Cat lovers looking for an exotic-looking pet with a tamed personality need not look further than Rutherford. Jeanne Lee, who owns Mauasian Dynasty Bengals in Rutherford, breeds cute and cuddly cats with the patterns and colors of Asian wildcats.

Jeanne Lee offers pet lovers a more exotic option to your standard housecat. Lee’s Rutherford-based Mauasian Dynasty Bengals breeds friendly domesticated felines with wildcat patterns on their fur.

Bengal cats, like this one, descend from Asian wildcats. The wildcats are bred with domesticated tabby cats and, over time, the ones with features that most resemble wildcats are selected. The result: tame cats with wild stripes.

Jeanne Lee’s Bengal cats have a number of unique characteristics, such as the luminous blue eyes on this cat. The most desirable features are white or silver tips at the end of each hair that give the cats a glowing sheen and dark spots with a lighter spot in the middle like a leopard.

Bengal cats are a relatively new breed, having only been bred about 25 years ago, and are wildly popular. It began when Jean Mills bred an Asian Leopard cat with a tabby cat and, over time, bred the offspring with tabby cats and selected the ones who looked more like the leopard cats.

Lee has been a pet lover her whole life and started in high school by breeding hamsters. She moved on to breeding "toy" Dalmatians, the white dog with black spots, only smaller. Fifteen years ago, after seeing a "snow leopard" cat while visiting a friend, she fell in love with Bengal cats.

Next, she picked out a different colored cat and bred them. Today, she has a total of 10 cats, seven adults for breeding and three kittens for sale. "I love them for their personalities and, certainly, for the way they look," said Lee. "People are drawn to the exotic."

First generation Bengal cats, the offspring of an Asian wildcat and a domestic cat, are too wild and skittish to have as pets. By the following generation, they can be extremely friendly. Lee recalls one cat she had that was only two generations removed from an Asian wildcat. "She was one of the friendliest cats I’ve ever had," she said.

By four generations, the cat is no longer a wildcat. Through mixing and matching, breeders have created cats with spotted fur or marbled fur; green eyes or blue eyes; silver fur or cats with "rosetting," spots with light coloring in the center like a leopard.

Lee sells her cats to breeders and pet lovers alike, but most of her customers are simply cat people who want an unusual-looking feline in the house. "They are mostly pet people: people who want something exotic looking," she said.

If one were to flip through an issue of "Cat Fancy" magazine, they would see just how popular Bengal cats have become.

As for their personalities, Bengal cats are slightly wilder than your average cat and love climbing. "They like to be high up. I would say they’re more adventurous," said Lee.

Still, Bengal cats are no less friendly and loving than other cats are. "Bengals can pretty much be in any household. They are extremely adaptable. If they are handled properly as kittens, touch, loved, exposed to people, they will be very affectionate as adults," said Lee.

Lee’s 10 Bengal cats, along with her two dogs, a boxer and a toy Dalmatian, share the same room without incident. In fact, the animals get along like family, she said. "Everyone eats together and sleeps together and plays together," Lee added.

Bengal kittens are not cheap, however. They can cost upwards of $600, depending on the quality and whether or not they are going to be used for breeding or showing.

Lee breeds her cats once every two years and does not endorse over-breeding animals. "Some breeders breed them constantly like the puppy mills. I don’t believe in that," she said.

Per lifetime, her cats typically yield four or five litters. "It’s not about money, it’s about breeding. I just love doing it," she said.

Aside from the unique color patterns, quality Bengal cats have other features such as "pelt," soft, silky fur like a leopard, and "glitter," gold and silver color at the tip of each hair that give the cats a shiny look. "Not all Bengals have that, but that’s the quality you’re looking for," she said.

Lee is registered with The International Cat Association and is one of very few breeders in New Jersey and only knows of one other, a woman in south Jersey. Her three kittens are now four months old.