Jean Mill was an American cat breeder. Mill is best known as the founder of the Bengal cat breed: Mill successfully crossed the wild Asian leopard cat with a domestic cat, and then backcrossed the offspring through five generations to create the domestic Bengal. Mill made contributions to two other cat breeds: the Himalayan and the standardized version of the Egyptian Mau. Mill and her first husband, Robert Sugden, were involved in a precedent-setting case about the United States government's power to monitor short wave radio communications. She also authored two books on Bengal cats.
Mill posing with a Bengal cat
The Bengal cat is a breed of hybrid cat created from crossing of an Asian leopard cat, with domestic cats, especially the spotted Egyptian Mau. It is then usually bred with a breed that demonstrates a friendlier personality, because after breeding a domesticated cat with a wildcat, its friendly personality may not manifest in the kitten. The breed's name derives from the leopard cat's taxonomic name.
A female Bengal cat with tricolored rosettes and a clear coat.
A charcoal Bengal kitten, with white "goggle" markings, and black rosettes.
A brown Bengal cat stalking. This cat displays rosettes and spotting typical of the breed. Bengals have longer rear legs and carry their tails low.
A brown marble Bengal being judged at a TICA show (2013)