Ragdoll... cat or kitten?

Is anyone going to think we're crazy for even THINKING about getting another cat?!!! I guess my heart has been captured by these feline friends of mine... there's no going back now! I'm going to end up being that little old lady with 27 cats who's the conversation piece of the neighborhood.

Anyway, here is my question: If we were to adopt another cat in hopes of finding an extremely friendly, extremely extroverted "lap cat," would it be best to get a kitten so that it will be used to us from an early age? Or should we get an adult who has already exhibited a super-friendly personality at his old home, in hopes that it will carry over when he gets here?

I keep going back and forth. If it's a kitten, we couldn't guarantee what kind of personality he would have when he grew up... but if we get an adult, we can't guarantee that he would adjust well once he got here and continue exhibiting the personality traits he had in his old home.

We've never had a kitten before, so I'm at a loss as to which would be best. I thought I'd come here to the breeders and ask the experts. Any suggestions?

I think either would do fine as long as the new adult was good with other cats as well as yours being ok with accepting it. Kittens do adjust good with other cats of all ages so if your cats will play nice with a baby,and you never had one and want one, a kitten will be a good choice. But, if you think an adult would be safer with yours check breed rescues and breeders for retired breeders. They will beable to help you find a match for your family. Kittens I do find will uaually adjust so, you would be fine with a kitten, I think a kitten may adjust easier with having as many other cats, I think an older one may have a little harder time adjusting, depends on the cat though.

I think that it really depends on the cat themselves. My two newest cats have been kittens when I got them. With the first one, I thought "well he's full of energy now, but he's so loving that surely once he's full grown he'll love to snuggle". Not so! I love chester to bits, and he likes to sit -near- me, but never on me or with me. Dynah on the other hand is only 3 months old and loves to sleep on me and with me always.

Also, while breed will help, it doesn't guarentee anything. we adopted my mom's cat, dolly from a friends grandmother who was given her as a gift. Dolly is a ragdoll. We like to say that she was a hermit born into the wrong body. She always seems to have this "I don't like being touched or hugged or kissed, but I can't stop myself from asking for a bellyrub" attitude. Totally nature vs nurture. On the other hand, she was neglected by the lady for the first year or so of her life...so one can understand why she wouldn't like being cuddled (except for at 3am when she jumps on my moms chest and DEMANDS it lol)

I have learned over the years that the right cat will find you, and you just need to keep an open heart and mind and watch for it. That's the best way to find them...afterall, twice now I've gone looking for siamese and come home with tuxedo DSH's...and they're perfect in every way.

Much luck with the new addition

s anyone going to think we're crazy for even THINKING about getting another cat?!!! I guess my heart has been captured by these feline friends of mine... there's no going back now! I'm going to end up being that little old lady with 27 cats who's the conversation piece of the neighborhood.

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haha, I like that. I don't think you are crazy..because I have 30 cats (And i am not old )

I have done introductions of older, younger, male, female, etc..plenty of times. It depends on the individual cat themselves. I hope you rescue an older one though! Kittens are the first to go!

IMO, an adult or kitten would be fine to bring into your home. Introduction should be slow into the home as well into the rest of your furry family. While a breeder can somewhat tell what the personality of a kitten is, it is still a kitten and can change somewhat, but you are also a big part of the kittens life and can somewhat mold the kitten when the kitten comes to you, (to some extent.) What I mean, is if you are hoping for a lap kitten, show the kitten that this is what you like, and continue trying on a slow level, but I know even a 12 week old kitten who has been a lap kitten in my home, has sometime went to become a loving kitten that would rather sit beside their family than on them. So, the myth that ALL Ragdoll are lap cats is wrong, I do feel that they are a very social breed and love to be with people, but each Ragdoll has an individual personality, but do have common traits that most Ragdolls will display, that is of course what makes each breed their own, other than of course physical appearance.
I have brought adults into my home to slowly socialize into my home of other adult Ragdolls, and we haven't had issues. I have brought kittens into my home that ran my queens running hissing the other way, until they got used to the fact that Meowmy brought another baby home...LOL Most cats or kittens will usually work out pack order on their own, a few hisses and growls will be normal in the beginning. Be sure to have claws clipped to avoid any scratches, if they do get more agitated.
Also, IMO, there are many retired or rescue Ragdolls, these breeders and or/organizations should do a background if one is available, and can tell you what to expect, especially from retired Ragdolls. I have directed many families to rescue who have adopted older Ragdolls and been very happy with their choice, and will continue to adopt older Ragdolls.

Here is a link to help find retired breeders, keep checking back daily, as they are added on a regular basis.
http://www.ragdollinternational.org/brdrsretired.shtml
Here is for Special Needs Ragdolls who need extra love.
http://www.ragdollinternational.org/specialneeds.shtml

Some other retired breeders.

http://www.rfci.org/adults.php and http://rfwclub.org/ragdolladult.htm

Again check these sites often for updates.

For Ragdoll Rescue, this is a great link, ran by a very caring person.
http://www.freewebs.com/ragdollrescu...eforrescue.htm

Petfinder is another great way to find Ragdolls or Ragdoll Wannabee's. If the personality is what you are looking for, there are many cats in shelters who will have what many claim to be the Ragdoll personality, there will be many loving, laid back, social cats, if purebred or registration papers isn't important to you.

There is also nothing wrong with wanting a kitten, it should be what you feel most comfortable with and just check out the cat or kittens personality from the breeder or rescue organization, and go with the the cat or kitten that steals your heart.

Good luck on your search for the purr-fect furry family member.

Kittens are a LOT of work and are very, very active. So it depends on how much time you have, if you value a full nights sleep and if any other animals in the home will tolerate a rambuntious wee one! For myself, I prefer an adult cat. Just much less work and usually more settled down. Especially if they are already spayed/neutered. Kittens are cute and a lot of fun though. It just depends on what will fit in with your lifestyle and your other family members.

Originally Posted by Punkygirl0101

haha, I like that. I don't think you are crazy..because I have 30 cats (And i am not old

)

I have done introductions of older, younger, male, female, etc..plenty of times. It depends on the individual cat themselves. I hope you rescue an older one though! Kittens are the first to go!

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I agree it all depends on the kitty and probably with an adult cat it would be easier to know if they are a "lap kitty" I have four cats and two of whom were my "lap kittys" kittens . I have had them since they were babies. I tried to make em lap kitties but it just didnt happen. I think being a lap kitty is just in their nature.

punky, while you are entitled to your own oppinion, your signature is just that. Just because people "breed or buy, wont make shelter pets die" It is just not true. I have sold kittens to people, and they would never have adopted one from a shelter, they would have gotten one some where else, just not a shelter. So I am not killing shelter pets by breeding my cats, thank-you

I agree. There is absolutely NO truth to that statement and its offensive to boot (especially when you're posting in the 'Breeders Corner').

I donate to our local shelter, I send them items they list that are needed. I make all our friends do the same. But, I would probably never have gotten a cat from a shelter. The only animal i ever rescued, found me. An OES that I had for about 13 years.
When I decided to get a cat , I researched every breed until I found one with the Qualities that would probably fit into our family. I went to the catteries, made sure they were clean and ALL of their cats were healthy. (something you can't really hope for from a shelter cat or kitten)
Now again, this is my preference and I salute all of you that have gotten shelter cats, have 30 rescued cats, or just have the love to care for all of these animals whether dogs, cats , rats, hamsters ...et all! I would never be able to do this with my schedule, and I am just not that type of person. I dont think that makes me a bad person.
It was on this site that I learned it was probably best to have two cats...and that has worked too.
I think we all do what we can...and without the people who breed cats I would probably have never gotten a cat at all. I also would never have gotten the opportunity to meet the two people that own the cattery where I bought my ragdolls. That would have been a shame, because I not only purchased a cat, but acquired two loving, giving, sharing friends. I think there is enough room on this earth for each to do what they can to care for ALL the animals...whether bred or abandoned.

Originally Posted by reddicequeen

I donate to our local shelter, I send them items they list that are needed. I make all our friends do the same. But, I would probably never have gotten a cat from a shelter. The only animal i ever rescued, found me. An OES that I had for about 13 years.
When I decided to get a cat , I researched every breed until I found one with the Qualities that would probably fit into our family. I went to the catteries, made sure they were clean and ALL of their cats were healthy. (something you can't really hope for from a shelter cat or kitten)
Now again, this is my preference and I salute all of you that have gotten shelter cats, have 30 rescued cats, or just have the love to care for all of these animals whether dogs, cats , rats, hamsters ...et all! I would never be able to do this with my schedule, and I am just not that type of person. I dont think that makes me a bad person.
It was on this site that I learned it was probably best to have two cats...and that has worked too.
I think we all do what we can...and without the people who breed cats I would probably have never gotten a cat at all. I also would never have gotten the opportunity to meet the two people that own the cattery where I bought my ragdolls. That would have been a shame, because I not only purchased a cat, but acquired two loving, giving, sharing friends. I think there is enough room on this earth for each to do what they can to care for ALL the animals...whether bred or abandoned.

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Ragdolls and OES go so well together don't they. We had 2 OES, Jack and Annabelle, but we just recently lost Jack at almost age 4 from a brain tumor. The loss has been very hard to deal with, we lost our funny, furry, best friend. It has been about 2 months since we lost him, but the tears still catch us all off guard sometimes. He honestly was the best dog one could ask for. Aside from the brain tumor found in our OES, 4 other OES have been diagnosed with the same over the past few years. I am finding that the breed is becoming too inbred and many problems are occuring because of these issues, in my opinion.
Here is a picture of Jack and Annabelle together, Jack is on the left. This picture was photoshopped by a friend to include our beautiful front yard Oklahoma sunset behind them. One of my favorite pictures of both sheepies together.



And my other favorite picture, showing what a gentle giant he was, he loved when we had kittens around, and the kittens loved climbing up and down him and trying to nurse off his long tufts of hair.


While I am so happy to share the pictures of him, it is still so hard to know he is no longer with us. I hope you have wonderful memories of your OES, and thank you for rescuing him. Did you go through NEOESR (Northeast Old English Sheepdog Rescue)? They have a wonderful organization for rescuing many of the sheepdogs, and providing care and fostering until adoption.

Back on topic, somewhat, I also help out with our local rescue and not only physically, but also monetarily. I believe in ethical breeding, just as much as helping rescue organizations and shelters. There is room for both.

Very eloquently put everyone.

FamilytimeRags, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It is so very difficult to loose a love one. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures. The one with the kitten just blessed me. To see such a large dog curled up with a tiny kitten like that is priceless.

Originally Posted by siameseohio

Very eloquently put everyone.

FamilytimeRags, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.

It is so very difficult to loose a love one. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures. The one with the kitten just blessed me. To see such a large dog curled up with a tiny kitten like that is priceless.

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Thank you so much for your kind words. To know him was to love him, he was just a character with a "goofy innocence" about him. He thought he was a 100 lb. Ragdoll, and a lap is where he really thought he should be at. He loved all the Ragdolls, and he really seemed to sense the kittens were fragile and would always be so gentle, except when bathing, as his tounge was at times as big as the kittens. I could always look at him and see complete sweetness, but some neighbors who didn't know him yet, would just see a large dog, and would worry what he may do. It wasn't long before he and Annabelle were stars around the streets of our neighborhood as they would lick someone to death, but biting or jumping up were out of the question, they were very well minded.
He only got to see a very small dusting of snow when he was a year old, as Oklahoma doesn't get much snow. A few weeks ago, we had one of our largest snow falls, which still wasn't much, but it did cover the ground, I couldn't help but feel the sadness when I knew that he should have been allowed to go run and hop through the snow with the kids.
I could go on and on about the most wonderful dog, and when I say a "dog" I almost feel like I am betraying him, as he was much more than a dog, he was a friend, and the gave the best hugs. I enjoy sharing about him, and I am sure it is probably good to talk about him, but the sadness is still sometimes more overwhelming than I expect, it has been 2 months, and it still seems like yesterday sometimes. Our blessings are that we shared almost 4 wonderful years with him, and that Annabelle is still with us and she is healthy, and seems to be coping better everyday with the loss of her partner in crime.
Jack's full name was Jackson Wiggles. He wiggled with happiness.
To anyone who has lost a loved one, I wish peace and happy memories to fill your heart, and don't let anyone tell you how long to grieve.

Familytimerags...believe me i feel your pain. My Sheba has been gone many years. She was healthy and playful and oh so gentle right up to the day she died. This pic is of *her babies* You never met better groomed guinea pigs in your life. She would spend forever *herding* them She herded my two children too. I think that is one of the reasons I got a gray and white cat. I know Sheba would have loved my little raggies.
When i said Sheba found us...I mean it. My daughter was five...and we went to visit a friend out on her farm. She had a dog (Sheba) that showed up one day, their barn cat had been killed and the OES apparently had had puppies recently because she was nursing them till they could eat on their own.
She came out of the barn...took hold of my daughters wrist and took her in the barn to show off her babies. I took her home that day. The vet said she was about 18 months old. I advertised for two weeks and no one claimed her. I had her spayed and she lived with us for about 13 years. So many many memories of her *clownish loving behavior
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ueen/sheba.jpg

Thanks, everyone, for your advice. I think we've decided to get an adult or young adult if we ever take the plunge. Your comments really helped in that regard, so thanks! Sheba and Jack were both beautiful dogs. I'm very sorry for your loss. What a sweet story about how how you found Sheba, Redicequeen! I also lost a canine loved one about a year ago and I know what you've gone through.