BENGAL BULLETIN

Bengal Bulletin
The
Quarterly Publication of the International Bengal Cat Society
Volume 28, Issue 2 - April, May, June 2011
Where are they now...Breeders Revisted
Tell Me More About...Kittening
Feeding a Raw Diet
2011 Breeders Directory
Table of Contents
2nd Quarter 2011
Features
14
20
Feeding A Species Appropriate Diet
Studs, Queen & Promising Kittens
46
Where Are They Now?
48
52
54
56
58
59
60
Gene Ducote
Foreword by Jean Mill
Libbie Kerr
Tina Woodworth
Joy Peel
Grace Lush
Kabuki of Millwood
Where Are They Now Scrapbook
Also In This Issue
1
11
16
43
44
Meet The Breeds
Blast From The Past - 1988
TIBCS Scrapbook
Heritage Conservation Fund
Sky's Story - A Day in the Life
of a Bengal Rescue
61 2011 Breeders Directory
Regular Features
4
6
15
80 Letter From The President
Letter From The Editor
Tell Me More About....
TIBCS Disciplinary List
Volume 28, Issue 2 - Second Quarter 2011
The diversity of Bengal Color!
Photo courtesy of Kirsty Schenscher
Photo Credits:
Front Cover:
Darkmoon Diamonds Are Forever
Photo by Larry Johnson
Inside Front Cover:
Brown Spotted Tabby Bengal
Photo by Tetsu
Breeders Directory pg 61:
Left - RW SGC Angelrose Ageha
Right RW SGC Angelrose Mikage
Breeders Directory pg 79:
Lower left - RW SGC Angelrose Mikage
Upper right - TGC Maui Custom Firefox of
Angelrose
Back Cover:
Gogees Debonaire
Photo by Wells Photographic Design
1
Blast From The Past - November/December 1988
Reprinted from the Nov.Dec 1988 Bulletin
Why The
Thoughtfully-Bred
Bengal?
By Jean Mill
Bengals, the domestic decendents of Asian Leopard
Cat/Domestic cat crosses, have been developed for a
number of reasons:
• Initially just to see if it were possible, and to explore scientific frontiers.
• To study the apparent partial immunity to FLV
( Feline Leukemia Virus) enjoyed by the leopard
cat, and to attempt to isolate the gene or factor
involved, perhaps with human Lukemia implications.
• To study the inheritance of temperament in hopes
of shedding scientific light on the age-old debate
over the parts played by genetics vs environment
in shaping our basic responses.
• To experimentally study the genetic components
in feline coat color, pattern, and texture, especially
of the exquisite rosette pattern found only in the
wild species of feline.
• To develop a “substitute” pet for cat lovers everywhere who long to adopt a wild feline for a pet.
No wild animal domesticates satisfactorily, and
attempts to do so are almost disastrous for humans
and animals alike. Tragic stories of inhumane confinement and care abound when humans expect
animals to conform to stereotypes of “Gentle Ben”.
But long domesticated cats make loving pets even
in tiny apartments. Millwood Bengals have been
carefully selected through generations to retain
only the appearance genes of the wild ancestor.
Volume 28, Issue 2 - Second Quarter 2011
They are domestic cats with a fur coat reminiscent
of the leopard pattern, and satisfy the human need
for a wild cat that truly IS a pet, and the delight in
it’s beauty.
• To attempt to replicate as closely as seems wise the
beautiful wild coat against the day when the wild
species of felines have become extinct. (Only the
short sighted would have objected had there been
efforts by ornithologists to breed common crows
endowed with the stunning plumage of the now
almost extinct Bird of Paradise, had it been possible.
• To create new beauty for the world. Luther Burbam was maligned in his time for “fooling with
Nature”, but today we enjoy tangelos and nectarines. It did not harm the integrity of the grapefruit,
tangerine, peach, or plum, to make use of their
genes in these new creations. Bengals in no way
threaten leopard cats, for Bengals cannot survive
in the jungles of Asia. On the contrary, from their
contented perches in the high-rise apartments in
Manhattan, they may help ease the pressure on
wild cats of the world.
Note: Jean Mill is the originator of the
Bengal breed.
7
From spotted dream to rosetted reality, the Studs,
Queens and Promising Kittens featured in the 2011
2nd Quarter Bengal Bulletin represent some of the
best our breed has to offer and the promise of even
greater things to come!
Since the publication of the very first Studs & Promising Kittens issue in 1994, this issue of the Bengal
Bulletin has become a milestone by which the Bengal community has measured the breed’s progress
in acquiring difficult traits, reproducing dramatic
features and putting them all together in the world’s
most beautiful breed of cats. The 1992 issue was
titled “Studs & Promising Kittens” and featured
remarkable cats for their time. Some of those cats
would play significant roles in the breed while others, despite the great hope of their owners, would
never produce a litter. The TIBCS Executive Board
officially changed the name of the issue to “Studs,
Queens & Promising Kittens” to more accurately encourage and reflect the contribution and significance
Volume 28, Issue 2 - Second Quarter 2011
of males, females and upcoming kittens to Bengal
Breeding Programs.
This year’s issue will mark a significant milestone for
both the breed and TIBCS as the largest ever group
of studs, queens and promising kittens are featured
in this issue. The cats represent the most diverse
group of catteries to participate from more countries than ever before, allowing TIBCS to more fully
embrace the “International” in The International
Bengal Cat Society.
Since 1981, when the first Bengals were registered
with TICA, more than eighty thousand Bengals have
been individually registered. The following twenty
two pages may hold the greatest of those eighty
thousand plus cats…or perhaps the parents of the
greatest Bengals ever.
19
Heritage Conservation Fund
By TIBCS Executive Board of Directors
Expansion
and
Dedicated Funding
Brazilian Ocelot female at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY
Part of the Brazilian Ocelot Consortium. photo by Anthony Hutcherson
The Bengal Cat community finds inspiration and
models in many species of wild cats such as Ocelots,
Margays, Clouded Leopards, Marbled Cats, Leopards,
Jaguars etc. and the scope of our Heritage Conservation Fund will no longer be limited to a single species. TIBCS has expanded the mission and purpose of
the Heritage Conservation Fund to include the study
of, conservation and preservation of all species of
wild cats and the habitats where they naturally exist. TIBCS will continue to seek endeavors that emphasize
the conservation of wild Asian Leopard Cat (Prionailuris bengalensis) populations. However, several
other species of wild cats are more seriously threatened and this program’s expanded mission will allow
TIBCS to support those vital projects.
TIBCS has established a dedicated stream of funding, in the form of a TIBCS calendar, for the program
so long as the Membership of The International Bengal Cat Society see fit and necessary for the program
to exist. One hundred percent, 100%, of the profits
from the sale of this calendar will benefit the Heritage Conservation Fund! There are no “portion of
the proceeds” or “percentage benefits”! Every penny
raised from the sale of the calendars, after the cost of
production, will be spent doing something to inspire
pride in every member of TIBCS. Additional fundraising efforts based on the interest, availability and
desire of the membership will be put in place as the
programs moves forward.
Volume 28, Issue 2 - Second Quarter 2011
Here are some of the benefits of our new expanded
program:
• Offers TIBCS greater opportunity to help
truly threatened feline species
• TIBCS can help dispel myths and untruths
about Bengals among the accredited scientific
community
• TIBCS will have the opportunity to print the
findings and photos of the studies it supports
about a variety of feline species
• TIBCS can produce a calendar with little
effort that is of practical use and benefit to the
membership
• TIBCS can be more assured that there will
be monies to allocate to important programs
by denoting a specific project and its proceeds
Stay connected with the latest on this program by renewing your TIBCS membership, reading the Bengal
Bulletin, subscribing to the TIBCS e-newletter and
joining TIBCS on yahoogroups.
If you think you have the perfect photo for the
TIBCS HCF Calendar, submit it to [email protected] 43
Where Are They Now?
Updates in the lives of those who played
significant roles in the success of the Bengal Cat.
Kabuki of Millwood
By Jean Mill, Judy Sugden, Von Pilcher and Anthony Hutcherson
Where Are They Now? Kabuki of Millwood
Q. Cattery
A. Millwood Bengals
Q. Describe how you
became aware of and
involved with the Bengal
Cat?
A. Kabuki and his two
littermates were born in
a private West German
Zoo in early May 1989.
Rolf Rupprath, whose
mother Dorthea Rupprath
operated Von Burchana
Kabuki peering down
Bengals, had located the
cats and arranged for their
export from Germany to
the United States.
Kabuki’s line of Leopard
Cats had been captive bred
for at least two generations
and there were no records
of the specific geographical area where this line of
Asian Leopard Cats originated. Thus, the majority Kabuki daughter Johari Delhi Echo
of zoological institutions
community.
were not interested in Asian
Kabuki and his littermates
Leopard Cats of unknown geowere removed from their mother
graphic and sub specific origin
before their eyes opened and
and this litter was of no value
reared by a female domestic wet
or importance to the zoological
nurse, along with the queen’s own
56
kittens. The rationale for this
method of raising the Asian
Leopard Cat kittens was to
increase the chance that the
males would accept domestic
queens. Jean Mill had tried
several male Leopard Cats,
including Rajah and the large
darkly rosetted Othello, and
neither would accept domestic queens. Of the two males
in this litter who would both
eventually reside at Millwood, Cameo Keepsake and
Kabuki, Kabuki was the
less immediately striking.
Cameo had larger spots and
was more vividly rosetted.
Kabuki was first was sent
to Von Pilcher (Bengaline)
before finally coming to
Millwood while still a young
cat.
During the course of his
residence at Millwood Kabuki was shown to countless Bengal breeders, judges
and media to depict the typical
size and appearance of the Asian
Leopard Cat.
Cameo Keepsake only produced one female kitten out of
The Bengal Bulletin Since 1988