In 1963, Jean Mills, deliberately crossed Asian Leopard Cats with domestic cats for several important reasons. At that time, wild cats were being exploited for the fur market. Nursing female Asian Leopard Cats defending their nests were shot for their pelts, and the cubs were shipped off to pet stores worldwide. Unsuspecting cat lovers bought them, unaware of the danger, their unpleasant elimination habits and the unsuitability of keeping wild cats as pets.

Most of the wild kittens from this era ended up in zoos or escaped onto city streets. She hoped that by putting a wild coat on a domestic cat, the pet trade could be safely satisfied. If fashionable women could be dissuaded from wearing furs that looked like friends pets, the diminished demand would result in less poaching of wild species.

The Bengal breed originated as a human-made hybrid of the Asian Leopard Cat and the domestic cat. The Leopard Cat, (Felis Bengalensis), is a domestic-cat-sized inhabitant of Southern Asia and is thought to be one of the closest of the modern undomesticated cat species to the ancient common ancestor of the cat family.

The Leopard Cat looks very much like a domestic cat, other than the larger, snapping eyes, pronounced whisker pads, longer legs and brilliant Leopard markings. It looks, in fact, like a miniature Leopard.

By breeding several generations down, the domestic Bengal is indeed a domestic cat that will give you years of entertainment and love. They eat the same as any other domestic cat and receive the same shots. They are very playful, energetic and curious as well. They are a domestic cat with an exotic look that will capture your heart forever.

Well-bred Bengals are affectionate, purr enthusiastically and are excedingly intelligent, a trait probably inherited from the wild cat's natural selection for jungle survival. They use the litterbox, like to climb and run, and are quick and curious about everything. Bengals love to retrieve, learn parlor tricks and love water, sometimes coming right into the tub to play with human toes.

Bengals are a domestic cat with an exotic look. They are affectionate, loving kitties just like any other domestic cat. They will follow you around, bug you when you read the paper, explore the grocery bags when you bring them in and cuddle with you at night when you sleep. They are very energetic, playful kitties that will steal your heart immediately.

We check and screen our cats for potential hereditary problems. One of these is HCM, which is a heart disease. It is something that can come up in later years; however, the results of our on-going screenings will be up and on this page very soon as we strive to improve the breed by phenotype and health.