What makes this litter particularly exciting to me is the combination of our four imported Bengal lines that have been brought into Australia.

Our Bengal gene pool here is actually quite small, and many of the cats being bred today can be traced back to the same Australian lines and ancestors, or to newly developed outcross programs. So while there may be a lot of different catteries, that does not necessarily mean there is a lot of different ancestry behind the Bengal cats being bred here in Australia.

I have always been very conscious of this when planning my breeding program. Bringing in unrelated or less commonly represented overseas lines gives me the opportunity to introduce ancestry that is not already being used throughout Australia.

This litter brings together four such imported lines in one pedigree, creating a combination that is not available elsewhere in Australia. For me, that is what makes these kittens particularly irreplaceable.

It is not just the fact that they are beautiful kittens, but the ancestry behind them and how important that is to the future of the Bengal breed is what I cherish the most.

I’m pinching myself over the gorgeous little beauties Nahni and Fernando have created! They’ve made me incredibly proud, and I’m eagerly watching the girls’ development with a view to placing them in the Ashmiyah Bengal breeding program in the future.

Bengal kittens that start this outstanding will end up looking absolutely phenomenal! These girls have beautiful short, silken coats with vibrant colour tones and sharply defined patterns, along with excellent profiles and tiny, beautifully cupped ears.

For me, they’re right on track to meet every quality expectation set out in the Bengal breed standard. That’s incredibly exciting for the future of my breeding program!