Editor: Jean, how did you first get involved with cats?

Jean Mill: I have been a lifelong cat lover. I used to curl up with my favourite cat to take naps as a child. My mother would then tiptoe in to pry the sleeping cat out of my arms, and deposit it in the back yard. "When you’re a grownup, you may have as many cats as you want, but in this house cats stay outdoors," she said. But even today my Bengals must all live outside because my husband is allergic to cats!

Editor: How do you keep your Bengals, since they are not allowed indoors?

Jean Mill: My cats roam in my enclosed patio, which is edged with ivy and carpeted perches from which they can survey the yard outside. Others live in 10 x 10' backyard cages build around trees. Each cage contains a large exercise wheel which the cats run on.

Editor: Can Bengals only be kept outside in these zoo-like habitats?

Jean Mill: No, Bengals are ideal family pets to be kept in the home, unless you are allergic to cats! I feed my felines commercial cat food. They welcome and beg for attention, and allow me to hold and hug them, returning kisses with purrs. They are majestic cats; they aren't crazy up the drapes, but they are into things and actively attentive to what's going on. When you bring in the groceries, they want to see what's in the sack.

Editor: So Bengals should be treated just like any other domestic feline?

Jean Mill: Yes. Our Bengals must be the sweetest cats at the cat show. Any other cat can bite the judge and excuses are made for it. But if a Bengal bites the judge, they might claim it's the wild blood coming out. Fourth generation SBT (Stud Book Status) Bengals are entirely domestic tempered and will allow strangers to carry them about, even in noisy show halls.

TICA (The International Cat Association) judges find Bengals no more aggressive nor threatening than any other cat breed and are impressed by their docility, in fact. This may be because the Bengal standard requires judges to disqualify any entry that threatens to harm. Breeders have paid special attention to temperament inheritance to ensure that a loving nature is bred in. A well-known judge of USA cat shows commented - "I personally love them. I have not had a moment's problem with the 30 or 40 that I've handled at shows. One show in the east had 46 Bengals entered that were each handled by 13 judges in one weekend. That's about 600 handlings without a single spit or growl or threat. That's a better record than some common breeds! Fear of fourth generation Bengals is absurd!"

Sadly, there are fears of these loveable cats because people think of 'wild' as 'ferocious'. But those same people don't fear wild rabbits. Wild means shy of humans and self-reliant, not vicious or dangerous. Marc Nochella, a New Yorker who bought a kitten from the Millwood cattery, is one satisfied customer. Nochella, who is an associate art director at the Ronald Feldman Gallery in Manhattan, told me: "This is an exceptional cat; he's very intelligent and responsive. He loves to be held. He's changed my life."

Editor: So, Jean, Bengal Cats make reliable pets and are successful show cats. What impact does the success of the breed have on the future of the wild Asian Leopard Cat?

Jean Mill: Early on, I had lots of opposition from purists who felt I was toying with Mother Nature, but there's another side. Lots of people would like to have a wild animal pet, but that's what's unfair to wildlife, whereas a dependable domestic cat resembling a leopard cat is a happy solution. Also, there's a place in the world for copies. If there were no copies of beautiful things, most people would not know what the Mona Lisa looks like. We don't harm leopard cats by using their genes in domestic cats, and may even discourage poaching. Women with a 'living leopard' in their arms will not want a real leopard skin coat or purse.

Glenn Stewart, a professor of zoology at California Polytechnic college, said he sees nothing wrong with Bengal breeding provided that it doesn't lead to depletion of the wild species solely to breed pets. He explains that "It's something people have done for centuries--selectively breeding wild animals to produce domestic animals."

Editor: How did you first get involved with breeding Bengals, Jean?

Jean Mill: After my degree in psychology, I took several graduate classes in genetics at UC Davis. The professor laughed when I did my term paper on hybridizing cats, because he expected a 'commercially feasible' study of corn or cattle. By 1948, I was already known as one of three breeders working unknown to one another to develop the Himalayan cat.

My earliest experience with using wild cats was in 1963, when I bought my first leopard cat, which were available in pet shops at that time. I and my first husband owned a cattle feeding operation in Yuma, Ariz. Because the animal seemed lonely in my large cage, I put a black tomcat in with my leopard cat to keep her company. Although experts said it couldn't happen, the animals mated and produced an curious little hybrid female named 'Kin Kin'. Then the experts at Cornell University guessed that the kitten would be sterile, but it, in turn, produced a second-generation litter. When my husband died in 1965, I had to move from the ranch into an apartment in Claremont, California, and had to give up my fascinating hobby. No modern Bengals stem from that original bloodline.

Editor: How did the modern Bengal come about?

Jean Mill: Shortly after my second marriage, my husband and I installed the first of many zoo-type cages and made contact with a physician professor, Willard Centerwall, MD, who was researching the partial immunity that leopard cats have to feline leukaemia. Dr. Centerwall had made several crosses to domestic cats to isolate the gene or genes involved. Once he had drawn a blood sample from each hybrid, he needed homes for them and welcomed our offer to keep and breed them in an effort to further scientific knowledge. He also shared my dream of producing a 'tame toy leopard' and so became an enthusiastic supporter of my efforts. In 1980, while in India, my husband and I found a domestic street cat whose colouring and pattern came close to the leopard look. Much red tape later, we succeeded in importing the kitten into United States, where I used him with the female hybrids. Millwood Tory of Delhi is found in virtually all Bengal pedigrees.

Editor: Obviously the Bengal breeding programme has been a great success, financially and otherwise, as the Bengal breed is now well established in many countries throughout the world as well as the United States. Why did you start breeding Bengals and what personal satisfaction has it brought you, Jean?

Jean Mill: At first it was to see if it could be done; then to study the beautiful coat pattern inheritance; and also to share this stunning new cat with people who cherish the breathtaking beauty of wild felines. I draw real pleasure from the challenge of constantly improving the breed. Every time a queen has kittens, it's the excitement of Christmas morning! And the mail many mornings brings kind letters of gratitude from customers world wide to whom Bengals have brought joy and delight.

Cats have also been my best teachers. They have taught me most of my life-lessons, such as how to grieve over a death of a loved one; how to respect independence in another; and how much further one gets by purring instead of scratching! It has been a great reward to have enriched the lives of other people with living beauty.