Bengal Cats

Junglebeat Bengals

Unplanned Parenthood

The Bengal began its journey toward becoming a recognized breed in 1963, when breeder Jean Mill of Covina, California, bought a female Leopard Cat from a pet store At that time. Leopard Cats—small, cat-sized wildcats native to Asia—could be purchased as pets throughout the U S (today these sales are illegal)

Mill enjoyed her unique pet, but became concerned her Leopard Cat was lonely For companionship, Mill placed a domestic male cat in her Leopard Cat's cage Expecting a platonic relationship, she was surprised, to say the least, when the 15- pound male and 8-pound Leopard Cat produced a litter in 1965 "It was all accidental at the beginning," says Mill "No one thought that Leopard Cats and domestics could mate "

Only one kitten from the litter survived, a female hybrid named Kin-Kin "The difference in the way the kitten developed was fascinating," she says For example, Kin-Kin ran circles around the litter of Himalayan kittens Mill had at the time Kin-Kin also showed the tendency to climb and pounce from above, much like the Leopard Cat does in its natural habitat "She was the live wire, full of energy, like a bullet shooting around the house The little Himalayans were kind of bewildered "

Mill contacted Comell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, N Y, for advice on how to handle the handsome hybrid, and was told that Kin-Kin was probably sterile. Low and behold, Kin-Kin grew up and promptly mated with her father The resulting two-kitten litter produced one all-black cat that displayed the wild Leopard Cat temperament, laying back its ears when Mill approached and refusing to let anyone near it The second, a spotted male, inherited its father's sweet disposition. "We could see instantly how the inheri- tance was being transmitted," says Mill. "There was a vast difference in temperament based on the genes inherited."

Giving the prospect much consideration, Mill decided to create this crossbreed as symbolic of the plight of the Leopard Cats, often killed illegally as adults for their coats and captured as cubs for American pet stores. Unsuspecting cat-lovers brought home Leopard Cats, assuming they would behave like domestic cats. They don't. In adulthood. Leopard Cats revert to their wild ways and become shy, apprehensive cats with unpleasant elimination habits. Unlike our tidy domestic pals, Leopard Cats don't take naturally to using litter boxes. Mill's goal was to provide an acceptable spotted substitute to the world's cat lovers, one that would make a good pet and still retain the beauty of its wild counterpart. She also thought the breed would further conservation causes by discouraging the purchase of fur coats that resembled beloved pets.

As a psychology student at the University of California at Davis in the mid-'40s, Mill studied cat genetics at a time when corn hybrids and cow breeding studies were the norm. The experience gave her part of the knowledge necessary to attempt her breed project. With additional help from experts at Cornell University, she began a "Leopardette" breeding program. The name "Bengal" was later adopted by The International Cat Association (TICA), in recognition of zookeeper William Engler, who bred Leopard Cats and domestics in 1970 and called the off- spring "Bengal." None of Engler's hybrid cats are known to exist today and aren't part of the current Bengal bloodline.