The History of the Bengal

The Bengal breed was born of a cross between the Asian Leopard Cat (ALC), a wild cat found throughout India, southern China, and the surrounding islands, and the domestic shorthair cat.  the first successful crossing was initiated by Jean (Sugden) Mill in the early 60's, then the project was put on hold until the early 80's for personal reasons.  The effort was then re-taken up by her and others in the early 80's, and perfected in the years after.  In 1992, the breed, now known as the Bengal Cat (from the ALC's Latin name, felis bengalensis) became the world's first cat with wild blood to be accepted by TICS, the largest cat registry in the world. ACFA soon followed suit. With Jean's selfless trips to Toronto, Düsseldorf and Paris, she instantly generated a windfall of excitement over this magnificent breed which of course, quickly grew...(One of her first offspring, Penny Ante, was a great, even-tempered ambassador for the breed and traveled worldwide with Jean!)

 (Jean Mill (left) in Portland, Oregon 2006)

There were many reasons for the initial crossing of these two types of cat, and among the most important were the preservation of as much of the Asian Leopard Cats' beautiful pattern as possible in a household pet, and the study of the Asian Leopard Cats' natural resistance to the FeLV virus.  It was originally thought that in crossing the ALC with the domestic shorthair, the FelV resistance could be passed on to domestics. This never proved to have any positive results. Also, Jean Mill states in her book, Guide To Owning A Bengal Cat, that "the sleek, soft coat (of the Bengal) seems to hold many fewer allergens" than that of a regular cat.  This is due to the "pelt" quality of their hair resulting from the crossing with the ALC. Many allergy-sensitive people, would agree, although no breed of cat has ever been proven non-allergenic.  In addition, their personalities are charming, with their active and playful ways, their love of heights, high intelligence, athletic, glittered pelt, finger-like claw, wild sounding meow and their affinity for water.

The following is a brief explanation on the Bengal Breed.  These are common terms among Bengal breeders and enthusiasts.