Cat's Name & Age:
Blue, 2 yrs, 8 months
Best Characteristics of the Breed
Joyful personality
Most Challenging Characteristics of the Breed
None really
When, Where and How I Got My Cat
We bought Blue when he was 12 weeks old from a great breeder. He immediately made himself at home with us. Since Blue was our first cat (after 35 years of dogs), we did not know what to expect.
I'd Describe My Cat As…
Blue quickly trained us to be his slaves and to provide his every wish as soon as possible. He is very playful and loves a good game of hide and seek several times a day. He will look me or my husband in the eye, turn and run behind a door or around the edge of a wall. He waits silently for us to come looking and jumps out at us just as we approach. Then it is time to change roles and let him find us. He needs a good 10 or 15 minutes of this active play before he loses interest and hides under the bed or couch and does not come out.
He is not a lap kitty, but will follow your every step if you are up and about. He loves a little one-on-one with me each night when I am working at the computer. He jumps onto the desk and curls up right in front of me for scratches and combing. If I am here for hours, then so is he.
When he tires of our company, he retires to our bed and settles in for a daytime nap on his blanket. He wants to be alone for awhile, but always comes to see what we are doing every hour or so. At night, he will let us know that it is bedtime by meowing to us and running to the bed. When we are settled in and asleep, then he gets up and roams to check out all things in the house. After a check, he is back to bed and sleeps at my husbands feet.
In the mornings, his internal alarm is always perfect. He will get up, come to the head of the bed and walk between us with little sniffs, kisses, and meows until we take the hint and get up. He has been known to go over to the window and pull the blinds away to let in the sunshine if we are slow in moving.
Blue was not difficult to train. He has never missed his litter box nor scratched the furniture. He uses his scratching posts all during the day and night. He does still try out the counters occasionally just to see if we still forbid him those spots. We have a water pistol which is the training device recommended by my vet. He responses quickly to a squirt and will not try it again for several days-sometimes weeks. But he does try eventually - as any mischievous boy does.
We never expected that this cat would become such an important family member, but he is. My kindergarten-aged nieces call to speak to him frequently. He stands patiently and listens to them talk to him on the phone and even occasionally gives them a little mew just so they know he is listening. He is a people person and spends time with all our guests, usually showing off on his tree.
Advice
- I am not sure that I have advise for prospective cat owners, except to say, that ragdolls are full of personality and very loving.
- Unlike others, I do find Blue does shed a lot, even with daily grooming. It just may be his exceptionally long hair. We researched cat breeds before deciding on a ragdoll. We have not been disappointed in any way with Blue.
