The Bengal cat is a breed of hybrid cat created from crossing of an Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) with domestic cats, especially the spotted Egyptian Mau. It is then usually bred with a breed that demonstrates a friendlier personality, because after breeding a domesticated cat with a wildcat, its friendly personality may not manifest in the kitten. The breed's name derives from the leopard cat's taxonomic name.
Bengals have varying appearances. Their coats range from spots, rosettes, arrowhead markings, to marbling.
The earliest mention of an Asian leopard cat / domestic cross was in 1889, when Harrison Weir wrote of them in Our Cats and All About Them.
Jean Mill of California is given credit for the modern Bengal breed. She made the first known deliberate cross of an Asian leopard cat with a domestic cat (a black California tomcat). Bengals as a breed did not really begin in earnest until much later.
In 1986, the breed was accepted as a "new breed" by The International Cat Association; Bengals gained TICA championship status in 1991. The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) accepted Bengal cats in 1997. Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) in 1999 accepted the breed into their registry. Also in 1999, Bengals were accepted into the Australian Cat Federation (ACF). The Cat Fanciers' Association accepted the Bengal in CFA's "Miscellaneous" in 2016, under the restrictions that "it must be F6 or later (6 generations removed from the Asian leopard cat or non-Bengal domestic cat ancestors)".
Source: Wikipedia