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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| Claremont resident Jean Mill plays with Lisa Love, one of her champion Millwood Bengal cats. Ms. Mill has been breeding Bengals for 25 years. Her unique breed is recognized by cat enthusiasts around the world. |
For nearly 30 years, Jean Mill has been an important name in the world of cat breeding, working from her home in Covina. There, at “Millwood,” she has been breeding a special cross of Asian Leopard Cat or ALC and more common domestic cats from various locations around the world. These new hybrid cats, called Bengal Cats, are now famous for their beauty and unique ancestry.
On February 16, Ms. Mill, who is also a resident of Mt. San Antonio Gardents, gave a speech in Moscow, where some of her Bengal cats were featured in a special cat show. Called “Russian Safari,” the show and its brochure featured two of Ms. Mills’ cats and several other “wild-looking” domestic cats.
“It was very special,” said Ms. Mills, “I rarely do this.”
This kind of recognition is due to Ms. Mills’ lasting contribution to the world of cat breeding.
Ms. Mill showed interest in breeding foreign non-domestic cats with domestic ones when she was attending college at UC Davis.
When Ms. Mill first started on her journey, things were much different. She first started breeding her Bengals in 1982, although for years beforehand she had bred Himalayans. Then, as now, ALC is a wild breed, and it must be bread with domestic cats for several generations before it can be accepted into cat competitions and become an established line and breed.
For Ms. Mill, this struggle took almost 10 years, as she and her Bengals did not get championship status until 1990. Now, Millwood Bengals are famous around the world. Ms. Mills’ daughter, Judy Sugden, explained how difficult the process was, particularly for Ms. Mills.
“People think it’s a big leopard,” Ms. Sugden said, “It may only have one drop of ALC. It’s a constant battle.”
Ms. Sugden works with her mother on her own line of cats, called Toygers because they are specifically bread to look like toy tigers.
The problem faced by Ms. Mills and her daughter is exacerbated by the name of the breed and by its origins in the ALC’s. It is true that Asian Leopard Cats are wild, and are in no way suitable pets. They are in fact dangerous to domestic cats and other small animals. (story continues below)
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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| A Bengal kitten sits next to stuffed animals at the Millwood Cattery. Bengal cats are prized for their unique markings, which resemble the Asian Leopard Cat and the Bengal Tiger. |
Yet the generational distance between the ALC’s and Ms. Mills’ Bengals is so large that there is hardly any discernable difference between her cats and an average domestic tabby.
Bengal cats may look exotic, but behaviorally, they maintain only a few, non-violent habits of their ancestors. Ms. Sugden stressed that any holdovers from the ALC line would only be beneficial aspects.
Ms. Janet Riser, a Claremont resident, bought one of Ms. Mills’ cats some time ago. Ms. Riser said that the Bengal was “interesting and loving,” and “a very proactive feline.” Ms. Riser said that he was different than other cats in that he liked water and was fond of high places. These are both common characteristics of Bengal hybrids.
Ms. Sugden explained that the addition of ALC blood and their more mundane mates to domestic varieties was extremely important.
“This is a whole new gene pool added to the domestic lineage,” Ms. Mills said.
Before and after their approval, Ms. Mills’ Bengals have been wowing audiences and buyers with their beauty, sweetness and unique personalities. Ms. Mills may have started her journey in college, but she has never faltered or questioned herself.
“Originally, it was the challenge of producing something that no one has ever seen before and had never been in existence,” said Ms. Mills, “I was proud of it, of improving them. It was what kept me going, that pride.”
Ms. Mills very recently retired, and has sold many of her remaining Bengals as a result. However, she is still helping her daughter with the Toygers, despite the discontinuation of her own line.
While Ms. Mills may no longer be breeding her specific line of Bengals, the cats that did come out of Millwood are still appreciated in various parts of the world, both for their simple beauty and for the difficult accomplishment and years of hard work that they represent.
—Tom Cross
