I would say he is melanistic or the melanistic "brown". There are actually melanistics of all colors. Your brown melanistic is simply that, a melanistic. The silver melanistic is silver smoke, and the snow melanistic is solid snows. I think we will now see melanistics slowly being breed out being their is a genetic test to test for charcoal. Most breeders were breeding melanistics to have charcoal kittens, now that their is the DNA test I would assume breeders will pair two charcoal carriers to get charcoal, rather than a Mel. and a regular color. I myself LOVE silver smokes so maybe a select few of breeders will continue to breed melanistics.

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https://imageshack.com/i/nc7j4aj

here is my Melanistic Bengal smokey he is 18 months old

He's gorgeous!

Smokey is indeed a "smoke" as that is the correct term for his colouration.

A smoke is genetically a black cat with the dominant inhibitor gene.
He is a solid black cat, (he carries two copies of the non agouti gene, aa) but his undercoat is white, which is the effect of the inhibitor (silver) gene, so he is I-.
Some call this a silver smoke, but all smokes are silver so there is no need to say silver at all.

Didn't see this topic in the past, but will chip in as I have both a melanistic and a smoke, though they're still only 5 months old so don't have their 'final' coats yet.

I suppose my melanistic does sort of look like a black cat, unless she's in the right light. The body shape and the way that she moves give her away before her markings would. You can usually see her striped legs, but the stripes and spots on her sides only really come out when the sun is on her for contrast. Pics attached. And some with the smoke as comparison, who's markings are a lot more obvious!

the one in the top pic look ace the person i got min off said he is split for blue does anyone know what that means

he was an ex breeding cat i got him last week his cats were well looked after but he was breeding him with savannah cats other bengals don't know what he was trying to make lol

Hi, I came across this board today as id seen a Melanistic black Bengal for sale and had never heard of a Melanistic one before... I was bought a black cat before Christmas, now ive had cats all my life but she has the most energy iver ever seen in a cat before... she is into everything and has taken awhile to get the hang of her as shes soooo different... in a certain light she looks solid black but in the light she looks brownish red with tabby stripes and patterns through her... Ive thought she may have Bengal in her as her energy levels are so high... I just wondered if theirs a way of telling is she is or isn't...she is slender in face and body and her fur is like velvet... any advice would be great thank you xx

There is no way to tell for sure whether your kitty is a bengal or not without papers or a DNA test. Bengals have rosettes or marbling -- nothing else. There are stripes like a tabby on the legs. There is a huge difference between a regular black cat and a melanistic bengal. The pattern can be seen in a melanistic bengal. If you purchased your kitty from a reputable breeder, you would have been able to see the parent(s) of the kitty. It appears to me this could not be a true bengal. Melanistic bengals can be registered with The International Cat Association and reputable breeders would have given you papers.

Thank you for your reply.... all i no of her last home was she was bought and they rehomed her because they couldnt cope with her behaviour... ive had cats/moggies all my life but shes been a learning curve for me for sure..... i would love her even if she is a normal moggie, i just hadnt heard of this typs of bengal and her behaviour is definatly bengal.... shes about 11 months old now , i was more curious than anything.... thank you tho the info is very helpful x

I think even when people research the bengal breed, they are not prepared for what a bengal brings to the table. At least I wasn't! I knew they were vocal cats, but I didn't realize that meant a loud howling cry all the time. They are energetic but I didn't realize that meant they run around the house at top speed, jump up on the cat tree going 100 mph, jumping down at the same speed and just whizzing by you like a blur! Bengals are nothing like your regular cats and I can't stress that enough! This is why so many bengals are rehomed. Owners simply are not prepared and do want to invest the time and effort it takes in having a bengal. If I had it to do all over again, I would not have a bengal. I love mine with all my heart, but he is a handful most of the time and I just don't have the stamina to keep up with him.

I agree ... This is why i thought she might have bengal in her as she has an enless surply of energy.... ive never had a cat with these energy levels before ... i think because i wasnt expecting it , it kinda took me by surprise.... im use to it now ... shes very much hard work more than a moggie but i do love her personality where shes not bothered by anything....i do think yo have to be a certain typee of person to have a cat with such energy levels.... i do think thats why her last owners rehomed her as they couldnt cope.... i have no intention of giving her up.... she will now stay as shes already part of our family....xxxx

Just enjoy her for the kitty she is! It's difficult to keep up with a high-energy kitty cat!