Ragdoll Cat Forums

This will be a long thread with lots of questions. Thanks for any help any of you can provide.

We are going to get a new kitten to add to our family. Boo is now 2 years old, male, and very distinct personality. He LOVES to play, hours in fact. He is not a lap cat, but loves to be in the same room. Very attached to my husband; they play constantly. Also very attached to me as source of love, cuddles, food, treats. However, we think it would be good for him to have a pal and our breeder just had 2 litters with 2 queens. My husband wants a female this time. Here are my questions:

1. What type of personality should I look for knowing how Boo is? He's also about 15 lbs right now.

2. HOW exactly do I bring the new one home and introduce them? I have read different things about this. I do not want Boo to become unhappy. Some people say that I should bring the new one home, put it in its own room and only let them sniff under the door, etc. for a few days. What do I do? does this mean I should sleep in that room with the new kitten? I can't see leaving it alone at night right after bringing it home. Will me sleeping in that room with the new kitten and with Boo not in the room make him not like the new kitten?

3. As you all have Raggies I know you all know about having to have a huge litter box and scoop daily. I usually scoop at least twice per day. Does the new kitten need its own box for life? In other words should we have two boxes and is it OK if the boxes are in the same room?

4. How about food? Do I feed one in one room and one in another room? How do I feed them, especially when the new kitten is young? Boo has dry food in our bedroom and his wet he gets twice daily in the kitchen. How do I go about getting the new one?

5. We had two rescue cats before and tried some of this, like bringing the new kitten home and keeping it in its cage for a few days and letting the older cat learn about it, etc. but the older cat HATED the kitten and eventually got outside and ran away. How can we avoid a disaster like this?

6. Have any of you had any BAD experiences introducing a new one? Still have an old one that doesn't like the new one?

Please give me tips; we would get the girl in early October at 12 weeks.

Thanks!

1. Look for whatever temperament you want and ask the breeder specific questions about behavior of the candidates to get the best fit for you. Boo is very likely to love them all.

2. Do slow introductions and decide how much time you want to have for a medical quarantine. This is a time of stress for both cats and they can break with something. It is easier if they do not pass that to each other. Let the kitten spend the night with you or your husband and trade off so that each of you stay with the kitten and Boo. Giving the kitten a home base of your bedroom is a good idea.

3. The kitten will need boxes close to whereever she is, including right by the bed at night. Kittens have less control and may head for the litterbox too late. They also can be reluctant to leave the bed at night. Make it easy for her. The rule of thumb on litterboxes is that you should have the number equal to the number of cats plus one - in your case three. Usually, cats need less and you can take some away, but be careful. You do not need big boxes and they can be side by side.

4. You do not want to change food or litter for the kitten until she is adjusted. The kitten should be on kitten food. Boo is young enough to be on kitten food too and you can feed them the same. Start out with the same schedule the kitten is used to and then you can slowly transition to what you want.

5. Cats generally want feline company and are fine after the introduction phase. Do not expect this kind of problem, particularly with Ragdolls.

6. We have whole cats and some do not get along at times. We just use parts of the house to keep them apart when they are not happy with each other. You are very unlikely to have this problem with two speutered Ragdolls.