The Bristol Cats

In 1991, a well known Bengal breeder named Von Pilcher heard about some cats that
were registered with TICA as Bristol Cats.  They were hybrids of some kind with pattern
very similar to that of the Asian Leopard cat.  He traveled to Texas to document the
history and existence of these hybrids and what he found out was that these felines
were hardly fertile, producing only two or three litters per years (there were about
ten cats in this breeding program).  There was one cat named Cajun, who was believed
to be the sire of the first Bristol cat and had a spotted pattern similar to that
of the Margay and Ocelot.  What impressed Von Pilcher the most was that Cajun had
a very white tummy.  He also had rounded small ears and a voice that resembled that
of an ocelot.  It is believed that he was the product of a mating between a domestic
cat and possibly an Ocelot. 

A TICA geneticists believed that using these cats in a Bengal breeding program would
help diversify the genetic pool and improve and develop further the Bengal breed. 
The Bristol cats could potentially contribute their large bone structure and musculature,
small ears, and big rosettes.  She acquired two females from the the Bristol Line. 
She placed them in two different Bengal breeding programs, but just one of the females
produced offspring. 

The Bristol Line influenced to a very high degree the Bengal cat breed development,
their descendents tend to have big rosettes, are large and have a muscular body.