Hey, I need some help from you seasoned breeders...
My boyfriend and I are interested in getting a Ragdoll. We went and visited a breeder today and I have a lot of questions... I was hoping someone could share their opinions on this breeder... I've written a kind of step by step thing on what I noticed/thoughts during the outing and wanted someone who is a breeder (Ragdoll or not) to give me their opinions:
First thing I noticed... she lived in a trailer with 3 BIG dogs, 5 grown Ragdolls, and at least 2 litters. That's a lot of pets in a little space.
There was a very strong smell which concerned me (cat pee, I'm assuming) but, like my boyfriend said, it could very well just be because she has so many pets - I counted at least 3 litter boxes in the main cat room.
Aside from the smell, the first thing I noticed when I got in was that there were 3 adult Ragdolls just chilling on the sofa. Cool - I wanted a breeder who kept her cats with her. Also, the cats would follow her from room to room where she would go, so they liked her.
The cats I saw appeared in good health from what I could tell - clean, soft, pretty fur, clean eyes and ears, well fed, etc. My boyfriend picked up a little one who he later told me thought was a bit cross-eyed... not so sure about that. Likewise I noticed one grown cat who was clearly a blue point but he had a streak of yellow colored fur - can blue point cats have that?
She would hand me cat after kitten after cat and let me see them... the grown cats were very Ragdoll in their behavior, which made my boyfriend fall for them... mellow, would go limp when you held them, etc. However the kittens were feistier than my current kitten... would squirm to get away, I do not think they were well-socialized at all.
So I'm not sure... I was looking for a kitten that would be more snuggly sweet and these would duck away/try to hide if you tried to pet them. Is this because they weren't used to human contact? As far as I could tell, it was just her and her 16 year old granddaughter living there.
Any thoughts? My boyfriend and I are going to continue to look for breeders... he loves the Ragdoll personality now, though he does not love how much they shed. Phew, bad day for him to wear black!
My boyfriend and I are interested in getting a Ragdoll. We went and visited a breeder today and I have a lot of questions... I was hoping someone could share their opinions on this breeder... I've written a kind of step by step thing on what I noticed/thoughts during the outing and wanted someone who is a breeder (Ragdoll or not) to give me their opinions:
First thing I noticed... she lived in a trailer with 3 BIG dogs, 5 grown Ragdolls, and at least 2 litters. That's a lot of pets in a little space.
There was a very strong smell which concerned me (cat pee, I'm assuming) but, like my boyfriend said, it could very well just be because she has so many pets - I counted at least 3 litter boxes in the main cat room.
Aside from the smell, the first thing I noticed when I got in was that there were 3 adult Ragdolls just chilling on the sofa. Cool - I wanted a breeder who kept her cats with her. Also, the cats would follow her from room to room where she would go, so they liked her.
The cats I saw appeared in good health from what I could tell - clean, soft, pretty fur, clean eyes and ears, well fed, etc. My boyfriend picked up a little one who he later told me thought was a bit cross-eyed... not so sure about that. Likewise I noticed one grown cat who was clearly a blue point but he had a streak of yellow colored fur - can blue point cats have that?
She would hand me cat after kitten after cat and let me see them... the grown cats were very Ragdoll in their behavior, which made my boyfriend fall for them... mellow, would go limp when you held them, etc. However the kittens were feistier than my current kitten... would squirm to get away, I do not think they were well-socialized at all.
So I'm not sure... I was looking for a kitten that would be more snuggly sweet and these would duck away/try to hide if you tried to pet them. Is this because they weren't used to human contact? As far as I could tell, it was just her and her 16 year old granddaughter living there.
Any thoughts? My boyfriend and I are going to continue to look for breeders... he loves the Ragdoll personality now, though he does not love how much they shed. Phew, bad day for him to wear black!