Ragdoll (bad genes)?

[cyberkitten]

Ragdolls are indeed docile by nature- they were bred to be. BUT this poor baby is traumitized and upset and is displaying it. Also, he needs to protecxt himself froim what he perceives as a threat. You need to start over with him. Give him his own room with his things and allow him to get to know you on his terms. Also, give it 2wks-month before you introduce him to your meezer. There is an article on this site about this and many throught the internet - you need to get him used to youe scent and your cat's scent so that he feels comfortable, he was traumitzied by a world turned upseide down already and then brought into your home and shown a new cat who already rules the roost - no wonder he sees you as an emeny who may hurt him. The poor baby is scared t death!!! Wouldb't you be?

Give him time, patience, love and I am usre it'll worj out. The other familyt sound awful - givng up a cat because of a baby - God knows what they may have taught him or did to him!! Or they may have neen very good to him and then just thrown him out like so much garbage- they will only throw him out again if you return him so please try to help him and start over the right way! Good luck!! I bet he wll becoime the ragdoll he is meant to be!

 

[xdx]

I agree with Cyberkitten this cat has been traumertised and been through a lot. He needs time to settle in. Just because hes a ragdoll Doesnt mean no matter what he's docile. He will still protect himself in bad situations. Our ragdoll when we first got him was quite violent biting and scratching. So we gave him his own room spent lots of time with him and slowly very slowly introduced him to our other cats. It took a long time but it was well worth it as we now have a loving boy. Introducing cats to households is not always a quick and easy process you need to do it at the cats pace.

Good luck

 

[crittermom]

What helped our girls get along was I placed a towel that Blaze had slept on in the bathroom with Neela(she was the new baby) the next day, I placed the towel out here for Blaze to get use to Neela's scent.I let Blaze see Neela when she was in our bathroom resting in a crate with the door open.Blaze hissed at first.But I let them get use to one another in THEIR time.We got Neela on the 28th of Nov. by the 1st of this month, they are best of friends.Blaze even grooms Neela now.
Give the cats time to get use to one another before you jump to conclusions.I thought Blaze would NEVER accept Neela,but she did.

 

[straightcatman]

I was told that a breeder had a bunch of ragdolls and she gave them away but I don't know if they were free or not. This cat can't be a show cat because she has been marked.

 

[solaritybengals]

Just out of curiousity...what do you mean by; she has been marked?

 

[beckiboo]

Originally Posted by StraightCatMan

He's coming around now. He allows me to pet him and brush him but he ocassionally hisses and bites. I try to leave the room but he chases me and tries to catch me with his paws and takes gentles bites off of my leg pants. His behavior is somewhat unpredictable and erratic.

My Will has grabbed me around the ankles and nipped at me when he felt I didn't give him enough attention.

I would quit brushing for a few days and just give this kitty time. Check the behavior thread for more pointers on introductions. Also make sure he is neutered!

 

[straightcatman]

His coloration is not perfect which makes not a show quality ragdoll....half of his face is brownish black and so the inverted V is not perfect

 

[kluchetta]

Cats will often bite if overstimulated, and some have higher or lower thresholds than others. Sometimes playing triggers it, or brushing, or even petting. He's just on overload, so less activity in his environment, maybe Feliway to calm him, and let him get used to his new home. It would help to talk to him a lot, softly, or sing, or read aloud, and not look him in the eyes. That is a challenge to him. I'm sure that in a week or two you won't even recognize him!

 

[celestialrags]

Alot of people are making a lot of assumptions. This whole thread is so fustrating.

Why is it that the young couple dumped off the cat because they had to find it another home, mabey their child is alergic, and they didn't want to sit with him and have coffee, mabey it was hard for them to part with it.
Or mabey just because it seems agressive on the very first day in its home doesn't mean it came from a mill or byb mabey the young couple that had it was always working and never home, I tend to avoid young couples when im placeing my kittens, they tend to be unstable or go to work and/or school too much to be home with the cat. Mabey the cat is just a syco, just because rags are known for being docile doesn't mean every one is, we as people have many good people in very good homes and great up bringing, but they turn out to have some thing wrong in their minds and become serial killers, so an animal is just as capable of haveing some thing mentally wrong with it. people need to know more of the situation before telling some one what is wrong with his cat, no one knows what kind of life it had with any one and to base such strong oppinions with out all the facts is wrong.
well enough ranting.
and to the man who has the cat, before you give it back or find another home, I hope you check around first, mabey another ragdoll breeder would be willing to take him and place it as well as their retired breeders, If i lived closer to you i would take him and find a patient home with knowledge of proper introduction, and wouldn't ask if they should give up on in the first day or even the first month. When i got my first retired rag she hide for months hardly comming out, only when it was real quiet and i was home alone, and she didnt come from a byb or live in a cage all the time, she was from a very reputable breeder, she was just shy and took a long time to adjust, so to assume the breeder caused the problem just really irritates me.

well im done. I wont rant any more, and really tried to stay out of it, but the assumptions every one was making just upset me

 

[gayef]

After following this thread for a while now and biting my cheek to prevent myself from participating, I find I just have to agree with celestialrags. It has been a concern of mine for some time now that we all tend to jump to conclusions when we absolutely do not have enough information from BOTH sides of the story.

Cats are individuals, with individual traits. Why is it that each and every cat who ever ended up with behavioral issues and who was purchased from a breeder was automagically somehow mistreated or abused by that breeder? I think that as a group, we tend to want to believe that all cats are loving, trusting, gentle, docile creatures - and sometimes, as celestialrags accurately points out, this just isn't the case.

From personal experience, cats who are shy or aggressive towards humans can find trust - but it is a time-consuming process best undertaken by those people with unlimited amounts of patience and understanding of cats and their oftentimes quirky personalities.

 

[goldenkitty45]

That was kinda my point - I wanted to know WHY the couple gave the cat up and how it was acting with them. Everyone assumed it was because of how they were introduced (may be so) but no one wanted to think the cat had psycho problems. Neither side knows all the story.

I was pointing out the possibility that this cat was not normal and may need a single cat home or just was a cat with problems. But I was jumped on by many of you for voicing my opinion.

I still would have liked to know the other side of the story that we were not given. If my theory was right and the cat was mean with the couple's child, then it was much more to the story other then "you didn't introduce them right".

 

[labellavita]

um a cat always acts frightened and unusual when they are suddenly put in an unfamilar place with unfamiliar people. have you never had a new cat before? i've been through this many times. they always act hostile and strange but they'll warm up. just be warm and welcoming and they'll get used to their home and soon understand how to act.

 

[aries]

I don't know anything about breeds and how cats are supposed to act. I deal mostly with strays and rescues. But here are a few thought for you.

Every cat is an individual. I have yet to meet two alike. Some are naturally loving and laid back. While others are just aggressive and misunderstood.

Warning flag - someone giving an expensive pure bred cat away for free! Trust me, they had a reason. It may not have been a good reason, but there was one somewhere in their foggy little mind.

The ball is now in your court. You accepted the cat. You apparently met the people, if I understand correctly, but didn't insist on an explanation and now they probably won't shed any light on the situation. Now, it is up to you. You can keep the cat and take the time and make him a part of your family or you can find him a new home.

 

[gayef]

Originally Posted by Aries

Warning flag - someone giving an expensive pure bred cat away for free! Trust me, they had a reason. It may not have been a good reason, but there was one somewhere in their foggy little mind.

I'm sorry, Aries, but I totally disagree with this statement. I have been known to "give away" kittens when there are ones who will require long-term special needs or if other issues prevent me from placing them at normal cost. Of course, the people are screened thoroughly and determined to be able to provide those needs, special or otherwise, before I agree to place a kitten with them - but there ~are~ times when I cannot, in good faith, charge for a kitten when that kitten will be an expensive long-term prospect. I just fail to agree that this is a "warning flag".

 

[kai bengals]

I agree with Gayef. I just essential "gave away" one of our retired queens. Circumstances dictate every situation. It would be wise to learn the circumstances before making an assumption.

 

[celestialrags]

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

I agree with Gayef. I just essential "gave away" one of our retired queens. Circumstances dictate every situation. It would be wise to learn the circumstances before making an assumption.

Very true. Lot's of people "give" free pure breeds, they care more about good homes then the money. You don't know why they had to place the cat, they might not have had time to wait for a buyer. When we moved, it was just after haveing my daughter, it was move into the available apartment that didn't allow dogs, or be homeless and mabey still not found a place that would allow me to keep him, I loved my boxer very much, but I wasn't going to make my daughter be homeless, and found him a home, very quickly by not charging for him. The last dog I had, had to go when then owner sold the place to some one, and they wouldn't let me keep my dog, I did advertise her as for sale to weed out people looking to get free dogs to make money on, but when I found the right person, I gave her for free. So just because some one is giving a pure bred away doesn't mean there is some thing "wrong" with it. If I was to spend money on a pure bred, I probley wouldn't want to pay a lot for an adult, I would spend a little more and get a baby and train it the way I wanted and have it grow up with us.
When I retire my queen, I might or might not ask a fee, depends on the situation and the person.
The guy had asked advise on what to do with it, and if he should give it more time, and people are more interested in saying it's the breeder, it's the couple who gave it away, it doesn't matter now who is to blame for why the cat is the way he is, all that matters now is to try and help the cat get familiar in the new environment and become trusting of his new roomates. work on how to get him more trusting , instead of working on who made him distrusting. I would give him a week or so to calm a little and see what his personality is like then and see how aggressive he is if he still is.

 

[bengalbabe]

Originally Posted by StraightCatMan

I was told that a breeder had a bunch of ragdolls and she gave them away but I don't know if they were free or not. This cat can't be a show cat because she has been marked.

What do you mean by marked?

 

[celestialrags]

Originally Posted by StraightCatMan

His coloration is not perfect which makes not a show quality ragdoll....half of his face is brownish black and so the inverted V is not perfect

He had said he was mismarked (or what he should have said instead of "marked")

 

[bengalbabe]

Originally Posted by celestialrags

He had said he was mismarked (or what he should have said instead of "marked")

Oh ok I would have understood if he would have said "because his markings are not perfect he is not show quality". I was picturing him being literally written on by a permanat marker or something

 

[solaritybengals]

Hehe I asked the same thing. I was thinking tatooed or missing an ear chunk or something.