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Welcome, Crazy Cat People!
So you have decided to invite a ragdoll into your life, what a great choice and one of my favourite breeds. They have distinctive blue eyes and a loving, gentle personality but are they easy to take care of?
In this post, I did some research so I can answer this question along with some other questions you may be asking before deciding if the ragdoll is right for you.
In general, ragdoll cats are easy to take care of however they demand a lot of attention, need regular play and tend to follow their owners around everywhere. They are slow maturing reaching adulthood at four years old and have thick long fur so they need to be groomed more regular than some breeds.
They are easy maintenance as long as you don’t mind a companion who will at times be a little clingy and follow you around everywhere.
Later in this post, we look at how to care for their coats and we look at some of the personality traits that make this cat individual from other breeds out there, so keep reading to find out more.
Are ragdoll cats easy to take care of? A detailed look
It is always a good idea before we take on board a new feline friend to really consider if the breed of cat is a right fit for you and your household.
Cats come with so many different personalities. I have said this in previous posts and will say it again, cats are very much like people.
They are unpredictable, their traits and personality can vary so much but different breeds do have general characteristics and energy levels so finding one that is a good match for you and your family is important.
The ragdoll cat is a laid back, friendly breed but they do demand a lot of care and attention (with emphasis on the attention part).
They tend to favour one human in a household and will often follow that human around everywhere. With a ragdoll, you can forget what it’s like to go to the toilet in peace. They are less independent than other breeds and will watch you in the bath and while you’re doing ”your business’.
So you need to ask yourself if you want a cat who will demand so much attention from you?
Are you going to be out of the house for extended periods of time? If you only decide to own one ragdoll you need to consider if they will become lonely and stressed with you being out all day.
While we’re on that subject you may want to take a read of my blog post ”Is it cruel to have one cat”? – this post will help you decide if having more than one cat is right for you!
Ragdoll cats tend to be slow to mature so they will not reach their full size until around four years old so you will have a couple more years of Kittenhood than some other breeds and we all know how playful and energetic kittens can be.
Do you have the time to spend looking after a mischievous kitten for all that time?
On that note, ragdolls can be a large breed and so they may need to eat more than usual. So we definitely have to look into the cost of their food and how much, in general, it cost to look after a cat before we decide if owning a ragdoll is right for us.
If you want to know more about how much a cat costs there are two articles I wrote that may be of use to you, the first one is very important and looks at the average cost of cats monthly and annual care and what you need to consider. You can read this post here.
If your wanting to know just how much a ragdoll cat costs and how much people, in general, spend on a ragdoll then this post is also worth a quick read.
We must also take into account that some ragdolls may also be more vocal than others.
Some say that ragdoll cats are a quiet breed and only purr and meow when they want attention (which as you can imagine is quite often) but when doing my research some owners did say that their ragdolls were very vocal and often woke them up at 5 am for food with long meows.
Would you mind an early morning wake up call now and again?
Another of their traits is to literally go limp when picked up hence the name ragdoll. How cute!
Some owners say that ragdolls with their docile personalities are not very streetwise cats and don’t have a great road sense. They may not defend themselves as well as other cats so some owners decide to let their cats just have access to a secure garden or take them out on a lead rather than giving free roam of the outdoors.
This is a personal decision and one that needs to be thought out carefully but generally, they do really well as indoor cats.
So as you can see there are so many factors to take into account but in general, if you want a breed that is friendly, good with children and has so much love to give but demands a lot of attention and needs regular play then a ragdoll may just be the breed for you!
How to care for your ragdoll cats coat
Ragdoll cats have very thick long fur, a lot more than short-haired breeds so of course, their hair will need a lot more love and attention.
One thing you must get used to as a ragdoll owner is hair being on your clothes and also on your carpet with clumps of fur sometimes being everywhere.
They need a lot of grooming and you must remember to brush them frequently to remove clumps of hair as their fur can sometimes become matted which could be painful for your cat when you then try to brush them.
Some ragdoll owners prefer to send their cat to the local grooming parlour and get their ragdolls shaved regular too but I do think they look better with their naturally long hair and it’s worth just getting into a daily grooming routine at home from an early age.
You must be aware that because your ragdoll will also do a lot of self-grooming that there will be more vomiting and more hairballs coming up on your carpet too.
To help dislodge hairballs it is a good idea to buy some cat grass which you can find easily on Amazon.
The grass will really help to dislodge any furballs and your cat will eat the grass to help with stomach discomfort!
Some great tips for grooming are
- Start grooming your ragdoll at a young age to get them used to this routine.
- Use grooming gloves, these are great and my prefered way of grooming my cats as it gives them a little massage at the same time and they seem to love these – Click the link below to see the one I use!
- Once they allow you to groom them its good to offer a treat afterwards to help associate grooming time with pleasure and reward.
- Brush from head to toe.
- Start slowly and if your cat resists then back off for a little while, remember we want to create positive associations with grooming not negative ones.
Do I need to bathe my ragdoll cat?
Bath time!
I personally don’t bathe my cats because cats tend to spend a large amount of their day grooming. In fact, they spend up to 50% of their time tending to their coat according to PetMD.
PetMD also goes on to say that if your pet is over-grooming to the point where they are losing so much hair that we must check for any health problems such as stress and boredom and if in doubt take our cats to the vets for a check-up and assessment.
Another great blog that I recommend reading is purrcraze.com – they recommend that you bathe a ragdoll once a month especially if they are an outdoor cat, to remove any dirt or debris that may have accumulated in their fur. If your ragdoll is an indoor cat though I personally wouldn’t worry about this too much.
Key takeaways: Are ragdoll cats easy to take care of?
So I hope my guide above has helped you along your path of deciding if a ragdoll cat is right for you and your family.
They may require more grooming than other cats with shorter hair and they are little attention whores sometimes and crave human companionship.
They are perfect for people who spend a lot of time at home, so if you work at home or maybe part-time hours then maybe a ragdoll will be the right breed for you.
They are also great with children and are generally sociable with other pets too. An all-around friendly breed of cat.
I can’t stress enough though (as already stated) not all ragdolls will fit into this stereotype, these are just general characteristics, as a fellow cat owner, you will know that cats are very unpredictable and that’s one of the many reasons we love them.
As always take care of yourself and your little fur babies. 🙂
Mark (The crazy cat man)
