Ragdoll "parents" -- this thread''s for you! Brag and post photos here!

[Lynn B]

In some other posts, we have been discussing how fun it would be to have a thread devoted just to our Ragdoll kitties. Now, we are first and foremost animal lovers... and we well know that there are many gorgeous and varied cats here on PS... pedigreed or *schmedigreed*

-- and believe me, we love them all!

But this thread is especially intended for Raggie owners/lovers (and their "siblings", of course!)

Stories and (LOTS OF!) photos, please!

So, I guess I'll start! Our Ragdoll, Boo, is a (neutered) seal bi-color. He was born on 1/31/07, so he's 5 months old now. We got him when he was 14 weeks old. He was from a litter of 3 little boys, and he currently weighs 6 pounds. He is soooo adorable, and sooooo sweet. He's kissable, mushable and 100% *smooshable*!

And we are thoroughly IN LOVE!

Here he is, (while he was still living with the breeder...)

 

[FireGoddess]

Ummm, okay I don''t have a ragdoll, but I had to say that I want to EAT THAT BELLY! Okay, done for now.

 

[rainbowtrout]

so, consider this a "before and after" of Ragdoll kittenhood:

Teh fluffy!!

 

[rainbowtrout]

He doesn''t normally look this dignified....

 

[AmberGretchen]

Oh Lynn, you really asked for it

I have SO MANY PICTURES to share - I''m sure you''ll all be thoroughly sick of them pretty soon...but, since this is a thread just for Ragdolls, I''ll indulge myself

Since I can only do one picture per post, I''ll have to do several sets, as I have time at work, but I''ll start with the first one, below.

Oliver (Ollie) is a seal-point bicolor Ragdoll (presumptive). The presumptive part is that he was an orphan kitten at a local shelter, brought in at only 1 week old, and slated for euthanasia

when some kind-hearted cat-rescuing lady rescued him. He was bottle-fed for the next 8 weeks or so, and came to us around two months of age, having just reached the two-pound weight limit to get neutered. We thought he was a Snowshoe (Siamese mix when we first got him):

 

[AmberGretchen]

He was so tiny then...

 

[AmberGretchen]

Notice the teeny tiny tail...its going to expand soon. In a BIG WAY

 

[AmberGretchen]

He had a special bond with my DH, especially at the beginning...

 

[AmberGretchen]

Again, notice the size relative to DH''s lap here...

 

[AmberGretchen]

A few weeks later, he had already grown quite a bit and "The Tail" had started to grow (yes, its an entity unto itself...you have to see it to believe it...our vet said he had "never seen a tail like it,"

but more on that later):

 

[AmberGretchen]

He bonded especially nicely with one of his big sisters (he has two), Gretchen, my little Calico princess - we were incredibly surprised because she is generally pretty high-strung and neurotic, but they became the best of friends, and overall, adding Ollie has increased the cat harmony in our household. They did a lot of snuggling back then - this was the first time I caught them at it.

 

[AmberGretchen]

So very cute...(this is that same evening, just later on)

 

[AmberGretchen]

A few weeks on, he was growing even more. We are always amused by how totally he "conks out" when sleeping - very different than normal kitties who tend to curl up more, he kind of spreads out all over the place; this was a relatively curled position for him...

 

[AmberGretchen]

He was also very nice in helping his daddy study...DH has been taking finance classes part time, and I honestly don''t know if he would pass as well as he does if it wasn''t for Ollie''s thoughtful kitten help

This is the last one for now because I have to go actually finish my experiment (work, schmork - posting pictures of kitty is so much more fun!!)

 

[snlee]

I''m not much of a cat person but I love all of these pictures! Lynn B and AG, your cats are adorable!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks snlee - we''re very fond of ours

Seriously though, the main thing that strikes me looking at all those baby pictures is how ENORMOUS he''s gotten since then (you''ll see what I mean if you come back and check after I''ve posted more recent pics)...its really quite overwhelming (especially when he sleeps on my head...)

RT - Chen is so gorgeous

I adore that shot where you can see all his glorious fluff!!

 

[Miranda]

You asked for it!!! Leo is a red mitted male Ragdoll. My family members will all agree that I am obsessed and in love with this cat! He is the biggest love! DH says my love is ranked like this: Leo, the kids, diamonds, furniture, somewhere down the list is him. Poor baby, huh? I''m having issues with all of the computers in the house (one shot a flame out of the back last week - very exciting) so let''s see if I can post some pics!

Little Leo with DD

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Such cute kitties!!!!!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/2/2007 8:22:53 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
He had a special bond with my DH, especially at the beginning...

Very handsome!!

Oh, the cat''s not bad either.

 

[Lynn B]

OHMYGOSH! How FUN is THIS thread!!!!

RT, your guy is quite handsome!!! He does look very REGAL in that one picture... Mr. Dignity!

And AG -- oh, THANK YOU for ALL those wonderful pictures! Ollie is soooooo beautiful! (And so is his sister!)

Whatta STORY the little sweetheart has... wow... such a little survivor. I have often wondered how "purebred" cats end up in a shelter??? It seems like their reproduction is so CLOSELY monitored (in our area, all Ragdolls are always spayed or neutered before they go to their new homes) that you''d never get an unwanted litter... plus the people that get them pay so much for them, you''d think they''d never turn them into a shelter??? Wouldn''t you think if someone got a kitten and didn''t want it/couldn''t keep it for some unexpected reason, they''d give it back to the breeder, or resell it to a good home??? I guess I just don''t understand.

Anyway, the stories and pictures so far are WONDERFUL... I can''t wait to see LOTS more. And I have lots more of Boo, too... I''ll try to get to them tomorrow.

Thank you all for posting! More. Please. Sir!!!

 

[BigDiamonds]

You guys are going to convert me from dogs to cats! These little guys are SO adorable. More pics please!!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Lynn - I think this thread is the MOST FUN (but you knew that already!

). Thanks for the compliments - he was a pretty darling baby boy, wasn''t he? It is quite a story. I''m honestly surprised to hear that Ragdoll breeding is so effectively controlled in the area where you live - that''s really quite wonderful that people are so conscientious about making sure the kitties are fixed. In the vast majority of places, lots and lots of owners of purebred dogs and cats don''t get their pets fixed, for a variety of reasons (from religious beliefs to ignorance to misguided beliefs that it will be "fun" to breed their animals...the list goes on and on, but none of them, in my opinion, is a good reason), and one way and another, the animals are slaves to their instincts. In Ollie''s case, its not clear if he is purebred Ragdoll or not, because he was brought to the shelter as an orphan, but we see all kinds of reasons that kittens that young end up in shelters, purebred or not. One of the most common is people not getting their females spayed then being surprised and overwhelmed when they get preggers and thinking its OK to dump mom, either pregnant or with the kittens just born in a shelter which is sure to be overwhelmed in the middle of kitten season.

Anyway, stepping down off my soapbox (I feel very strongly about cat and dog overpopulation), I''ve got another batch for you here. Let''s start with another picture of Ollie and Gretchen snuggling (Lynn - I''m clearly biased, but I do think my little Princess is quite the striking Calico...she''s such a love too!).

 

[AmberGretchen]

No such thing as too many kitty snuggles pictures, right?

 

[AmberGretchen]

He has a thing for bags...his favorite toy right now is a paper bag without handles...

 

[AmberGretchen]

Turning into such a handsome boy...

 

[AmberGretchen]

Sound asleep in one of his favorite spots (but look how much bigger already!!)

 

[kcoursolle]

Aw, what a cute thread! I love looking at all of the pictures!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Just for FG, a nice closeup of the cute, rapidly-growing tufty feeties (possibly the cutest part of the Ragdoll

)

 

[AmberGretchen]

And of course, we couldn''t leave out the rapidly growing, the legendary, the amazing, the totally out-of-proportion so-big-it-knocks-the-whole-cat-off-balance occasionally...THE TAIL!

 

[AmberGretchen]

His other sister, pictured here, is a female red tabby...she''s sort of our dog-cat - very friendly and social, and likes to play fetch!! I found them napping like this one afternoon and I thought it was so cute I had to take a picture...