Hostori 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.