Julie Stanton Welch

I attempt to own the Bengal Cat, with spotty success...

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Gene Ducote: What have Bengal Breeders done right?

Gene Ducote (Gogees) was one of the earliest Bengal Breeders and was one of the founders of The International Bengal Cat Society. She watched the breed develop as new Bengal Breeders took progeny from her program and other early programs and made choices that created the Bengal we see today.

The International Cat Association provides a general description of the Bengal  and a specific Bengal Breed standard yet Breeders have always had differing ideas about what the Bengal Cat should be. 

I wanted to know what Gene thought about how the breed turned out...

...so I asked her. She had a lot to say! I have divided her response into two posts.

Seamuskitty: What are the most important things the inheritors of your legacy have done right and what could they have done better?

Gene: I think this is the normal progression of a breed, any breed, and I am happy to say that I am thrilled with the way the breed has progressed. By virtue of photos that I see posted on facebook and the web, I see most breeders very proudly displaying cats that come very close to what Jean Mill originally had in mind for the breed.

Of course I can't speak for Jean Mill, 

...but I think her goal was to produce a domestic cat with the spectacular beauty of the wildcats. We've got that now, and even more!! 

I never dreamed we'd be seeing such incredible cats as what we're seeing now, 

...and I'm curious to think about what we'll see in another 10 years. 

How much better can it get?

Next: Gene's controversial response...