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Although many people look for breeders when seeking our favorite feline variety, it can be far more ethical to adopt a Ragdoll than take one as a kitten.
Understandably many people want the experience of raising a cat from cute little kitty into adulthood. However, the experience of adopting a cat can be hugely rewarding and can make an enormous difference to an animal that hasn’t perhaps had the best start in life.
With this in mind, the following post is a call to anyone presently looking for a Ragdoll to consider adoption rather than approaching a breeder.
Table of Contents
- Why Adopt a Ragdoll Cat?
- Living With An Adopted Ragdoll
- Where Can You Adopt Ragdolls?
- What If You Can’t Adopt?
- Summary
- Related Posts
Why Adopt a Ragdoll Cat?
There are several very good reasons to adopt a Ragdoll instead of buying from a breeder.
Firstly, there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of cats living in rescue centers and pet shelters in whichever country you live. Some rescue centers are bursting at the seams with cats needing adoption.
If you adopt a Ragdoll from such a shelter, it means that you’ll not only provide a better life for that particular cat but you’ll make space for another cat to be rescued. Sadly, given that so many cats find their way into rescue centers, huge numbers of cats are euthanized each year simply because there’s not enough space to care for them all.
Secondly, adopting a Ragdoll is likely to be far less expensive than buying a kitten from a breeder. Ragdolls are expensive compared to some other breeds and on top of the initial costs of purchase you’ll need to consider vaccinations, microblogging and neutering.
These are not insubstantial costs.
Although you’d expect to pay a fee to the rescue center if you adopted a Ragdoll, you can expect to pay nowhere near the price of purchasing a kitten from a breeder. Furthermore, most shelters will have already ensured that the cat is vaccinated, microchipped and neutered, saving you the cost.
Additionally, some rescue centers may throw in some things you’ll need such as collars, a small supply of food and in some cases even cat insurance!
Finally, although on the whole the Ragdoll personality is known to result in a curious and amiable cat, individual cats can sometimes veer away from the norm. As a result, you can never be 100% certain of the temperament of a specific cat until they grow.
Even though it’s uncommon to find Ragdolls that are outright hostile, it’s still possible to have a less sociable individual.
Since some cats can spend a lot of time in a rescue center, the people caring for them get to see their personalities. This means you’ll know whether an individual’s temperament is right for you or not.
Adopting a Ragdoll may well result in you finding a friend with the personality you’re looking for.
Living With An Adopted Ragdoll
Of course you may decide that the temperament of the individual Ragdoll you adopt is not a factor that concerns you too much. However, adopting any cat does come with certain responsibilities regarding possible rehabilitation.
It may be that an individual Ragdoll found its way into a rescue center because although it came from a loving home its owner could no longer take care of it for some reason. Such cats will likely be amiable, loving and relaxed
Other individuals may not have had such a good experience in life and require patience, special care and a lot of love.
If you adopt a Ragdoll (or any cat actually) there are several things you’ll need to understand / think about when you take them into your home:
- Provide a “safe zone”. It may be overwhelming for your Ragdoll to enter a new home with lots of areas to explore. Try to confine them to one room in your house so they can get to know it and begin to feel safe… they can explore other areas later.
- You’ll need to be patient. A rescue Ragdoll may need time before it feels safe. Even in a “safe zone” it may be frightened and spend time hiding before it feels confident to explore its surroundings.
- Frightened or stressed cats may pee and poop where you’d prefer them not to. Provide multiple litter trays and make sure to keep them clean.
- Put food and water in a quiet place so they can feed themselves and drink without anxiety.
- Build trust with them slowly and be calm and loving with them. Try not to make sudden movements around them, avoid speaking in a loud voice and if possible keep them away from noisy home appliances.
- Be available to your adopted Ragdoll. Don’t leave them at home alone for long periods and spend time encouraging them, playing with them and stroking / grooming them.
Where Can You Adopt Ragdolls?
I guess the first place to try to adopt a Ragdoll would be from a cat rescue center. Rescue centers are teeming with animals looking for a loving home, so it makes sense to start your search there.
However, you should take note of two things regarding adopting from rescue centers:
- Given that Ragdolls are one of the most popular cat breeds in the world, Ragdolls in rescue centers tend to find adopted homes fairly quickly. The truth is that Ragdolls can be difficult to adopt simply because people snap them up!
- You may have to look further than your local cat rescue center to find a Ragdoll cat. It may be that you have to search within a radius of several hundred miles and call many organizations to find one that has a Ragdoll.
Nowadays the internet makes it much easier to locate rescue centers across your country and see the cats they have available.
Most rescue centers use their websites or Facebook pages to show the cats they are trying to find homes for.
Additionally there are organizations online that specifically list Ragdoll cats available for adoption across the world:
- Petfinder (North America)
- Adopt a Pet (North America)
- Rescue Me! (International)
Be aware there are some websites that are set up as scams to part good people out of their hard-earned money. Be sure to check out any individual offering a Ragdoll for adoption on forums or selling sites to ensure they’re bonafide.
What If You Can’t Adopt a Ragdoll?
Of course if you can’t find a Ragdoll cat to adopt and you’re still eager to share your life with this lovely breed, the only other option for you is to buy from a breeder.
You should of course make sure the breeder is reputable, works with the best interests of their ragdoll litters at heart and are not running kitten farms.
This article provides guidance: buying from ragdoll cat breeders.
Ragdolls are a popular breed and they often aren’t available in your locality as a consequence.
Be advised also that noth adopting a Ragdoll and buying a Ragdoll Kitten from a breeder may mean you have to travel long distances to see them / collect them.
Summary – Adopting a Ragdoll
Adopting a Ragdoll (or any domestic animal for that matter) from a rescue center is an entirely ethical way to acquire a feline friend and may help to save not just one but two cats.
You’ll save the cat you adopt and make space for another in the rescue center.
Ragdolls are a very popular breed and as such they can be hard to come by from breeders and rescue centers as often they’re snapped up very quickly.
That said, it is entirely possible to adopt a Ragdoll, but you’ll need to move quickly when you find one.
Did you adopt your Ragdoll? Or perhaps you’re looking to adopt one right now? To tell me about your experiences or ask a question, use the comment form at the bottom of this page.
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- What is the Average Lifespan of Ragdoll Cats?
- How Big Do Ragdoll Cats get?
- Are Ragdoll Cats Hypoallergenic?
- How Much Do Ragdolls Shed?
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