• Breeders have often privately celebrated a Bengal's walk or head carriage reminiscent of that wild memory, but understanding and development of this important experiential aspect of such a breed has been limited by the times in many ways until recently.

• Scientific study and information about the Asian Leopard Cat ---let alone its movement--- and other wild cats has been sketchy at best. Now wildlife films, studies in the wild (yet to be published), and a number of captive ALCs and Foundation Cats around the country and world provide many sources of raw information.
  
   

• New veterinary techniques of genetic detection of health problems and improved husbandry attitudes of responsibility. With information and an openness between breeders, the elimination of compromised breeding stock is possible. Owner demands for healthier, longer lived, less costly pets (in time, vet dollars and emotional drain) suggest that awareness of how proper motion can contribute to better health. It can also indicate possible structural problems in the field. See articles on hip dysplasia, coe hocks, etc. in recent issues of the TICA Trend as an example.
  
   

• New technologies now encourage access: Becoming "must dos" for most breeders are the documentation, dissemination and discussion of movement using cheap and easy video, web, e-mail, air travel, and lots of shows and seminars.
  
   

• An exciting era of networking, exploration, creation and sharing have replaced the old "my line" secrecy in parts of the cat fancy as breeders discover that their world of breeding can and must expand into so many as yet uncharted areas, attitudes and markets.
  
   

• Breeders still chafe against attempts to nail down the Standard as demanded by the show circuit. Some would question the very format of breed standards that are based in and limited by the past. Before Bengals, a cat was a cat and standards were described in identical forms and words for all. In a computerized age, diversity is possible and in fact demanded by huge numbers of people seeking their own perfect pet cat. Breeders, using quite different models from which to develop their breeds and seeking very different avenues by which to judge their success, question a standard in which all breeds must be held to the same criteria and judged by the same techniques (active and lap; designer and barn cat; and conformationally unique and uniquely patterned.) They are beginning to question a standard that does not consider what is perhaps the second (after affectionate temperament, of course) most important experience of an active cat--- its movement.
  
   

• Conformation/pattern is again the focus as breeders struggle to define the Future Bengal--- but where is that awareness and inclusion of the original mystic of wild movement and balance? Where is the realization that conformation is not just an assemblage of parts and pieces to achieve a certain look, but rather the form that derives out of and promotes certain functions and movements.
  
   

• None of us currently know much about the dimension of feline movement and balance. Some of us have previous experience with movement and evaluation techniques in horses, dogs and other animals that we can draw on and share as we begin our observation, comparisons, questions and discoveries. See "Form Follows Function in Working Animals" for a beginning comparison of gross structures and functions.
  
   

Certainly many breeds have developed with more or less success using the old static model of structural imitation and genetic uniqueness. But consider the advantage to overall health and to breed recognition, definition and enjoyment by the application of the addition dimension of motion. This is not a dimension that is to be expected in our Standard over night, nor next week or even next year. But it is something that we should begin to understand and see. Its health implications can be put to immediate beneficial use in the evaluation of kittens and breeding stock. Conformational incompatibilities can be avoided. Breed profiles can be further distanced one from the other with the recognition of the importance of motion in active breeds. Shows and cat trials can provide more excitement and participation by audience, pet owners and breeders alike with the addition of prototype events at shows.

The bottom line to the inclusion of movement in the Bengal regalia (and many other cat breeds as well) is more satisfaction with our cats. Perhaps it is time to begin the study, train the eye, and launch the discussion of feline motion.

To see the movement of the Asian Leopard Cat, please click on Animated Asian Leopard Cats.