Another Ragdoll question... went to a breeder and...

I went to visit a cattery last week and I was just curious as to what you guys would say about the cats/kittens I saw there. I am looking for an EXTREMELY extroverted, in-your-face, loving kitten or cat. I saw 5 or 6 kittens in her home (which was exceptionally clean, and the cats all looked very well), but not a single one of them seemed very friendly. One of the kittens did chew on me a bit, and finally settled down to curl up next to me, but none of them crawled in my lap or acted like they wanted to be pet (most of them would walk away when I pet them, which is exactly what our current cats do.) The little ones were not yet ready to go (I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t remember how old they were, but they were very small) and the other two were 15 weeks old. The breeder said that most kittens arenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t very people-friendly, that theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re mostly interested in playing, and that the “lap cat†personality would come out later. Is this true??? None of her adults were overly friendly, either. They were certainly not skittish or afraid or anything that led me to believe they were mishandled or mistreated, but I was in a room filled with about 20 cats and only a few ever came up to either of us (me or the breeder), and even those didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t stay around for very long. Should I expect a kitten to take to me right away, or is it as she said - that these behaviors manifest as they get older?

All the kittens that have picked me came up to me right away and all over loving to be petted and held. We always watch to see how they are around our kids if they are relaxed around them. I would find that rather strange. Me personaly I would prob look elsewhere.

This is a difficult question to answer, and one that seems more difficult for a Ragdoll breeder, as most people are lead to believe that the Ragdoll cat, is more of a mythical creature that have extra traits, or they are more than a "cat". Ragdolls kittens, just like most kittens are very interested in playing, and if the breeder is properly socializing the kittens, and it sounds like they are, since all the cats and kittens were in the room, and didn't seem shy or scared. Our kittens depending on ages, young kittens sleep a lot, the older they get, it seems they go full blast, and then are more likely to snuggle next to the person, or in a lap.
I can say that our Ragdoll adults, most of them, will come up to our visitors, allow petting, and some actually demand it. Then we have a couple of Ragdolls that are more likely to just come sniff you, and walk on to find a nice place to nap. It would be my strong opinion to say that the Ragdoll traits come out more as the cat matures. There are many factual traits regarding the Ragdoll, however, in breeding, not all traits may be there. Such as the Ragdoll is a very relaxed laid back cat, this is fact. Some will say, the Ragdoll will just fall limp when picked up, this is not true. Each Raggie will have it's own personality. I have some that love to be carried around like a little baby, and while sleeping can usually be found, with the belly in the air, doing the "flop". I believe it is a general fact that the Ragdoll is a social breed, but nurture will always play a factor in any particular kitten/cat. The Ragdoll does require minimal grooming typically, it does shed though, it may be less than other breeds, but shedding is still going to be an issue to anyone who is bothered by shedding. The breed is not hypoallergenic, if one is allergic to cats, the Ragdoll breed is no different. Ragdolls are a large breed cat, and while you may see some sites quote 25-30 lb cats, this is very rare, and for the most part an over exaggeration to promote ones cats. In actual a female is usually 10-15lbs, with males being larger. Neutered and Spayed cats will be a little larger, since the breeding hormones are not affecting them. My Ragdoll alters get between 15-20 lbs at full grown, which is typically around 4 years of age. That isn't to say that there hasn't been larger Ragdolls, but it just isn't the average to see those sizes.
Now, I also will say our cats act completely different when we have visitors than when we are just relaxing as a family. I could swear to you that most of my Ragdolls will fetch, but they would make me look like a liar if you came over and I tried to put one of them on the spot.. Most of our Raggies sleep in a bed with one of us, but we do have those that prefer the top perch of the cat tree. I will say many of our adults are lap cats, but one of my favorites, well he is just too big to be comfortable in anyones lap, but he is very much an, in your face, headbutting, cuddle bug.
If you are not set on pattern or coloring, you may ask the breeder to pick the kitten out for you, she/he sees the kittens all day, so would know the kitten who would be more likely to be the lap kitten.
Also, once you get a kitten home, you can do certain things to encourage behavior, including helping them to enjoy lap time. Depending on the kittens individual personality, you may find that in time the kitten enjoys lot of lap time, or will only tolerate it for a short time, and is more comfortable getting attention in other ways. However, my best advice with Ragdolls, is asking the breeder to help you choose the right kitten for you and your family.
It sounds like the breeder had a nice clean home, that is great!! The adults and kittens, I assume were healthy looking, since they were out roaming. If you go back to this breeder when the kittens are old enough to be seen, try interacting with them with a toy, or picking each one up, and see which one is the least "wiggleworm". Just remember in the back of your head, that they are still full of energy kittens.
Another thing is, ask about the personality of the Mom, I have found that for the most part if the Momma cat is more extroverted, her kittens are more likely to follow suit. So ask about the personality of each of the breeding adults. You might ask for referrals as well, and ask past adopters what their Ragdolls temperament is like now that is an adult.
I may have gave too much information, but there are many myths that surround the Ragdoll breed, and educating those wanting to adopt a Ragdoll should know the full facts. There is even a myth, that Ragdolls feel no pain, the breed originator, Ann Baker, came up with this theory to further the breed.
Good luck.

IMO in a room full of 20 cats, they would not be so interested in coming up in your lap as a stranger to them. But I think that if a kitten is taken into a new enviroment and has a chance to get to know you, he/she might be more of a in-your-face cat.

Kittens do have a tendency to be more interested in playing with every little thing then to come and sit in your lap. I would rather the kitten be playing with siblings and show interest then to sit on the sides or be too quiet - too quiet might mean they are sick or not up to par. A healthy kitten plays a lot, then sleeps a lot, then plays a lot.

If the breeder seemed to be a good one, then get a kitten from her; but if you have a gut feeling that its not right, then keep looking. Also, males (neutered) have more a tendency to be in your face then females

Wow, thanks for all the information! That's so helpful. The breeder told me that the mother of the 15 week old kittens is one of the nicest and friendliest cats she has, and she is one of the only adults who came over to me while I was there. She also told me that the male kitten seems to be the friendliest with her, but it was the female who really came up to me most often. Soooo.... who knows?! We do have the opportunity to get both of them, the breeder told me that she would really like to see them both go together and we're certainly willing to adopt both of them. However, we have never owned a kitten before, all of our cats came to us as adults. Can someone really detail for me all the difficulties associated with kittens? Also, our cats are currently on antibiotics due to some sneezing and one of them is showing a third eyelid. The vet couldn't find anything actually "wrong" with them aside from one of them having worms so we treated them all for worms "just in case." He wants us to bring in another fecal in a few weeks to recheck them. We're planning to keep the kitten (or kittens?!) quarantined in a room the other cats can't get into, but I wanted to ask... will this be enough to keep them from becoming ill as we complete the round of antibiotics?

Until your cats are better, I would not bring in a new kitten (or 2). Its enough stress on them bringing into a new enviroment, let alone in the same house as a sick cat.

Will this breeder be neutering/spaying the kittens before you get them?

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Until your cats are better, I would not bring in a new kitten (or 2). Its enough stress on them bringing into a new enviroment, let alone in the same house as a sick cat.

Will this breeder be neutering/spaying the kittens before you get them?

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Yes, if we adopt them she told us she could have them spayed/neutered later this week and allow us to take them home after the stitches come out. By that time, our cats should be better.... I hope!

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Until your cats are better, I would not bring in a new kitten (or 2). Its enough stress on them bringing into a new enviroment, let alone in the same house as a sick cat.

Will this breeder be neutering/spaying the kittens before you get them?

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I agree with GK, let your own cats get healthy, before bringing in the kittens.
I would still keep the kittens quarantined about 2 weeks before allowing the cats to be introduced.

I do hope your kittens are early altered before being placed, but if not you won't be able to keep the male and female together for very long for fear of unplanned pregnancy. I have known of one Ragdoll male that had the ability to mate at 5 months old. Early altering is safe, with many health benefits, to read more about it, you can click here. http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/heal...ay-neuter.html

If you would like more articles on pediatric spay and neutering, please feel free to ask.

You mentioned not having kittens for awhile, there may be a few things that you want to check on, make sure all cords and other things that look fun for a kitten to chew on to be put up. Kittens will be very playful, so toys are going to be very appealing, and investing in a large cat tree for the kittens and cats to play, scratch, and excercise on. Feed a quality kitten food for the first 12 months of life, and if you can keep the kittens on the same food the breeder is feeding if possible, if you must change, ask the breeder for a sample, so you change the diet very gradually to prevent stomach upset.
I don't think you will notice much difference in being owned by a kittens as opposed to cats, except the kittens will be very playful and curious about everything they can get into.
Enjoy your kitten or kittens, and as a Ragdoll lover, I say get 2, as Ragdolls are like potato chips, you can't stop at one. Please update us, in your decision.

Originally Posted by Rina_Marie

Yes, if we adopt them she told us she could have them spayed/neutered later this week and allow us to take them home after the stitches come out. By that time, our cats should be better.... I hope!

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I apologize I was posting and didn't see you post this. That is wonderful that they will be speutered, before being placed. Good luck!!

One other thing in kitten proofing (we learned about this over the weekend)! If the kitten can get its head thru the hole, or under a dresser/freezer, they WILL get in there!

Was supervising Charlie downstairs (where its more stuff for him to get into). We defrosted the freezer and hubby forget to put the plate on the front. I heard Charlie's meow but could NOT see him. So I called him again and then noticed a little paw from under the freezer!

I managed to drag him out (he was flat on his tummy) and we quickly put the plate back on. The space was just high enough for him to get his head in.

He was not hurt or anything, but you really have to keep an eye on those babies! I had forgotten how little of a space they need

Both of my cats will jump into any drawer, door or box we open. We have become very careful when opening the refrigerator or doing laundry. We have heard horror stories and dont want to be a statistic.
I have one lap kitty and one that is too big! Remy is 16 months old and weighs about 21 lbs. He is the one that LOVES to be carried around...kills my back though. The little one is the snuggler. Remy likes to hang out at the top of the tree ...Skye is a couch potato...

Oh, and be VERY careful around vents! You probably have them all covered, but DH and I have been remodeling and we changed the floor vents around the house. Of course, Duke crawled right in! At first, he was just sitting there, but when I started to get closer to pull him out, he thought it was play time and ran down one end of the pipe/tube/whatever you call it! I had to open a can of food to get him to back his way out of there! We had to keep a close eye on him too, because we couldn't really cover it with wet mud around the opening (and he kept trying for three days with every vent in the house until we finally got them covered!)

So yeah, be VERY careful about that stuff!

Vents are scary - we had barn kittens (5 weeks old) get into the vents. It was the fault of the boys as they were told NOT to open the carrier (it was in the bathroom). I had just got them inside and one vent was loose. Well the kids let the kittens out (5 of them) and they got scared, knocked against the vent cover, it fell - scared 2 of them back to the carrier but the other 3 went down into the vent.

All the inticing was not helpful since they didn't even know us! Our youngest son (the one that opened the carrier) had to crawl thru part way from another spot and unscrew the vents. Between him and my husband they managed to get ahold of 5 week old scared kittens and pass them to me.

All were safe, but I was NOT pleased to say the least!

Originally Posted by reddicequeen

I have one lap kitty and one that is too big! Remy is 16 months old and weighs about 21 lbs. He is the one that LOVES to be carried around...kills my back though. The little one is the snuggler. Remy likes to hang out at the top of the tree ...Skye is a couch potato...

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Wow that is a BIG cat!!! I would love to see pictures of him!

You guys are scaring me with these horror stories!

Not horror stories, but just a caution for things you might not even think about with a little kitten

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Not horror stories, but just a caution for things you might not even think about with a little kitten

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Thanks, I really appreciate it... we need to know what to be prepared for!!!

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been thinking more about the kittens, and had another question. If we adopted both of them, do you think they would they be less likely to really bond with me? I heard someone ask this in another section and people seem to think that it wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t make much difference, I just wanted to find out from those who know Ragdolls, in particular. If we did adopt them both, do you think they would still do typical Ragdoll things like follow me around the house? Or is it more likely that they wouldn't really care about my wherabouts long as the other cat was with them? Do you they would become dependant on each other rather than me?

My two ragdolls follow me every where I go ...both of them. they play alot together but whenever I am there they seem to center around me. Ragdolls run through the house chasing each other like a herd of elephants. I dont usually participate in that sport. My breeder has alot of cats in her home...and they pretty much do the same with her. They lay on the couch with me OR they climb up in their tree and nap. If they are up there and I bring them down they will cuddle up and go back to sleep. I've never had any other type of cat so I am not sure what other breeds do?