CFA BENGALS
BLACK SILVER TABBY COLOR
2016 -2019 CFA Bengal Standard for BLACK SILVER TABBY COLOR:
Ground color ranges from clear silver white to pewter gray. Markings are medium gray to jet black, with good contrast to ground color. Minimal to no warm tones present on face, back, and legs. Tarnish is undesirable. Color on chest and belly will be lighter than ground color. Area around eyes, temples, and muzzle are lighter than ground color. Skin pigment around eyes, and lips is black. NOSE LEATHER: Brick red to black. PAW PADS: black. EYE COLOR: Any color other than blue.
Black Silver Tabby - Homozygous (Can only produce Silvers)
Black Silver Tabby - Heterozygous (Can produce non- silvers)
Black Silver Tabby - Carries Non-Agouti (usually Darker to Black Markings - both examples here are also heterozygous)
Breed Council Change Considerations:
NOTE: Rose highlight indicates a "Strike-through" of wording in the Bengal Breed standard to be removed. Gold highlight indicates an "underline" which is new wording being proposed to add in to the Bengal Standard.
1. Change the description for “Black Silver Tabby” color as follows:
BLACK SILVER TABBY (Rosette/Spotted, Marble): Ground color ranges from clear silver white to pewter gray. Markings are medium gray to jet black, with good contrast to ground color. Minimal to no warm tones present on face, back, and legs. Tarnish at extremities is undesirable. Color on chest and belly will be lighter than ground color. Area around eyes, temples, and muzzle are lighter than ground color. Skin pigment around eyes, and lips is black. Nose leather: Brick red, or to black. Paw pads: Black. Eye Color: Gold to green. Any color other than blue. Tail tip: Black.
RATIONALE: This shortens the current version and is very similar to the 2018 proposed version that 2 larger portions of the Breed Council have already either voted for “yes” for it in 2018 or agreed to this change in 2017. It adds in Eye Color and rearranged Tail Tip positioning to be consistent with other Bengal color descriptions. It also doesn’t penalize Silvers with the gold wash of color over their entire body in a similar way that the current standard does as this is not considered a negative with some breeders
FINAL VERSION:
BLACK SILVER TABBY (Rosette/Spotted, Marble): Ground color ranges from clear silver white to pewter gray. Markings are medium gray to jet black. Tarnish at points is undesirable. Skin pigment around the eyes and lips is black. Nose leather: Brick red to black. Paw pads: Black. Eye color: Gold to green. Tail tip: Black.
Obstacle:
A. 49% voted for for most of this wording in 2018, and another large group agreed in 2017 to it.
B. We have been asked to shorten our standard so that it is simplified and easier to remember for judges.
B. Allows for the gold color wash on a silver that can be beautiful (current standard leaved body sides out of tarnishing) as tarnishing is mostly understood to be the the points on a Bengal - feet, face and tail.
PROPOSAL #47 ON THE 2019 BALLOT. Results: 32 Yes, 37 No - 69 voters need 42 "yes" votes to pass.
Breed Council Change Considerations for 2019 that did not get on the Ballot:
A. Use the same "Silver" color descriptions as with most other CFA Breeds.
Proposed:
Ground color, including lips and chin, pale clear silver. Markings dense black. NOSE LEATHER: Brick red to Black. PAW PADS: Dark brown to black with allowances for other colors. EYE COLOR: Green to Gold. TAIL TIP: Black.
Rationale:
A. Uses the Silver Tabby descriptions for the American Bobtail, American Curl, American Shorthair, British Shorthair, Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, La Perm, Main Coone, Manx, Norwegian Forest Cat, Oriental, Persian, Ragamuffin, Scottish Fold, Selkirk Rex, Siberian, Turkish Angora,
Obstacle:
A. Bengals that do not carry "Non-Agouti/Solid/Melanistic" usually do not have black rings to their rosettes - they are usually more medium silver as our current standard describes.
B. We could use the current CFA color description with the following changes highlighted:
Ground color, including lips and chin, pale clear silver. Markings medium Silver to dense black. NOSE LEATHER: Brick red to Black. PAW PADS: Dark brown to black with allowances for other colors. EYE COLOR: Green to Gold. TAIL TIP: Black.
C. We haven't addressed the gold tone over wash to some silvers as well as tarnishing on the points that most silver bengals that breeders are trying to move away from.
D. Do we really need to address tarnishing in the Bengal Standard? It seems that most tarnishing comes from a Silver to Brown(Red) mating. Silver to Silver removes most all tarnishing capabilities. Should we penalize some heterozygous Silver Bengals for having some tarnish when it can be removed in most any generation or genetic background by breeding that cat to the Silver?
LEAVING OFF THE BALLOT FOR 2019 AS MORE DISCUSSION IS NEEDED BEFORE WE WILL HAVE A 60% MAJORITY TO CHANGE THE SILVER COLOR DESCRIPTION FROM THE CURRENT ONE AND THIS VERSION DOES NOT REALLY DESCRIBE SOME OF THE ASPECTS IMPORANT TO ALL SILVER BENGALS.
B. Accept the proposed 2018 version:
CFA Bengal 2018 proposed standard for BLACK SILVER TABBY:
Ground color ranges from clear silver white to pewter gray. Markings are medium gray to jet black. Tarnish is undesirable. Skin pigment around the eyes and lips is black. Black tail tip. NOSE LEATHER: brick to black. PAW PADS: black.
Rationale:
A. 49% voted for this wording in 2018, and another large group agreed in 2017 to it.
B. We have been asked to shorten our standard so that it is simplified and easier to remember for judges.
C. Some breeders like the warm tones of color that are evenly dispersed throughout the cats coloring which IS different than tarnishing which comes in as reds on the "points/edges".
CURRENTLY NOT ON THE PROPOSAL IN FAVOR OF QUESTION IMMEDIATELY BELOW WHICH FIXES 2 FORMAT ISSUES AND CLARIFIES OUR DESCRIPTION OF TARNISH.