Click above to see our cattery!

I have always been involved with animals and showing. Horses were a big part of my life growing up and I competed in Hunter/Jumper competitions virtually every weekend for over 10 years. This was such a wonderful and educational time for me and I was blessed to have been highly competitive on the A2 Circuit all through Middle School and High School with many awards and recognitions such as Zone Champion in various divisions, ACFA Zone Horse of the Year, and qualifying to compete in the National Horse Show at Madison Square Gardens.

Due to a move to Georgia with my family, I had to leave my horse hobby behind. This shortly lead me to purchasing my first border collie and thus began competing and training in various dog sports such as flyball, agility, and herding. My wonderful girl ADCH Fidelis Cruise Control AX AXJ NAC NGC RS-N RG-N FDX STDs taught me more than I ever thought I could learn about animal behavior and training. Kaylee was second at both the AKC and USDAA Agility Nationals at only 3 years of age in 2002 by only a fifth if a second behind the leader! She also competed on ESPN's Purina Incredible Dog Challenge and took second in our region in the semi-finals. Due to an injury- she was unable to compete at finals. Kaylee also blessed me with being selected to be on the David Letterman Show in an agility competition. She WON the competition and we were able to meet Dave in the studio. What a wonderful and once in a lifetime girl she is. Kaylee is now retired as a very special member of our family. She was bred once and 5 of the 7 puppies in the litter became Champions in the breed ring! AKC awarded her with a Best Brood Bitch of the Year award. Since her retirement, I decided I did not have time to train another high intensity Border Collie while going to work full time. Our newest addition is a wonderful East German and Czech line GSD named Zanto Von Schraderhaus. He is still just a young pup but we are excited to see what the future brings for him!

Kaylee at AKC Nationals	Kaylee at USDAA Nationals
Zanto 8 Months Old	Zanto 8 Months Old

I first fell in love with the bengal breed in 1999, while reading an article in a magazine. It prompted my research on this fabulous breed in hopes of eventually adding one to my family.

A few years later, I began my search for the perfect pet boy. Despite some disappointments, Safari came into my life as an older kitten (about 20 weeks old), due to him being returned because the owner had allergies. He is a wonderful representative of bengal temperament and got me hooked on the breed right then.

I began to have dreams of someday breeding these phenomenal cats. Instead of jumping right into producing kittens, I wanted to be sure this breed of cat was for me. So two years later, Ducati came into my life. He is from Gogee's cattery and is such a character!

Bahiya means beautiful in African and I feel that is exactly what this breed portrays. We at Bahiya Bengals put the care of our cats above all else and maintain a small cattery to allow for an in-home environment. We have a vast knowledge of animal care and the level of quality we are used to in our past dog and horse experiences shows in our program. We accept nothing but the best not only in our breeding cats, but also in the homes we select for our babies as well. Our cat's are first and foremost our beloved pets and we place emphasis on that above all else.

We have been vet inspected with perfect scores for our TICA Outstanding Cattery, TIBBA Cattery of Distinction, and TIBCS Breeder of Distinction awards. We are also inspected by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and we are registered and legally breeding bengals with the state of Georgia. We are also proud to have received past awards such as The International Bengal Cat Society Best New Breeder of the Year, as well as have 3 of our cats voted top 10 TIBCS Members Best SBT Bengal of the year. We also are proud to have two of our marbles voted TIBCS Members Best and Second Best Marble Bengal of the year. We are purely a hobby cattery and only breed when we are looking to keep something for ourselves and our program. Our babies are our passion.

Due to a feline genetic heart condition called HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) that affects all cats and even Bengals, we HCM screen our cats on a yearly basis by a certified cardiologist at the University of Georgia. Although this is not a 100% guarantee, at this time, it is the very best a breeder can do to help screen their cats and their lines and try to eliminate this genetic disease in their program. Anyone who tells you the problem does not exists in their "lines" or that you only have to test once, is not being open and truthful. It is a feline issue, making it is a problem in Bengals too. Unfortunately only a handful of breeders are actively trying to attack this problem in our breed. We also test all of our cats for FeLV, FIV, and TriTrich.

Our babies are handled on a daily basis and socialized to ensure they are well rounded before going home. They not only are socialized to us and our visitors and friends, but to our dogs as well- a large German Shepherd and a Border Collie. Nails are clipped on a weekly basis from 2 weeks of age and they are bathed 3 times before they go home to imprint these regular events into their lives. We also play various music including a CD compiled by the Guide Dogs for the Blind organization that is used to imprint their young pups to loud and random noises. This is as vital to a confident kitten as it is to a puppy and we find it helps our babies to be even more confident even when they go through their "fear" period of development.

Our kittens have a full, written 3 year health guarantee and we firmly stand behind what we produce.

Bengals became legal in Georgia a few years ago. You can own them here as long as they are F4 generation or farther. Our cats are first and foremost loving members of our family and the kittens are raised in the same manor.

This is not a business for us, rather a way for us to bond with our cats and dedicate our time to improving the breed that we so love. Since we do not breed on a large scale, babies are usually spoken for before they are born. Feel free to contact us about our waiting list or future plans.

Some of the traits Bahiya Bengals is striving to produce are:
*Clear background coats
*Intense contrast with black outlined rosettes or spots
*Wild heads including but not limited to:
   small, rounded ears, straight profile, strong chin, whited goggles/chin straps and puffy whisker pads
*Stealthy type
*Thick, blunt tails
*Temperament and health are the most important factors that we focus on!

We are a FeLV and FIV negative cattery!

We are proud to have been voted TIBCS Members Choice Best New Breeder of The Year, 2007! What a huge honor to have been voted this by some of the Bengal Cat's Founding Breeders! Three of our cats also placed in the International TIBCSMember competition. Magic was Best SBT Bengal of the Year, Nuri was Fifth Best, and Shine was 8th Best! This was out of over 170 outstanding nominations. Nuri was Best Marble and Shine was 2nd Best Marble for 2007.