researching my own longhair and shorthair bengals for many years and I have on several occasions thought based on a phenotype a kitten surely carried the longhair gene only to be disappointed and have the DNA come back and show they in fact were N/N and didn't carry longhair and vice versa some of my cats who I would have never thought with their short tight coat could have the gene were in fact carriers.  This doesn't mean that always a breeders assessment is inaccurate but it does prove that while the texture can be softer in the shorthair cats that carry the longhair gene, they can also have a very normal texture and you wouldn't even know they actually were longhair carriers.  Which is exactly what happened in the early days of the bengal breed development as they could not, without DNA verification, keep the longhair gene out of the Bengal breed. 

Photo: Adelhills Flames Zuri 2015

Known Longhair Bengal recessive genes to arrive in Australia up to 2023

I have been breeding and showing Bengals since 2009 and my first shorthair bengal that carried the longhair gene was Magesticpride Golden Formula DOB: 20-JAN-2010 and imported from Canada.  I was unaware that he carried the longhair gene until 2015!  That's 5yrs of breeding and generations moving forward without even knowing his kittens all had a 50% chance of being N/M4 carrying the longhair gene.  This cat is the sire of BDGCH Adelhills Golden Light who is also a longhair carrier.

My next cat who was a longhair carrier was Afrikatte Sansas Flame DOB: 1-Sept-2013 and out of a sire Zawadi Max-FX imported from Europe who passed on his M4 longhair gene.  This line has progressed forward and continues with the longhair recessive gene in our queen Adelhills Pop Culture.

In 2013 another breeder, who has since retired, imported a cat from the USA; Rainforest Taro Hunter DOB: 19-Aug-2012 who also carried the Longhair gene and in 2018 she produced longhair (cashmere) bengals. This line is behind our queen Adelhills Jungle Prisms.

There is a fourth known longhair recessive bloodline that we also have here in Australia through Icene Wolverine, and there is speculation that this may have entered the genetic pool via his mother Kungsgardencats Lone Wolf imported from Sweden, however there is a possibility the gene came from the father's side Bundu Cassanova who is from two USA imports Anjali Charlie and Junglewhisper Namaqua.  Because there has been no DNA testing for the longhair gene done on the parents of Iceni Wolverine it is unknown at this stage whether the longhair gene came from USA lines or Sweden lines. We have Metanoia Tank from this bloodline.

Since 2023 there have been other breeders inspired to focus their efforts and investment into the longhair Bengals with more overseas bloodlines unrelated to the previous lines. As of 2025 there is a number of new longhair bengal lines to arrive and be helping further the longhair bengal breed.

Coat Type

The Cashmere Longhair Bengal is considered a "semi-longhair" cat and still retains the "Allergy friendly" coat due the the low level presences of the Fel d 1 allergen in the genetic make-up of the Bengal breed coming down from their wild ancestors.  While they are a semi-longhair cat they are still considered low allergen in regards to other domestic breeds.  To me this is vitally important as the reason I was first introduced to Bengals was because my husband was allergic to cats and he ended up not being allergic to bengals.  

Having grown up as a child in my grandmothers household, there were always longhair Persians and so the ability to have a longhair cat again in my life that had the attributes I love of the bengal personality and the allergy friendly coat is special to me and I'm sure to other longhair lovers who also have allergies or family with cat allergies. 

Remember though, they do require a weekly brush of their coat and notably maintaining their sanitary areas and under arms to ensure matting doesn't occur.

So if you prefer a low maintenance cat, stick with their shorthair Bengal version as your longhair cats do require extra care to keep their coats mat-free and flowing.

Their coat is also more noticeable with loss of hair in the seasonal shedding as it's longer! So remember more hair on them equals more hair on you!

The texture of a Cashmere is luxurious, like the texture of Angora Cashmere, which is why they have gotten the term "Cashmere".

Breed Recognition

The Longhair Bengal is recognized in the USA, Canada, New Zealand (Cashmere) and Europe.  Australia is one of the last countries yet to recognize them.  There has been previous applications presented to CCCA governing body through the state club FASA back in 2018 that failed as it was likely too early in submission as TICA had only just accepted them the year before.   Currently there is a successful application in 2024 application through NSWCFA which is again with the CCCA registry which was approved and accepted.  We wish those individuals efforts our best wishes in seeing the Longhair bengal recognized under the CCCA nationally in the near future.  

However as we are an ACF affiliated breeder we have submitted our application through GCCFSA in 2025 as our state body and to the ACF national registry as that is our main registering body planned for 2026 ACF national judges guild.  We have already been through this process with our submission of the Blue bengal colour which was approved and so we are familiar with the requirements and likelihood of another successful submission.  As with all things we believe in taking our time with a thoughtful well presented submission to the ACF to ensure that what we are presenting examples that will be of excellent quality and represent the Longhair Bengal and Adelhills Bengal breeding program and reputation with the best example we can. We believable that anything worth doing is worth taking our time to do it well.

The Longhair bengal was accepted in 2017 by TICA who is listed as the originating body of registration of the bengal breed, it has also been recognised by CFA in 2018 with AOV coat type added to the Bengal standard and in New Zealand under the breed name Cashmere since 2013.   We have high expectations that the Longhair Bengal will also be accepted once presented for ACF.

Here is the TICA Breed Standard regarding the longhair bengal coat (as this is the only difference between the Bengal and Longhair Bengal breed show standards):

BGL Coat Length: The coat should be medium to long in length lying close

to the body, with furnishings. Allowance for slightly shorter coat in kittens.

BGL Tail: Medium length, thick, tapered at the end with a rounded tip.

The tail hair should be long and voluminous. Allowance for shorter tail hair

in kittens.

BGL Legs: Medium length, slightly longer in the back than in the front.

Britches should be medium to short Toe hair is acceptable.

BGL Head Shape: Broad modified wedge with rounded contours. Longer

than it is wide. Slightly small in proportion to body, but not to be taken to

extreme. The skull behind the ears makes a gentle curve and flows into

the neck. Allowance to be made for jowls in adult males. Feathering

behind the ears and into ruff, giving a frontal effect of roundness framing

the head is desirable. A mane is acceptable but not required. Overall look

of the head should be as distinct from the domestic cat as possible.

BGL Ears: Medium to small, relatively short, with wide base and

rounded tops. Set as much on side as top of head, following the contour

of the face in the front view, and pointing forward in the profile view.

Horizontal furnishings are acceptable. Lynx tipping is permissible.

 

Here is the CFA Breed Standard AOV regarding the longhair bengal coat (as this is the only difference between the Bengal and Longhair Bengal breed show standards):

The Longhair Bengal can come in any described color/pattern combination. Coat is semi long

haired, with a fine texture, and luxurious, not cottony or wooly. The coat should create an all

over harmonious impression with the longer parts flowing gently into the shorter ones. Long

hair sticking out on any part of the body is undesirable. Coat shall lay close to the body. Silky

coat and satin glitter are desirable, but not required. Pattern shall be clearly visible, with a

horizontal flow to its alignment. Hair around head and neck may be slightly longer. A

slightly fuller coat on the back of neck is accepted, but not required. A corona of hair around

the head, extremely thick, full coat on back of neck, or a ruff, is undesirable. Ears shall not be

tufted, but slight ear tips are allowed. Strong ear tufts, spoiling the rounded impression of the

ear are not desirable. Tail shall be slightly longer haired creating a plumed impression.