Ragdoll Cat Forums

Hi Everyone

I have been lurking around this forum for TWO years and yet, I do not have a ragdoll kitten... AS OF YET. lol

I am a single professional working the typical 40 hours/week (four 10 hour shifts) and thus, I have 3 days off every week. I do live alone in an apartment in CA,USA.

I have been wanting a pet for awhile (started out with wanting a dog) but realized under no circumstances I would have time to raise and train a dog with my work schedule and thus, I started to look into cats and mainly ragdolls. I've had a himalayan cat before whom I loved and loved but never a ragdoll. The more and more I read about ragdolls, the more drawn I am to them.

Thus, I have been talking to a breeder (http://www.echoglenragdolls) and discussing my concerns:

1) I am a single working man, living by myself. Would my ragdoll be okay by himself? And realistically, there is NO WAY I can have 2 cats. IT just does not work out for me, especially with my living space. I would give him a lot of attention after work in the evenings and of course on weekends. My breeder said as long as I devote a lot of time and energy after work, he'll be a happy camper.

2) Do ragdoll shave litterbox issues? I am sort of a clean freak and under no circumstances would I be okay with a cat peeing/pooing on the carpet, but my breeder has mentioned the kitten I am interested in has not had any accidents and is very well-adjusted.

3) So in all honesty, how much do they shed? lol

4) Do they travel well? I have a lot of friends in different parts of CA and I would love to take him with me. When you guys travel with your raggies, do you take the litterbox with you? Do they use it well in new environments?

5) Finally, please tell me the wonderful advantages of having a ragdoll is. hehe

I have researched and researched til my brain is about to pop about ragdolls. I have a very particular personality and have done a fari amoint of research.

I'm sure there are a lot of single raggie owners with one raggie who works, I mean how would I support my raggie if i didn't work?

Any advice would be appreciated. Sorry this post is SO LONG but thanks in advance!!!

P.S. The kitten I am strongly interested in purchasing (which would happen this weekend) if I made my decision, is "Gabriel." He is under the kittens section at http://www.echoglenragdolls.com The breeder says Gabriel is the most docile and laid back kitten of all.

THANKS AGAIN!!!

Awwww, he's such a cute kittie!

I can't answer all your questions, I'm also a first time cat owner with a 6mo raggie named Abby who moved in with me at Easter. Advantages of raggie's over other breeds is impossible for me to know for sure!

I guess it's up to you and the cat to work out your routines. A lot of people here feel very strongly about leaving a cat on their own while you're working, and a lot feel strongly about getting 2 cats to keep each other company. Abby is a single cat with me working full time and she copes - she sleeps during this time of the day. I know on weekends she enjoys having me around more, but she seems to be ok. She may well be happier if I was home all day, but right at the moment we both seem to get along better if we have time apart too (she's less likely to bite, I'm less likely to swear when she does! It's a phase she's going through....I hope!! )

Abby has had only 3 accidents outside her litter box in the 4 months she's been here - the first was within 24 hours of moving in, and she was quite disorientated by it all. The second and third times were in the first 4 or 5 weeks where she wee'd my bed - once I figured out that she wasn't sure where the litter box was, we took a step back to move forward and she's now fine with that. No accidents after she was 14 or 15 weeks old - she was even fine after she was spayed recently.

I can't really tell you about how much they shed, Abby's fur is still quite short. There is some shedding, but I'm fine (so far) with just the weekly vacuum.

Welcome to the forum. I'm new here too.
Kittens should go home in pairs. They just want to play and would like to have a buddy to play with. I have 2 eight year old alley cats and recently got a 6 month old ragdoll. Poor little Ollie went into a deep depression because my older cats don't play anymore. I ended up giving him to my daughter who has a playful 2 year old ragdoll. Ollie follows the 2 year old everywhere. He is Chester's (2 year old) little shadow and is so much happier with his new buddy.
Breeders retire their breeding stock. Also show animals are retired. Retired show animals are used to traveling because they are transported to different shows. That might be a good option if you want to take your new pet to friends houses.
Word of warning.... I wouldn't travel with a cat. One time I took my girl cat to my youngest daughters place. Her girl cat had a fit!!!! Dogs on the other hand are happy go lucky where traveling is concerned. Cat's are more territorial than dogs.
I know of a breeder in Sacramento (that's where I live) who has a Champion that is being retired. He doesn't spay. Is living in the house with the family so he's well socialized. The breeder wanted to use him as a breeder but he didn't know know how to do "IT", if you know what I mean. I think he's under 2 years old and is a beauty. This breeder has a very low adoption fee for her retired cats. Send me a message if you want to hear more about this male cat.
Good luck!

Some Ragdolls cannot tolerate being alone and it cannot be predicted for sure in advance. An adult Ragdoll who has lived alone with a schedule similar to yours would be the best predictor. If you are a homebody apart from your longer workday some days, then a cat certainly might be OK with that. (Keep vacations and business trips in mind in this regard.)

In terms of problems, you could expect a Ragdoll to be very much like your Himilayan except perhaps for a bit less shedding and grooming. A sick or stressed cat may have litterbox problems.

It is hard to imagine circumstances that make two cats impossible. That would be the biggest concern with you and a cat. Some cats just need feline company and it is not easy to know in advance. Ragdolls are probably even more like this. (Of course, some Ragdolls are fine with it.)

Hey. I'm a raggy mum of an 'only child'. I typically am away from the house similar hours to you. Alroy seems to cope very well and im fairly sure that he sleeps most of the time I'm not home. I sometimes work from home and he seems put out that I'm around keeping him awake!

As for 'portability', ever since Alroy was tiny I have taken him with me to go 'visiting'. He likes the car and I always take his litter box with me. When we get to where we're going i show him where it is. No accidents so far

I have to travel a bit for work so he goes and visits with my mum ( 'grandma') and Tigger (12 yo ginger DSH) while I'm away. He loves it there and settles right in. For me it seemed that exposing him to different 'safe' locations from the start seems to have helped.

As Jan said, in the end it depends on the personality of your cat. I guess I got lucky with Alroy!

(08-18-2011 04:10 AM)ssyoo85 Wrote: [ -> ]1) I am a single working man, living by myself. Would my ragdoll be okay by himself? And realistically, there is NO WAY I can have 2 cats. IT just does not work out for me, especially with my living space. I would give him a lot of attention after work in the evenings and of course on weekends. My breeder said as long as I devote a lot of time and energy after work, he'll be a happy camper.

If you work full time and rarely home, I am thinking having single Ragdoll may be OK and maybe not. The problem is - some of them get really lonely and start acting up. Ragdolls are very social cats. My example to you - when my gang (I am a breeder) is left with my daughter alone when we go on vacation - they get really upset and chew up the plants or drop them down etc. We have a person who comes every day 3x /day to play with them and it makes a big difference. I had a share of Ragdolls which wanted to be single cat, so ask the breeder, Laura knows the best

2) Do ragdoll shave litterbox issues? I am sort of a clean freak and under no circumstances would I be okay with a cat peeing/pooing on the carpet, but my breeder has mentioned the kitten I am interested in has not had any accidents and is very well-adjusted.

I never produced a male which had litterbox issues, but up to date I had 2 females which did. One was rehomed to home with hardwood floors and she is fine, and one is in a separate room with another cat and she does not have issues there, but every time we let her out, she poops on my couch. I am not sure what it is, because we used just about every method in this one, but eventually I hope to rehome her to home with no other cats and see if that helps, because that is the only thing we could not try yet.

3) So in all honesty, how much do they shed? lol

They may shed a lot. Don't kid yourself, if you are a business suit person, be prepared to use lint rollers. My daughter works in fasion and has to wear black all the time, we have link rollers strategically positioned everywhere in the house to deal with fur - mind you, leather furniture, hardwood floors, Dyson Ball vacuum and her separate car where cats are not allowed helps. I have about 8 cats in the house though. With one it will not be bad, but do not kid yourself, all cats shed and Ragdoll have spring shedding time too! They DO NOT shed as much as Persian or Himalayan, and they rarely matt.

4) Do they travel well? I have a lot of friends in different parts of CA and I would love to take him with me. When you guys travel with your raggies, do you take the litterbox with you? Do they use it well in new environments?

They travel fine, esp if you teach them to travel in kittenhood. My cats go to the hotels and never had problems with litterbox usage. Some have slight loosish stool, but it depends cat from cat. I use crates to travel, and in the hotel rooms we set up litterboxes and it works just fine.

5) Finally, please tell me the wonderful advantages of having a ragdoll is. hehe

They are part of the family and keep you occupied and purr a lot! You can teach them to come to you, fetch, it is almost like having a dog without needs for daily walks. They are not overly smart comparing to other breeds, which I find helps humans feel good about themselves

From my limited experience I would say that Ragdolls need a feline companion. My Oliver was so sad when I adopted him that it was pitiful. He's been a changed boy since Stella joined our home.
Litter box issues can occur with any cat and other issues as well. Just this morning Oliver vomited all over my carpet (you think he could have aimed for the hardwood floor), which meant shampooing the carpet before I left for work. Shedding...lol...there's always fur flying around here

I am an owner of "one", work M-F at least 8 hr/day, stop for errands after works, making that 10 PLUS hours away each day. I know he sleeps most of the time I am away, but the guilt creeps in if I will be away longer than usual. I plan and space out the errands throughout the week to minimize the time away. (I don't make plans for the evening on work days due to adding to the time away) I never worried about this with my DSH, she could of cared less, but Murphy is different, he wants attention and play time, and I make sure he gets that every evening.
-One or two? Loaded subject on this forum. One cat...you are the other...the playmate. Make sure you are willing and available to fill this role. I have found that this is easier said than done, as my plans/timing don't always mesh with his.
If I had two, I wouldn't worry so much about time away, as the playmate (me) would not be missing. Yet, I would also have the vet care of two, which I can't afford, and don't have the room for (3 litter boxes for 2 cats) in my home.
-Litter box. Where will that be located? Mine is in the bathroom, and yes, there are litter tracts that can't be avoided.
As far as soiling the rug/carpet, cat specific throughout the years, health issues, etc.
-Shedding. LOL, yes they shed. As Hohoho said, be prepared to use lint rollers. I have ONE and see tumbleweeds of hair floating across the floor at times, hair on the furniture and yes, floating in the air during brushing.
-Travel. No advice or experience.
-Advantages of having a ragdoll is...beautiful cats with the softest fur, great coloring, and the bluest eyes. They love to be with you, following you around with your every move, and when they do their "flop", you only have to laugh.
Hope this information helps you to make a decision.

I'm so happy that you have dedicated all this time in finding your companion.

I started out with one Raggie. My Henry, and then thought to add another. I think Henry would have been fine on his own but decided to bring Annie home for company. Actually, Henry didn't need company because I'm home full time. They are both pictured in my siggy below.
Henry passed away two months ago. Since that time Annie (obviously) is now single again.
I feel since you are home three days a week, and provided that you spend quality time with your
kitty during that time. a single would be fine.

During the seven years that I have been owned by Henry and Annie the only time that we experienced litter issues were during Henry's final days. He suffered from kidney failure and the last days were difficult. But never, ever before that time.

Yes - they do shed. Avoid wearing black as much as possible.

I cannot answer your travel questions. I have never really tried traveling with my two. If we were going out of town, I always made sure they had a qualified pet sitter.

I cannot even begin to list all of the advantages. Just know that you will never feel alone, and those beautiful blue eyes will smile on you and brighten so many of your days.

Now please.........stop wracking your brain, and go get that darling Gabriel.

Gabriel is adorable. I have nothing much to ad, but agree with the others on the forum. I do have 2 cats ( 1 Raggie, 1 DSH) and a German Shepherd, but my Raggie whois 9 months old really spends a lot of time on his own. I work 3 days a week and on the days I am home, he is usually off sleeping somewhere alone. He comes when I call but doesn't seek me or the other animals out. If the breeder thinks Gariel will be OK , I would go for it.