Ragdollsnw specializes in Mink, Sepia, Traditional Ragdolls and a few Ragamuffins
Located in Salem, Oregon Snuggly kittens - great with dogs & kids! TICA registered
503-307-4389 Texting preferred or
email: Hornibrd@yahoo.com
Ragdollsnw.com
Kittens by Kimberly (Friend's kittens)
About Ragdollsnw
Ragdolls NW is a small breeder of Ragdolls specializing in Mink and Sepia kittens as well as Traditional colors. I have also been working on adding chocolate, lilac, red, cream, cinnamon, and smokes in both Ragdolls and Ragamuffins. I occasionally have some Munchkin/Ragamuffin crosses available. If you are interested, keep checking the website. I will post updates when new kittens are expected. My cats are my pets and have very sweet, loving personalities. The cattery is a closed cattery and I try to be careful about keeping the cats and kittens healthy. Ragdolls and Ragamuffins are wonderful family cats. They are very easy-going and they can be terrific with kids and other animals. I have small dogs so kittens are used to small dogs. Kittens are well-socialized and have learned to use a litter box and scratching post. Kittens will be available to go home between 12 and 18 weeks, depending on the kitten.
Learn about Ragdolls
What is a Ragdoll cat? TICA Ragdoll DescriptionThe Ragdoll is a breed of cat that is known for it's floppy, easy-going personality. Floppy, like a rag doll. Traditional colors of the Ragdoll breed include seal, chocolate, blue, lilac, red, tortie, and cream. Traditional Ragdolls are all pointed cats. Pointed means that they have darker ears, paws and tails. While show Ragdolls all have points and come a a limited range of colors, Ragdolls as pets are now available in additional colors.
What is a Ragamuffin cat? CFA Description Some people loved the Ragdoll personality but wanted to add additional colors. The Ragdoll was combined with some other breeds to make a similar but slightly different cat available in more colors. They still have the wonderful family-friendly floppy personality.
Ragdoll Colors and Patterns Color and PatternsThe "traditional" pattern for Ragdolls is the pointed cat. This means their ears, paws and tails are darker. They can have the mitted or bicolor pattern as well as just solid with darker points. They come a many different colors from very dark to very light as well as red or cream.
What is a Mink or Sepia Ragdoll? Mink and Sepia are color patterns. The body color of the Mink and Sepia colors are darker and richer than the traditional Ragdolls. Minks will have aqua colored eyes, while Sepia eye color can vary more but are usually green. Traditional colored Ragdolls are born white and develop their points as they grow, while Minks and Sepias are born darker - more of a beige color. I have two male Minks, and several of the females are Mink, so they can produce Sepias, Minks, and Traditional colored kittens.
Why do I have to wait until 12 weeks to bring the kitten home? While kittens can survive away from their mother at 8 weeks, if they are adopted out too early, they may miss some vital lessons that they would have learned from mom and siblings. There is actually a lot of learning that has to take place to become a well-adjusted pet cat. Between 9 – 16 weeks, they enter a socialization period in which they are learn many of the behaviors that result in the sweet pet you are hoping for including how to groom themselves, how to be confident, and how to interact with others without being too aggressive.
If you adopt a kitten a little too early, there is a risk that they may be too aggressive with other cats and people because they did not learn to inhibit their bites and their play habits. They may bite too hard, they may scratch too hard, or they may lash out. While wrestling with siblings and mom, they learn how hard to play and how hard to bite. For example, if a kitten plays to hard with mom, she will get up and leave and if a kitten bites too hard with a littermate, the littermate will squeal and then run off. They learn that if they want to play, they will have to bite softly and not be too aggressive.
If you adopt a kitten to early, there is also the risk of the kitten being timid. Kittens can go through a fearful stage. In the wild, being fearful is essential to their survival. In this stage, they run and hide quickly for safety. Somewhere around 9-13 weeks, they start exploring their environment and learn to become more confident. It is important for the kitten to pass through the timid stage and then gain confidence by exploring while mom and siblings are there for encouragement. A well-socialized cat usually has had the support of mom and siblings until they are ready to be independent.
While there is a general pattern to the stages kittens go through, all kittens are different and progress through the stages of development at different paces. Individual kittens can develop at a different pace than littermates sometimes. The breed of cat and the temperament of the mom may influence their development. Since many breeds have been domesticated for a long time, some kittens may not go through too much of a fearful stage. Kittens also get a sense of the world from mom, so if mom is more fearful or aggressive, kittens may pick up on these tendencies. This is one reason that certain breeds can make better pets as the character of the breed has been bred for many generations.
At Ragdollsnw, kittens can go home when they are confident and ready to be independent rather than at a specific age. Usually, kittens are at this stage by 12 weeks, but sometimes it takes a little longer. Usually, they will have gained the necessary confidence and learning the play behaviors that will make them into nice pets sometime between 12 – 14 weeks.
More information about Kitten development
When to spay or neuter? An important question is when to spay or neuter a kitten. There are different views about what age is appropriate. Humane societies prefer that kittens are fixed early, around 8 weeks or when they reach 2 pounds. This is because fixing them before they are adopted out ensures they won’t contribute to overpopulation. Many people prefer to wait until the cats are older so that they are more fully developed before the spay or neuter. Ragdolls are slow to develop and don’t reach full maturity until close to three years. You may prefer waiting until the kitten is closer to 8 months or even 1 year or older before spaying or neutering. My suggestion is to consult with your vet. My vet prefers to spay or neuter later so I do not generally spay or neuter them before they go home.
My Story
Several years ago, I raised Munchkin cats. I found that my favorites were colorpoints and especially, the minks. Below is a picture of Tonka, a mink Munchkin from my cattery. I love cats that are super-friendly, and the Munchkins were very sweet, friendly cats. A fellow cat breeder raised Ragdolls, and as I learned more about them, I came to love them as well. They have the wonderful dispositions, floppy personalities, and come in the colorpoint colors that I love. In addition to health, I am now focusing on my two favorite characteristics - colorpoints, including the Mink and Sepia colors, and extremely friendly personalities - all found in the Ragdoll and Ragamuffin cats. Below are some pictures of a Mink Munchkin adult. Tonka is a Mink Munchkin raised in my Munchkin cattery several years ago. You can see her striking color! I included her picture so you can see the inspiration for my current cattery. I just love her color.
My Home with Cats
i moved to a larger place about 3 years ago and have been continually working on my cat spaces. I have several separate cat spaces for my kitties including a 12 x 16 building that is fully insulated with air conditioning and heat and outdoor cat patio spaces. I have several cat runs for the male cats that include indoor and outdoor sections. I also have a separate room for another group of kitties and I often have kittens with moms in my bedroom. Below are pictures of my previous home with cats.
These are pictures of the 16' x 16' cat patio I had built so that the cats would have a nice outdoor space. They love hanging out there, watching the squirrels and climbing the wire up to the shelves.
I had a large outdoor run built off the other side of my home. This run connects to indoor spaces. This run is a nice big space, with shelves up high so the cats can watch the world go by.