Ragdoll Cat Forums

Hi everyone! Getting my new baby boy in just a couple of weeks and we are getting ready! As I've said on here before I already have a female ragdoll, but when I got her I did not know near as much as I do now about ragdolls. I had no idea what all there was out there! So now that we are doing it for the 2nd time, I want to make sure I get him the right things! So no better place than right here! I have a few questions and would love to get your input on all of those products out there!

1. Do you mainly buy your products online or at a local big chain pet store? Which stores do you like and which online sites do you like?

2. What is your favorite choice of Kitten food? I know this one is already eating Fancy Feast from their breeder (not sure of the dry food), but would really rather have him on something more natural. I read so much about "NO CORN". My other ragdoll has Hill's Prescription dry food because of her sensitive stomach. She never really like the can food, so she eats deli turkey meat cut up. I know, Spoiled little kitty! I would LOVE to get her on canned food, so any brands and suggestions would be welcome! We live in a pretty big city, so I have access to Pet Smart, Pet Co, Pet Supermarket, and a Whole Foods too! (you know for the very natural pet food, etc.)

3. Cat litter- We use Cat Attract now. Our breeder recommended Swheat Scoop and Arm and Hammer Natural pine for the smell. What do you like?

4. Cat condo- I want to get a new condo type thing for them. Which one do you like? Where did you get it? Also, do any of you have the hammocks? I really think my female would love that! I can't find one!

5. Cat bed- Do you have beds for you cats or do they just sleep where ever? We got one for our other cat and she never really liked it. She just sleeps where ever here. Our bed, chairs, floor, etc. - really just where ever we are!

6. Favorite toys- any must haves?

OK, I know I am opening up the flood gates with all of these questions, but I just love to hear what you all to say! And no better opinions than you all. THe pet store people just don't seem to have the answer I am looking for!

Thank you so much!

*I also posted this thread in the kitten section! I did not want to miss any opinions!

Do not change food or litter for a newcomer for some time to permit adjustment. For kittens, it is very desirable to feed a kitten formula rather than an all life stages food. Most kittens and cats can digest corn products without a problem. If a cat has less than transitory GI upset with a new food that has corn products when the old food did not, then do consider that is the culprit. Some cats have allergic type reactions to this or that ingredient. Some are even allergic to chicken meat (probably the most easily digestable and best meat for cats) and do well on venison, for example. If your resident cat is on a restricted diet, then you are going to have a challenge and may have to give up free feeding, feeding each privately, until the kitten is older and can be on the older cat's food.

1. Do you mainly buy your products online or at a local big chain pet store? Which stores do you like and which online sites do you like?

I mostly buy all of my stuff at big chain pet stores. It's usually priced the same or only a little higher than online - and with the shipping of online, overall is less.


4. Cat condo- I want to get a new condo type thing for them. Which one do you like? Where did you get it? Also, do any of you have the hammocks?

I did buy my cat condo online (look for free shipping!) - the bigger the better. Armakat is a good brand it seems to me.

I bought a stand alone hammock online at e-bay (before sleepurrz - and Samantha loves it) -- however, one of our members (hasn't posted here in a long time) makes and sells hammocks that were rated as one of the top 32 new cat products in Cat Fancy for 2008. Her website is http://www.sleepurrz.com -- if your cat likes hammocks, would probably love these.


5. Cat bed- Do you have beds for you cats or do they just sleep where ever?

I don't really have cat beds (other than Samantha's hammock) the girls sleep on fleece blankets wherever and on their condo, and a window bed (highly suggest getting a window bed)

6. Favorite toys- any must haves?
My girls like the mylar balls, and the fling-ama-string and the undercover mouse, and da bird

Only had my kitten a couple of months and my first raggie, but I can tell you what I've found with him.

1. Do you mainly buy your products online or at a local big chain pet store? Haven't purchased much from stores, I live in a remote area and either buy on-line when I'm at home (just ebay so far) or wait for a trip to Brisbane. So not much help on this one.

2. What is your favorite choice of Kitten food? I followed what the breeder recommended for a start. Just changing his dry food from Iams to Science Diet (too hard to get IAMs where I am). His breeder was great and gave him a good variety, he loves the fresh stuff best - cooked basa fish, bbq chicken, roo meat. The canned food he's used to is Fancy Feast Royale.

3. Cat litter- There's only one type where I am, it's a clumping one form the supermarket.

4. Cat condo- I havent' gotten a condo yet but will.

5. Cat bed- Did not buy a cat bed as I thought he'd sleep on my bed. He goes between my bed and the dressing table. Turns out he likes to see me when I'm sleeping (hence dressing table rather than floor) so I doubt he would use a cat bed whilst I'm asleep. During the day he goes to various places depending on what's happening or where he is when he feels tired.

6. Favorite toys- any must haves? Rolled up piece of paper. He looooves his rolled up piece of paper and plays with hardly anything else I've bought. About the only other thing I've bought that he enjoys is a mouse looking thing on the bottom of elastic that's bounced around him.

As I said, I'm only a newbie with my raggie. But he's been pretty set in his ways and seems to have a lot of raggie traits, so I hope I've been some help.

Jaz

1. Do you mainly buy your products online or at a local big chain pet store? Which stores do you like and which online sites do you like?

We have a Petco blocks from our house which is good for supplies and food, we also use a locally owned feed store that has a really broad selection of catfood. Including our cat's favorite, Merrick's BG Quail. It's pretty easy to find canned food without corn or high amounts of other carbs. Dry food is trickier. JanH asserts that cats can handle these products and his knowledge level is very high, however I will just note that there are also some very experienced pet care providers that disagree with this, including our vet. Having said that, our cat has had excellent health so far (he is young,3and a half) and has been on fairly standard premium dry food, no corn in his dry but other carbs, He also gets wet with no or very low carbohydrates. We are currently transitioning him to a higher % of wet and a small amount of higher protein dry.

2. What is your favorite choice of Kitten food?

We used Royal Canin and a little bit of Gerber Baby Beef or Turkey at night. Our cat did not like regular canned food when he was a kitten although he does now.

3. Cat litter- Petco clumping litter in bulk, it gets scooped twice a day in an extra large litter box. Very simple system. It's very inexpensive and if scooped frequently does not odor up the apartment. I understand that certain kittens may ingest clumping litter, we did not notice this with our kitten.

4. Cat condo-We do not have a cat condo. I made a couple of upholstered shelves of varying height under and to the side of a window, the cat loves them. He also has a tall and sturdy scratching post covered with sisal rug.

5. Cat bed-A friend gave us their cat bed that their ragdoll never slept in. Ours didn't either so we gave it to a thrift store. Our cat sleeps in several different places.

6. Favorite toys-Currently a dark blue heavy shoestring, he goes nuts for it. He also likes golf balls and a couple of fabric covered ping pong balls. The Cat Dancer is excellent. he never has gone in much for catnip stuffed toys, although he does like to kick on a Kong Kickeroo as well as my wife's slippers. Watch out for the toys, some of them are very poorly made and have small parts that can easily fall off, possibly choking the cat.

1. Do you mainly buy your products online or at a local big chain pet store? Which stores do you like and which online sites do you like?

I buy a lot online: you can get some good deals online, but beware buying bulk orders of food as, if your kitty is anything like mine they seem to change food preference after a number of weeks. I've been left with boxes of Applaws which they no longer like
Zooplus is the one I choose for catlitter: they do some excellent cheap bulk orders. Another one is Petsathome, where I tend to buy their food.

2. What is your favorite choice of Kitten food?

As I've already mentioned, they loved kitten Applaws to begin with, also kitten Nature's menu (both wet food). They now love Royal Canin 'ultra-light' adult wet food.
You may get a lot of conflicting advice about feeding. Many advocate a completely dry diet as being best for their teeth, but personally it doesn't seem right to me to give them totally dry food all the time. Mine certainly don't have a lot of wet food: 1/4 pouch each, morning and night, mixed with a few dried munchies is as much as they'll eat. I think they like the 'ultra-light' food as it's less rich. I also leave down a bowl of Adult Royal Canin Maine Coon dry (Maia's preference) and a mixed bowl of dry Adult Royal Canin Sensible / Proplan light (Lily's favourite),but it will be a while until your little one switches to the adult dry food. The main issue, as others have mentioned is stick with what the breeder recommends and make any transition very gradually.

3. Cat litter-
Mine like Natures Best Gold It's wood pellet, but clumping. No odour, minimal tracking and very economical


4. Cat condo-

I got mine from this site. It is a floor to ceiling one and cost about £80-90 I think, but they just love it.

http://www.cattrees.co.uk/advanced_searc...a463bb7b0d


5. Cat bed-
Both mine sleep on the bed overnight. They choose their own favourite spots during the day. Maia's is the back of the comfy armchair, Lily's is the hoop on her condo. Any cat beds we've bought especially for them they have ignored, apart from a couple of mini-duvet type blankets that were handmade by a cat charity and sold at a catshow I went to. We put them by the computer and they often curl up on those while we're working.


6. Favorite toys- any must haves?
Right, where do I begin..... ping pong balls, tickling sticks, light soft mice, plastic straws were a HUGE favourite with them as kittens. There's so much on the market and you could spend a fortune. We've bought Fling-am-a-string; Panic Mouse; Undercover Mouse and they've loved them all, but had just as much fun in an empty card board box or laundry basket!

I'm so happy for you! It's always exciting getting a new kitten. I just got a baby girl recently and I love her so much!

1. I usually buy products at Petco or Petsmart. They actually have many good choices, not just the BIG brands.

2. I feed my baby girl Royal Canin Babycat food. She seems to like it a lot. It is a dry food and its not very expensive. I also mix it with some Gerber Baby Chicken Food. She really loves that

3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cat Attract litter. My Baby loves it! I would recommend using kitten attract (which is the same thing, just for kittens!) for your baby boy, until he is a year old. Kittens should not use clumping litter.

4. Petco and Petsmart have many choices of Kitty Condos. I recommend getting one that they can climb on. Kittens love to climb and you don't want them wrecking your furniture

5. I have a regular cat bed for my baby but she almost never sleeps in it. She loves fleece blankets. I would skip the cat bed and get a few blankets.

6. My baby actually loves playing with shoelaces. They are her favorite toy and she can't eat them (like she does with yarn).

Hope this will help!! Good luck with your kitten

1. We buy most of the toys either at Petco or PetSmart
2. We use Nutro Indoor/Avodern/Wellness core and it works well with them
3. We use either World's best corn litter or SWheat and love it.
4. We got our cat condo from Ebay if you do not mind putting it together but find one with free shipping. It is the same as what you get in stores but much cheaper at least it was for me. I was actually able to get 2.
5. We have a cat bed and it stores the toys as they like to sleep in or on the condo or behind my chair and Mykah loves to sleep on the big bird chair.
6. Favorite toys are interactive ones and loves his play mouse and we have a small pillow and they love it. Balls of any kind. They love boxes. We have attached birds on each of the condos and they play with that forever.
The only thing you need is imagination with boxes and you have a toy. I am sure you will find that just right one. Good luck

1. Do you mainly buy your products online or at a local big chain pet store? Which stores do you like and which online sites do you like? Depends on the item and on the price, some things are better deals in store and others online.

2. What is your favorite choice of Kitten food? Not that its necessary, but i couldn't keep our kitten out of our older cats food bowl! so our breeder recommended using a brand that is good for kittens and cats, instinctive choice. They both love it and its healthy. http://www.healthypetnet.com/HealthyPetN...e=10037649
3. Cat litter- I recently switched to The Worlds Best Cat litter, funny name i know, its flush-able, and all natural.
4. Cat condo- I want to get a new condo type thing for them. Which one do you like? Where did you get it? Also, do any of you have the hammocks? i found a web site that sells really cheep cat condos http://www.stepsforpets.com

5. Cat bed- Do you have beds for you cats or do they just sleep where ever? I got a really beautiful cat bed for our new kitten and other than trying to attack the side of it occasionally, it hasn't been used.

6. Favorite toys- any must haves? Kong cat toys are a big hit along with peacock feathers with my furballs.
Good luck with the new kitten!