Lavon, TX (September 12, 2025) – While helping her grandmother care for the neighbors’ cats, four little kittens ran out of their hiding places and a young Stacy Hansen fell in love! Even at this early age, Stacy was enchanted by their fun and mysterious personalities. What she could not have known at that time was that this early experience would end up becoming the start of her passion, and eventually her career.
As the years passed, as a high schooler, Stacy began raising Persians – gorgeous cats known for their long, luxurious coats and gentle nature. Then, later as a young adult, having lost her last beloved Persian Stacy took the opportunity to discover something exotic.
Researching her options, Stacy found the Bengal to be a perfect match.
The Exotic Bengal The Bengal breed made its appearance seventy years ago and features several distinct varieties and generations. Known for their sweet temperaments and being extremely intelligent, Bengals are especially unique cats, almost doglike, easily leash trained with pelted, slick coats. The more Stacy learned about this special breed, the more enthralled she was, and she set out to make a sizeable investment.
Ultimately, Stacy purchased a Bengal from a breeder in California, only to sadly discover that cat had not been well bred. With her new exotic feline proving to be not only sick but also wild, Stacy found herself in a lawsuit with the breeder and later recalls him saying “you can’t make them as tame as you think”. Not convinced, those words compelled Stacy to chart a different path for herself and future Bengals.
Choosing to put an investment into her own stock, Stacy founded Texas Star Bengals and began a breeding career she never would have expected!
Texas Star Bengals Twenty-five years later, Stacy’s Bengals located right here in Lavon, TX have been delivered around the world to clients seeking a reputable breeder (a must for anyone considering a pet). Her reputation for placing great attention on the breeding process, brings healthy, well-tested cats, with good genetics and friendly personalities – the focus behind Texas Star Bengals.
Today, Stacy is proud to see her beloved Bengals receiving rave reviews!
Part of her success is in remaining small, focusing her attention on quality over quantity. That and ensuring the litters are raised in well-bonded and playful environments to help their personalities thrive.
Supreme Competition The positive reviews have continued onto the competition floor. As in canine competitions, minus the parade, cats are judged in similar ways with attention to form and physique. Stacy is proud to have seen her own Bengals “supremed out” meaning they have advanced through the competition stages even reaching Supreme Grand Champion!
Fun fact, on occasion a cat will escape their competition enclosure, and upon hearing “cat out” (much like “fore” in golf) everyone jumps into action!
As she prepares for an upcoming competition, Stacy says, “It is a lot of work and even more fun. Even though you do not win any money, just bragging rights.” But the reward is showing off the beloved breed she was convinced could be much more than that first breeder believed.
One Cat Leads to Another: Kitty Winks Luxury Cat Boarding While Stacy did not intend to become a small business entrepreneur, eventually a “kitty hotel” fell into her lap.
Knowing her love of cats, the business, Kitty-Winks Luxury Cat Boarding in Lavon, began with a friend’s simple request, “can you babysit my cat”?
Now, her “hotel” offers private cat rooms decorated with levels for climbing, windows for sunbathing, nooks for hiding, and even streaming bird videos. Each client is assured that their feline friend is happily cared for while they are away from home – receiving regular updates and photos. Because being away from their normal world is stressful for most cats, Stacy gives them all the comforts of home and plenty of attention and love.
Most of her clients’ board during longer vacations but she also has those who trust Kitty Winks’ safe and comforting environment for shorter trips. “Cats are self-sufficient however they can be easily trapped. One client came home to find their cat had gotten locked in a room without a litter box, food and water. Today, they board their cat regularly.”
T.S. Eliot once said, “If you think it is only a cat then obviously you have never loved a cat”. Ailurophiles understand exactly what he meant and have appreciation for the independent but loving nature of cats.
And for Stacy, it speaks of how her life unfolded in unexpected ways.
Stacy’s passion for cats of all kinds, exotic show to cuddly pets, is fulfilled through these ventures she could not even dream of as a young girl simply playing with the neighbors’ kittens.
See all the adorable photos on Instagram @TexasStarBengals and @kittywinks.catboarding.
Blue Ribbon News Staff Report. Photos courtesy of Texas Star Bengals and Kitty-Winks Luxury Cat Boarding.
A Purr-fect Fit: Bengals bred for royalty, Cats pampered like kings added by Melanie M on
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