If you encounter them by chance in a yard or in the garden unexpectedly, it may give you the thrill of witnessing jaguar or leopard cubs. But they are not what you might suppose them to be. They are just cats with spotted fur. They are Bengal cats, which are a very popular breed among pet lovers in Kerala today. The Bengal cat is a breed of hybrid cat created from a cross between the Asian leopard cat and domestic cats.

Around the beginning of the 2000s, Bengal cats began to attract the attention of the country's pet market. Niyas Rasak, from Aranmula Vallana Kaattanayat in Pathanamthitta district, who has made cat breeding a business, says that the demand for Bengal cats has increased manifold in Kerala over the past 4-5 years.

Niyas and his son Mohammed Bilal with a Bengal cat. Photo: Karshakasree
Niyas and his son Mohammed Bilal with a Bengal cat. Photo: Karshakasree
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Niyas says Bengal cats are intelligent and form strong bonds with their owners. They have a playful nature and are not confined to one place. This energy and enthusiasm are the aspects, which attract pet lovers to them.

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The cats prefer meat and are often classified on the basis of their fur pattern, such as rosette, spotted, and cloud and on colours like brown, silver, and charcoal.
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