Month: May 2021

How to Choose The Perfect Ragdoll Kitten For You

Pet owners agree that taking care of an animal is quite a challenging task. One is never aware of this until you have experienced owning a pet. Much like rearing a child, you have to be responsible, nurturing and firm. When you’re looking for the ideal Ragdoll kitten to become your lifelong pet, there are some things to consider. Here are 3 factors that can help you find the ideal Ragdoll kitten for you.

Factor #1 – Your Personality

As a Ragdoll kitten owner, your personality is a factor because it can determine your pet’s reactions, habits and routines. Owning a pet demands interaction and mutual understanding and Ragdolls like owners that are open with their affections. They like to be close to you and will most likely find ways to make themselves endearing. In general, Ragdolls are indoor cats that are fairly docile and affectionate. They love to be petted and cared for. They are a laid-back breed and often mature to have a calm disposition. If you are not comfortable with a pet following you around or one that loves to be in your presence, then you should think of other breeds of cats or animals to have as a pet.

Factor #2 – Your Lifestyle

As a breed, Ragdolls make great housecats. They can live peacefully in your home without much trouble but due to their nature of being friendly and serene, they are not used to being outdoors. Although you can train them for this, most Ragdolls can’t defend themselves well against any attack. Ragdolls like curling up on your lap while you’re reading a book. So if you’re the traveling kind, going in and out of town on a regular basis, you might need to have someone look after your Ragdoll while you’re away because they can’t stand to be left alone for long periods of time.

Factor #3 – Where To Get Ragdoll Kittens

The final factor that you should consider is availability of Ragdoll kittens. You can check out your local animal shelter to see if there is an owner surrendered Ragdoll cat or you can also look up Ragdoll breeders in your area as well as Ragdoll rescues. Knowing where you can get one is important because that’s where you can also gather more information about Ragdoll cats in general. Take your time to research and learn more about Ragdolls before taking home a kitten. Ask questions and get in touch with other Ragdoll owners in your area to hear a first hand experience on how to take care of your own Ragdoll kitten.…

How to Introduce a New Kitten to Your Cat

So you decide your cat is lonely when you are gone all day. You think that you should get another cat so he will have company. Most people believe that cats just automatically get along. But cats are typically very territorial and will his and act in a negative way as soon as you bring that new kitten home.

Many times this invasion will cause fighting, going to the bathroom outside the litter box, the older cat bullying the younger cat and spraying if it is a male cat. This causes causes a lot of tension not only for the cats but the entire household.

The key is the proper introduction of the new kitty into the household.

Do not rush the introductions it will cause resentment on the cat that was there first. Cats are very in tune to changes in the household. Even a loss of a person in the household can bring on an emotional reaction from your cat.

Bring the new kitten in very gently, take your time and keep them separate from each other completely at first, sometime for up to 3 weeks. Give the new kitten a lot of attention but do not let the other cat see you give that attention and always have the door closed. Then each day let them spend a few minutes together 3 or 4 times a day, making sure you supervise this interaction. Gradually increase the time they spend together each day.

If there is hissing or fighting or if it escalates into a chasing and attacking scenario, separate the cats and try again the next day. If the behavior is extreme separate the cats for a couple of days, then try again.

When you start to observe positive interactions between the two cats then you can gradually increase the time they spend together.

Since the cats have been separated for a while and have separate litter boxes already I would continue this for quite a while, maybe even up to 6 months. In some cases you may need to keep two litter boxes forever. For some reason the litter box seems to be a very territorial issue.

Be sure to have one on one time with both cats each day. Sometimes the cite kitten gets all the attention and the older cat is left out, this will just reinforce the resentment and may make the older cat return to his bullying ways.…