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The Bengal breed
was born of a cross between the Asian Leopard Cat (ALC), a small wild cat found throughout India, Southern China, and surrounding
islands, and the domestic shorthair cat. The first successful crossing was intiated 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 efforts 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 worlds first cat with wild blood to be accepted by TICA,the worlds largest cat registry
in the world. ACFA soon fillowed suit. With Jean's selfless trips to Toronto, Duzeldorf and Paris, she instantly generated
a windfall of excitement over this magnificent breed which of course, quickly grew...(One of her first offspring, PennyAnte,
was a great, even-tempered ambassador for the breed and traveled worldwide with Jean!)
There were many reasons for the intial crossings of these two types of cats, among the most important
were the preservation of as much of the Asian Leopards beautiful pattern as possible in a household pet,and the study of the
Asian Leeopards 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. Some of the
positive Qaulities that were passed on were their sleek soft coats,they seem to hold fewer allergens, their catanalities are
charming, their active and playful ways, their love for heights,and their affinity for water. They make exotic and wonderful
pets.
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