Honoring the Work of Jaen Treesinger of Rainforest Bengals
We came to know Jaen Treesinger of Rainforest Bengals in Mendocino, CA very early on in our breeding journey. I was enamored by how she captured the wild essence of the bengal breed like no other breeder could. Her cats were in my eyes, absolutely impeccable for which I was in complete awe. I learned much in those early years including the value of reading pedigrees, a lost art and frequently missing step in modern breeding, to gain an understanding of how a 8th generation cat could look like at EG F1 or F2. Looking back at the pedigrees I studied, all paths circled back to Rainforest Bengals and the work of Jaen Treesinger.
Sadly over the holidays, Jaen’s closest friends and family announced Jaen had an event which accelerated her dementia resulting in a move to a memory care home. As a result, ceased her cattery operations at Rainforest Bengals Cattery in Mendocino, CA. Jaen’s dear friend, Jessica Reddy of Jungle Creations Cattery in Florida has lovingly assumed care of Jaen’s remaining cats; a phenomenal feat requiring cross country travel and relocation of Jaen’s remaining bengals and her cherished F1, Cherashi.
The influence Jaen had on the Bengal breed has been palpable with numerous breeders across the globe sending tributes recognizing sincere gratitude for her work with the modern bengal reflecting on Jaen’s signature “wild type” noting it to be present on the pedigrees of their most “typiest” cats. To quote Tiago Lacenda de Carvlo of Dsabre Cattery in Brazil on Jaen’s practices, “In my opinion the most important, solid and influential program since the founding of the breed.” Other’s praised her groundbreaking use of “goal oriented” breeding practices in her mentorship programs. Collectively, there was a theme of sincere gratitude for the contributions she has made to various breeding lines from those who shared their stories spanning the globe. Jaen also contributed greatly to the International Bengal Cat Society in pioneering health related programs such as routine annual HCM screening in bengals recognizing its impact on the health of the bengal years before regular HCM screening was considered a standard of care in the breed.
Personally, I was touched when Jaen reached out to me a year ago in November 2023 inquiring if I was interested in one of her young female bengals, Lotus, who she wanted to go to a breeding program with typey golden to rufous background males. Immediately thinking of the possibilities ahead with Jethro, Rusty and Stoli, Randy and I quickly planned a trip to the Mendocino coast to meet Lotus. We considered Lotus and her littermate sister, Terra, to be a “masterclass” of Jaen’s work which captured the pure essence of the wild cat expression. Quite possibly, her finest work to date. Lotus remains in or breeding program, producing beautiful kittens including our very own Stratokatzter I Drink Alone. Later in Spring 2024, we made a second trip to Jaen’s to pick up Lotus sire, Rainforest Biz Markie, who continues to produce beautiful kittens at our cattery. We are forever grateful for the example Jaen has shown us as a breeder, teacher, mentor and friend. This Spring 2025, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of our Rainforest line kittens will be donated to Jessica Reddy for care of Jaen’s cats.
To honor the legacy of Jaen’s work and to assist in defraying the costs of relocating and care for her deeply loved animals a fund has been set up for personal donations as well to Jessica Reddy of JungleCreations. We encourage donations to this worthy cause.
- Venmo: @jessicat925
- Cash App: $Jessicat925
- Paypal: JungleCreationsCattery@yahoo.com