Meet Our Family
This page is my chance to tell you all about myself, my family, and how we care for our cats. If you don't have time to read all of it, I hope you can read the important sections or at least scroll through the pictures so you'll have an idea of what our home is like. We love our kitties very much and specialize in raising kittens with exceptional personalities.
If you like, you can jump to the sections that I feel are most important:
In 2023, we were very excited to be chosen to do an interview about Bengal cats for Catster Magazine. Below is part of our interview. Catster is a great resource for all things related to cats!
🐾 Our Memberships in the Cat Community
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TICA member & attends TICA cat shows
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CFA member & attends CFA cat shows
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TIBCS ~ The International Bengal Cat Society
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The Bengal Cat Club
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The Ragdoll Fanciers' Club
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Greater BR Cat Club - member and help with the yearly cat show
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I'm also involved in many Facebook Bengal groups. Too many to list!
🐾 Cat Show Participation
I absolutely LOVE going to cat shows! Unfortunately, having a young daughter on the spectrum and two older kids in school, I can only attend about 3-5 shows a year. Most of the cat shows are pretty far from where we live. But we still go to as many cat shows as possible. They are so much fun! If you would like to see pictures and awards we have won, visit our cat show page.
My daughters and my niece at a cat show.
My sister and I at a cat show.
My daughters taking a picture with a judge.
🐾 About Our Cattery - How it Began
Our cattery's name is Belle Ami. “Belle Ami” means “beautiful friend” in French. I truly couldn’t have picked a more appropriate name for our cattery, since Bengals and Ragdolls are indeed beautiful and wonderful companions!
Growing up, there were a lot of stray cats in our neighborhood. Our parents allowed my sister and me to “adopt” many of the stray cats that showed up hungry. A few of them were pregnant, and we were allowed to make accommodations for them for the arrival of their kittens. I even remember one mama cat having her litter in an armoire in our bedroom! It was so much fun watching the baby kittens grow and play, so from a very young age, kittens were always very special to me.
I'm allergic to cats, but my reaction can vary depending on the cat. I never really cared. I'd rather suffer with allergies than not feed all the hungry kitties that came to our house! My mom always let me keep some inside as permanent family pets. I can remember so many times as a kid when we would see a stray kitten in the middle of nowhere and stop to rescue it.
I started breeding Bengals in 2008. My sister had purchased a pet Bengal, and I happened to be staying at her house for the weekend. To my surprise, I had no allergic reaction to the cat. Not only was it beautiful, but it was SO interactive! We had a balloon, and every time we hit it into the air, the Bengal would go flying up to take a turn keeping the balloon up. I was obsessed!
We added Ragdolls to our breeding program in 2022. I had always wanted a Ragdoll, but I thought my allergies wouldn't tolerate them because I had been severely allergic to a Himalayan I'd owned in the past. To my surprise, my reaction to the Ragdolls was minimal! Once we brought them into our family, we completely fell in love with the breed.
Even though there are lots of differences between them, Ragdolls and Bengals get along so well together! We love watching them play and snuggle together. It's like opposites attract! Both breeds love attention and human interaction, and we feel incredibly lucky to be able to raise two such wonderful breeds.
So here we are today. I breed Bengals and Ragdolls, and my sister breeds Ragdolls and Devon Rexes. I have no doubt that our childhood led us both down that same path. It wasn't planned; it just ended up this way. But it's such a blessing. We always have so much to talk about! And all of our children are very lucky to always have adorable kittens to play with.
🐾 Raising Our Kittens With Our Family
All of our Bengal and Ragdoll kittens are raised inside our home with our family. My three daughters, Bailey, Blair, and Brooklynn, just adore kittens! They help me a lot by playing with them, cuddling them, and giving them lots of attention. Because of all the love and attention the kittens receive, they are very social and affectionate.
Bailey and Blair have been raised with Bengals since they were infants, and Brooklynn has grown up surrounded by our Bengals and Ragdolls. If you go through my website, social media posts, and YouTube channel, you will see all of my children growing up with the kittens year after year.
We include the cats and kittens in lots of activities. You will even see kittens that we are not keeping running around playing in wrapping paper on Christmas morning or jumping in and out of baskets on Easter.
Brooklynn playing with 4 1/2 week old Bengal kittens.
Petting the new babies before their eyes are opened.
🐾 Quick Info About Me
My name is Melissa, and I'm a mom of three beautiful girls and stepmom to another beautiful girl. I'm a Christian, and I looooove cats, of course!
I'm obsessive about things being organized and clean, and I'm very particular about how things are done. I have hundreds of lists in my phone, and my calendar is updated daily. I love to learn and research things, and I've done this extensively with the Bengals and Ragdolls.
I'm the wife of a firefighter, and although he's not in nearly as many of our pics and videos, he helps me a lot with the cats. He is the best husband. I'm so lucky to have him.
I'm also a homeschool mom to our youngest daughter, who is on the spectrum. It takes a lot of time daily to care for her. She's the sweetest girl, and she loves all the kittens.
I'm incredibly busy most days, and I don't get nearly enough sleep, but I love what I do, and I love that I can be home with my kids and my kitties. I won't stop working if I'm at home, so we try to take a few family vacations every year.
I want my clients to feel like they picked one of the best breeders in the country if they get a kitten from us. From the day you choose a kitten until the day they are in your home, I'm providing information, tips, videos, etc.
It's the BEST feeling when a client tells me that this is the best or sweetest cat they've ever owned.
🐾 Early Age Socilization
When the babies are newborn and still have their eyes closed, I take each of them out daily to get weighed. I'll hold them and pet them just for a couple of minutes, so they get used to the feeling of being lifted, carried, and held.
We start taking the babies out for short periods of time at about a week and a half old. I put them in a basket with a warm blanket, and they will go in the living room right next to me. Kittens are able to start hearing around 5-8 days old. This very early socialization is beneficial during their development since they can hear us and all the other sounds around them. You'll see lots of pictures of kittens in baskets on our social media!
Around 3 weeks old, kittens become very curious about their surroundings. At this age, we start taking them from their mom for longer periods of time every day to sit in our laps. This is a critical period for them to spend time with people and learn not to be afraid of them. If they don't learn to trust and bond with people at this age, in my opinion, they will never be as social as cats that do. Our kittens become so used to being petted and handled that many of them will start to roll over for belly rubs at this age or purr like crazy. It's very sweet!
As the kittens grow, the amount of time they spend with me and my girls gets longer and longer. They have lots of toys and scratching posts available, and before long they're fearless, running around and having the best time. All of this attention helps our kittens become extremely sweet, confident, and outgoing. They absolutely adore my girls and love being around people because they've grown up getting so much attention from our family.
The kittens are very used to household noises like the TV, vacuum, blow dryer, screaming children, husbands yelling at football games on TV, washing machines, etc. They are also used to cats other than their mom. We always have a few of our queens in our house with us and a few cats that are our personal pets, and they will visit with the kittens.
Socialization is so important! It takes an enormous amount of time, but it really makes a lifelong difference in the personalities of both Bengal and Ragdoll kittens. Finding a beautiful kitten to bring home is exciting but can also be a huge disappointment if they don't have the personality you had hoped for. When choosing a breeder, please take your time and choose one that you know really focuses on the socialization of their kittens.
🐾 What Our Kittens Come With
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Five-year health guarantee
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Spayed/Neutered
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TICA registration papers
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Vaccinated
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Microchipped and vet-checked
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Raised in our home and fully socialized
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HCM scanned, PRA & PkDef Neg Parents
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Lifetime breeder support
Plus so much more! See everything our Ragdoll kittens come with and everything our Bengal kittens come with.
🐾 Spoiling Our Sweet Babies
All of our breeding cats are considered our pets and are loved unconditionally. We spend time with them, lavish them with affection, play with them, give them special treats, and spend an enormous amount of money on them because they deserve the best of everything!
Our kittens are very spoiled, too! We have tons of toys all over the house and nursery, scratching posts, hideaways, climbing trees, window perches, shelves to climb on, hammocks to nap in, a cat wheel, and tunnels for them to entertain themselves with all day.
We raise our kittens on a diet of very high-quality food. We are currently feeding them Farmina Dry food and Weruva wet food. We want them to arrive at your home in optimal health.
🐾 Kitty Accommodations
Queens and Kittens
Our Bengal and Ragdoll queens stay in our house with us or in our luxurious “queen house,” built especially for them with all the fancy kitty amenities. They have wall-climbing accessories, a loft, toys, cozy beds, window perches, and of course, air conditioning!
When one of our queens is about to give birth, she stays in our nursery room in an extra-spacious enclosure where we can monitor her and the new babies via nanny camera and make sure she and her kittens are safe. This gives her privacy and is less stressful since the other cats won't be able to bother her or physically get too close to her babies. Sometimes we also have them have babies in one of our pop-up show kennels in one of our bedrooms or walk-in closet. Mama cats that don't feel safe or get too stressed may hurt or kill their babies. If you've never heard of this, it's probably because you're not a cat breeder, but we make sure we do everything to keep them stress-free.
You'll often see the mama cats in the videos we post of our kittens. Sometimes they like to take a break from their babies, and other times they want to join them for playtime.
No expense is spared when it comes to our cats and kittens. Keeping them comfortable, pampered, happy, and loved is extremely important.
Studs
Our boys each have their own separate enclosure for their safety. Their enclosures are inside a building we custom-built especially for them, and they are raised off the ground so they never touch grass or dirt. The building has large doors that are closed at night and during inclement weather and opened each morning. They have air conditioning when it's hot, heat lamps that turn on automatically when it's cold, and fans so they always have a nice breeze.
Each boy also has hammocks, multiple levels to climb on, perches, scratching posts, and his own little house to hide away in. The entire building is shaded by our big oak trees, and they have a great view of our yard, back porch, and all the squirrels and birds.
View my TICA Bengal Cattery or Ragdoll Cattery listing to see recent registered kitten litters, the last TICA cat show I attended, and my membership info.
🐾 Beware of Scammers
Unfortunately, kitten scams have become extremely common, especially when searching for a Bengal or Ragdoll kitten online. Over the years, I've heard so many heartbreaking stories from families who sent money for a kitten that never existed.
To make sure you are not being scammed, ask the breeder for their vet's phone number. Call their vet's office and ask if they're a client. Then ask if they can verify that the phone number of the person you have been communicating with matches the one they have on file for the breeder. You can also get on Google and verify that the number of the vet clinic they gave you is real. There's no way a scammer could fake all this.
I've put together helpful information on how to choose a reputable breeder and how to avoid kitten scams. I encourage anyone searching for a kitten online to read through these tips, even if you don't choose one of our kittens.
Our Bengal cat Abby doing tricks 2009
🐾 Colors We Specialize In
Bengal Colors
Bengals come in lots of beautiful colors, but we specialize in brown and snow Bengals because those are our favorites! Our snow Bengals include seal lynx, seal mink, and seal sepia, while our browns range from lighter, cooler shades to rich, warm golden browns.
We also love glitter! Our Bengal cats have beautiful glittered coats, which gives their fur that incredible sparkling appearance when the light hits it.
Ragdoll Colors
Our Ragdoll breeding program focuses on beautiful blue bicolor and seal bicolor Ragdolls. We also occasionally have mitted and lynx patterns, as well as kittens in gorgeous lilac and chocolate shades. No matter the color or pattern, we absolutely love their soft coats, beautiful markings, and those gorgeous blue eyes!
🐾 Our Goals As a Breeder
Our Bengal and Ragdoll breeding cats are carefully selected for their health, pedigrees, temperaments, and beautiful breed characteristics. Our cats come from Champion bloodlines, and over the years I have brought in cats from around the world to add new bloodlines and genetic diversity to our breeding program.
With our Bengals, we strive for large, flowing rosettes, great contrast, clear coats, puffy whisker pads, highly glittered pelts, and beautiful wild-looking faces. With our Ragdolls, we focus on gorgeous blue eyes, beautiful coloring and patterns, soft coats, and the sweet expressions the breed is known for. With both breeds, temperament is extremely important to us. We want our kittens to be just as sweet and loving as they are beautiful.
Although many of our Bengal and Ragdoll kittens come from Champion bloodlines and may be show or breeding quality, I rarely place kittens into breeding programs. I prefer for most of our babies to go to loving pet homes where they can be spoiled, adored, and treated like part of the family.
One of my favorite old videos of my twins at about 5 years old playing with the kittens.
Adorable kittens playing with my girls and their mama.
🐾 Why Choose Belle Ami
I put an enormous amount of time, love, and effort into our cats, our kittens, and the families who choose us. I truly want every family to go home with a healthy, well-socialized kitten they completely fall in love with and a personality they can't stop bragging about!
After breeding cats for so many years, I know how important everything that happens during those first few weeks of a kitten's life can be. We give our Bengal and Ragdoll kittens the best care, spend tons of time with them, and love and snuggle them like crazy, starting a few days after they are born.
Whether you fall in love with one of our Bengals or Ragdolls, I would love to help you find the perfect kitten to become part of your family!
Special thanks to Mrs. Gene Ducote, owner of Gogees Cattery, who was instrumental in the development of the Bengal breed, for mentoring me and always giving me such good advice. It was an honor to have owned two Bengals from her cattery, and I'm thrilled to be able to continue the Gogees bloodline that she worked so hard to achieve. I hope that with the knowledge I've acquired from her, I can continue to produce Bengals as beautiful as hers were! Learn more about Gogees contributions to the Bengal breed.
Our family minus our newest addition Brooklynn!
