Ragdoll Cat Forums

Hi I have just joined this forum. We have two Basset Hounds and we are waiting nervously for a Ragdoll kitten to come and live with us in May. The question is should we have two?
Let me explain - in January we had a lovely little boy kitten, Archie. He was very small but perfect, He was so good and we loved him so much. We had him until the end of Feb , he was just making friends with the Bassets and used to snuggle up with them. We also had a very old Weimeraner who was 13 1/2 and totally deaf. He was brought up with 3 cats and didn't really pay any attention to Archie. One day I was standing right near the old dog but with my back to him and I just heard him snap, I looked around and Archie was convulsing across the floor with blood pouring from his mouth. I rushed him to the vet but he was dead when I got there. We were all inconsolable I can't explain how awful it was. He was my daughter's baby and she was in such a state crying all the time - she got sent home from work one day. The next night George snarled at one of the Bassets and we made the heartbreaking decision to have him put to sleep. We felt we couldn't trust him and the vet said he had gone downhill and was living in a "twilight world".
Anyway (sorry for the length of this) we said my daughter could have another kitten as the threat had gone (this was the only thing that has brightened her up).We are obviously very nervous and were wondering if having 2 would be the right thing to do? We thought that if we were out we could shut them both upstairs whilst they are little as we don't want to take any chances And two together would keep each other company and maybe play together instead of trying to wind the Bassets up - which Archie used to do.What do you all think?

I am so sorry that, that happened to you with your new baby, and your old friend....having to deal with both deaths must have been awful.....

I would think that having two would always be better, especially if they are litter mates. I myself don't have my baby yet either, hopefully in the first part of June....

I hope your daughter is handling things better now....

So Sorry to hear about the kitten.

Please always be careful with kittens around any dog. Recently a breeder I know had a kitten seriously injured by a dog that never showed any aggression before. This occurred due to the kitten approaching the dogs treat as he was playing with it. Any dog can kill a kitten if the circumstances are right.

Two kittens are a good idea. They don't have to be littermates but it helps if they are around the same age and they are introduced at a young age. They tend to keep themselves occupied and not get into as much mischief

CaliragsRagdolls Wrote:So Sorry to hear about the kitten.

Please always be careful with kittens around any dog. Recently a breeder I know had a kitten seriously injured by a dog that never showed any aggression before. This occurred due to the kitten approaching the dogs treat as he was playing with it. Any dog can kill a kitten if the circumstances are right.

Two kittens are a good idea. They don't have to be littermates but it helps if they are around the same age and they are introduced at a young age. They tend to keep themselves occupied and not get into as much mischief

Thanks for replies. Do you think 2 of the same sex is a good idea or 1 of each.
We still can't believe it happened - we were very careful and never left them on their own. I think the kitten was on the cage and I don't know if he batted George and caught him but I was right next to them. That is why we are so nervous and want to make sure we do the right thing.

This is a sad story...but thanks for sharing with us.

We have two female ragdolls that were not from the same litter and it seems to work out well. They do their share of fighting, but for the most part get along and like to snuggle together sometimes.

If you get them as kittens either sex or combination would be good. Since they will be growing up together it should not make any difference.

UPDATE!!!
We decided to go ahead and have two kittens. We decided to go for our little girl's red brother ( he was so cuddly when we visited) but I phoned the breeder this morning and all the kittens have been sold . He has another litter that will be ready about 4 weeks later so think we will have one of those. It shouldn't make a difference to how well they get on/settle down should it , having that small gap n them not being litter mates?

I've got 4 adult females... none of which are related as 2 of them are mixed breed cats (both spayed) from different cities.. I got them at different ages, and they didnt like each other at first, but love each other a lot now. I dont think a small age gap will be a big deal at all. The oldest cat I have in my home is White Kitty (DSH), she's 8.. the youngest is Shylo, my ragdoll she's 1.

MORE QUESTIONS !!
If I have a boy and a girl do you think I'll have a problem with the boy spraying before I can get him neutered because of a female being around? At that young age does it not make a difference? We don't really mind a boy and girl or two girls. We just want the combination that are going to be happiest together.

My two kittens came from two different litters from the same breeder. They were born only one day apart, but they were best friends even before I bought them. I think making sure that the two cats you get already have an attachment at the breeders will help when deciding on which two to purchase.