Is my kitten a Bengal mix?

[Rockyyy.123]

Hi! We’ve recently got a kitten, he is now 3 and a half months old. The lady we got him off (her cat went out and got pregnant, so he is not off a breeder) doesn’t know who the kittens dad is, but the mum is a “domestic short hair” so we know he’s a mix. We’ve recently had people say our kitten looks like he could be from a bengal descent. He does have a fair few traits/characteristics. What do you guys think??

 

[cataholic07]

Hmm do you have more pics of his markings?

 

[Rockyyy.123]

I would post more but all the files are too big to upload I will try and post more tomorrow

 

[StefanZ]

Spots on belly do only confirms he is a tabby. Face is a typical tabby. The white around mouth, isnt no true white spot; its too a common feature in tabbies.

But some of the spots of sides do show spots... So he MAY have some distant bengal ancestry, but most probably, he is "just" a domestic shorthair, spotted tabby. Spotted tabby isnt not the most common among moggies, but it certainly does happens.

 

[furmonster mom]

Closer to Ocicat markings, imo

 

[GoldyCat]

I'm seeing more broken mackerel pattern than distinct spots. Not a pattern found in either Bengal or Ocicat.
I agree with the others, he's an adorable DSH with a brown tabby color/pattern.

 

[Falena]

His pattern is spotted, but its what happens when a classic tabby gets the spotted gene too! That's why if you joined his spots up, he'd have the bullseye. This pattern sometimes resembles rosettes, but it isn't. Cats and kittens with these two genes often get quetions about Bengal ancestry because the spotted/classic isn't so common. I have a cat with the same spotted/classic gene, she's a moggy but her father is a classic silver tabby (British shorthair) and her mother is a spotted domestic shorthair so she inherited both genes like your little one, she even gets questions about whether she has bengal in her because of her spots! She doesn't, and doesn't reseble a Bengal at all she just has an interesting coat pattern.
It's possible your kitten could have some distant bengal genes. But I'd call him a spotted tabby domestic shorthair.
He is beautiful nonetheless

 

[Falena]

I forgot to add the picture that shows how this pattern happens with the spotted modifier gene. Spots can vary in size and shape and sometimes resemble the markings of a Bengal. Many people think they may have a Bengal mix when they have a spotted tabby, especially the classic type as they can sometimes almost look like rosettes . The gene itself in the feral and domestic population may have come from Bengal though, who knows