Meet Linda van Ruiten | Bengal Cat Breeder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Linda van Ruiten and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Linda, what’s the most important thing you’ve done for your children?

I grew up as the only daughter of an entrepreneur. My three brothers and I were raised to work in the family business as soon as we were old enough to be useful. We learned responsibility, hard work, and the ins and outs of how business works.
Personally, I believe business owners have a certain mindset. An innate ability to think outside the box, come up with new and innovative ways to do things, and lead others. I do believe I have that mindset. I’m not sure if it’s passed down through generations of entrepreneurs or if it’s a behavior we learned through our childhood – maybe a bit of both.
Our 5 children are a huge reason I started Chalk Mountain Bengal Cattery in the first place. We wanted to raise our children in an environment where they could learn basic life skills.
Taking care of animals isn’t glamorous; it’s hard work and sometimes it’s dirty work. A good work ethic is definitely something our children have learned while helping out at the cattery.
Probably the most important thing they learned is respect for animals. A business built around animals is not a job you can clock in and out of; you can’t just call in sick or take a last minute trip. These cats and kittens rely on us to take care of them and we need to be there.
It is a lot of work and devotion, but it gives back too. Every single litter of Bengal kittens born is a celebration. We all watch together on a camera monitor and make predictions: How many kittens will be born? What colors will they be? Will we have a snow Bengal in this litter? It’s so much fun and rewarding.
When the little Bengal kittens are about 6 weeks old it gets even better, they start to play and the kids are always in and out of the cattery visiting the kittens and enjoying them.
A new celebration starts when the Bengal kittens are weaned from their mothers and join us in our home. The mother Bengal finally has a much deserved break from her Bengal kittens and 5 excited kids finally have some new playmates.
Work-Life balance isn’t easy for any entrepreneur, but especially a mother. I still work part time at my husband’s business, along with the cattery, home, and 5 children. Some days I feel like I’m super mom and I have everything under control, and other days I feel like I’m spread too thin and am failing at each of my jobs.
I’m not sure that I would call it a “balance” more of a “juggle”.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Breeding Bengal cats was not an easy business to get into. There are different categories of Bengal cat breeders here in Texas. There are scammers who don’t even have actual cats and kittens, there are those who breed unregistered cats claiming they are purebred Bengals, and there are also breeders who breed without DNA testing their cats.
Then there are the professional ethically-bred Bengal Catteries who put a lot of time, effort, and money into ensuring they produce the best and healthiest Bengal kittens possible. This is the category I would put Chalk Mountain Bengal Cattery into.
We do full DNA testing on all of our breeding cats. We also have their hearts screened yearly by a board certified veterinary cardiologist to ensure the lineage we are creating have healthy hearts.
The factor behind our success would be the fact that we fully do our best. We don’t just breed any Bengal cat. We have hand-picked our group of Bengals based on the breed standard, their health, and their personality. We feel it’s very important to have kittens and cats with friendly social personalities, so we go the extra mile to breed for personality traits along with physical characteristics.
It took years of trial and error to build up the breeding cats that we have today. Before we even our first litter of kittens we had excluded multiple breeding cats due to various genetic and health reasons.
We are very selective of what we bring to the table and it’s a perfect example of why we do full DNA panels and heart exams on all of our cats.
Having high standards and choosing to keep going wasn’t always easy, but it worked out for the best in the end because I can 100% stand by the quality we have built up now.
My favorite part of owning and running the Bengal Cattery is the cats and kittens. Seeing my Bengal moms taking such good care of their kittens warms my heart. The day the kittens start opening their eyes for the first time or taking those first shaky steps is exciting. All of those kitten milestones are special in their own way and sharing that with our kids is beyond special.
Another part of this business that makes me happy is the ability to stay in touch with kitten owners and getting picture updates.
I even had someone reach out to tell me that their new kitten has made the owner’s father a gentler and kinder person.
Animals truly soothe the soul and I’m proud that I can provide that to people.
Personally, I like goals – this year I achieved two goals I had set for myself. Our cattery was inspected and received the Cattery of Excellence award from CFA (Cat Fancier’s Association INC) and an Outstanding Cattery Certificate from TICA (The International Cat Association). Working together as a family we are making it work and enjoying the journey.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We aren’t always in the mood to experience the hustle and bustle of the city. Sometimes we just want something quiet and inexpensive to do with the kids. One of our favorite stops is a simple one. We grab a pizza and drive out to DFW Founders’ Plaza. It’s a cute little area with some picnic tables and some shade where we can eat pizza and watch the airplanes take off and land. There’s some room to let the kids run around watching the airplanes is always a hit.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to make a shoutout to the Bengal cat breeding associations out there like TICA, CFA, and the many ethical and professional breeders themselves. We are a community who help each other, but also a community that holds each other accountable. By breeding Bengal kittens we are building a lineage, and with that comes responsibility. What kinds of kittens are we bringing into the world? Are these kittens genetically healthy? Are they a good representation of Bengal breed standard? Are we watching the personality traits as well? All of these questions that should go through every breeder’s mind when breed Bengals.
We do a lot of research into the genetics of cats and I have learned a lot along the way both from breeding associations but also from fellow breeders. Our breeding cats are also a part of our lives as well, we’re attached to them and we love them like family.
I love that this Bengal cat community is all about bettering the breed, and making sure catteries are both ethical and responsible.

Website: https://chalkmountainfamilyfarm.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chalkmountainfamilyfarm/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chalkmoutainfamilyfarm/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9BOecnr41fhHwNhO_GAhSA

Other: https://linktr.ee/chalkmountainfamilyfarm

Image Credits
Photos by Linda van Ruiten, Chalk Mountain Bengal Cattery