The early generation Bengals are commonly known as the Filial Bengals. You will see the term F1, F2, and F3 used. The "F" does no stand for "Foundation" as the Leopard Cat is the "Foundation" of the Bengal cat breed, not other Bengal cats. The "F" stands for Filial meaning generation from. F1 (Filial 1) means 1 generation from something, F2 means 2 generations from something, F3 means 3 generation from something, etc.. In the case of the Bengal breed, the term is use to show generations from the  Leopard Cat (the foundation cat).
     It is unfortunate that many breeders with little or no practical experience offer inaccurate information, advice, and opinions as to the breeding, temperament and care of early generation Bengals. This is why we are part of the Filial Bengal Cat Consultants (FBCC). The FBCC is a group of dedicated breeders who specialize in the breeding and care of early generation Bengals and have first hand knowledge and offered to share their expertise.
     Some of the early Bengals misinformation was rooted in early Bengal breeders in the past not understanding the importance of early socialization and the hand raising of their kittens. They were breed purely for profit in barns with little exposure to humans. This is why many of the early Bengal kittens or cats of any generation were reclusive,  distant, and did not display domestic personality traits or habits.  The importance of early socialization is now more widely understood but unfortunately still not practiced, except at  Bamboo Cattery.
    We must always remember that the early generation Bengals were the first and true Bengal cats. In fact the Bengal cat legal trade mark states that a Bengal cat is a cross between a Leopard cat and a domestic cat. It is documented that the first Bengal cats that were first recognized as Bengal cats were F1's and their offspring. In fact an F2 Bengal cat known as Millwood Penny Ante who was the reason that the Bengal cat was first recognized as a breed. This was long before the later generation Bengals were even produced. The argument could be made that the true Bengal is the F1, because of the males being found infertile, all the following generations have been diluted down.
    Unfortunately, there are some people are trying to steal the name 'Bengal' and to limit it's use to the 4th or even 5th generation Bengals or later, this is dividing the breed and putting the breed in jeopardy of much legislation. The domestic Bengal breed starts with the first and subsequent generations from a  Leopard Cat crossed with a domestic cat. They were registered with TICA for 11 years and continue being registered with the International Progressive Cat Breeders' Alliance (IPCBA) as domestic Bengal cats (felis catus) with all the other domestic cat breeds that they register and show.
  We feel that the future of the breed still relies on breeding the best quality Bengals to new healthy Leopard Cat bloodlines, producing the best and healthiest domestic Bengals so far.
    All generations of Bengal cats are still shown in IPCBA because they hold the breeder and owners responsible, not the cats for not being socialized properly. Properly Socialized like at Bamboo, early and later generation Bengal cats, make wonderful loving well behaved pets and most times they are even more loving and affectionate then any other domestic cat breed. Please see our Testimonial page!
    Bamboo has worked with 51 lines of Leopard Cats in their Bengal cat breeding program to date, more than any other cattery in history. We have personally owned over 40 individual Leopard Cats in our Leopard Cat Foundation® and have never found one to be aggressive toward people or other animals because they have wonderful temperaments and an instinct to flee when they feel threatened. In fact the Leopard Cat 's non-aggressive nature is much nicer than the typical domestic cats nature. They pair and bond with their mates for life, work to raise their young together, and even sacrifice their own well being for their mate or their young.

Bamboo's Early Generation Bengal Queens

	F1 Bamboo Silhouette (ZaRu LC) (60%) Outstanding Proven Breeder $2500.00
	F1 Bamboo Shinju (Silver ZaRu LC)  Outstanding Proven Breeder $2500.00

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