Ragdoll cats

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Lacuna

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Ok - not sure where to post this query but does anyone know anything about ragdoll cats as a breed.

Some friends have bought a brother & sister pair of ragdoll cats. They're lovely cats, friendly, playful and not very destructive. However they're coming up to six months old and so far owners haven't got any plans to neuter one or both.

Apparently the breeder said that ragdolls mature later than other cat breeds. I have never heard of any differing maturation rates in cat breeds and would have thought that they're just asking for trouble leaving it until later. Does anyone know if this information is accurate?

I'm slightly worried as my stepmum left it too late with her two (moggie) siblings and her little cat had a litter at about 7/8 mths old courtesy of her brother.

In addition they are so far only planning to get the brother done as they "want to let her have a litter" before neutering (the chap muttered something about recouping his money!). As my personal view is that there are far too many animals in rescue as it is, any advise on how to gently disuade them from this idea would be welcome.
 
Faracat said:
Different breed does not equal different species.

I would get them neutered.
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This is what I thought, however I did wonder because some dog breeds do take longer to fully develop than others, e.g. giant breeds vs terriers
 
RE the dogs - it's probably down to their shere size (vast amout of difference between a Yorkie and a Great Dane) the same as it is with horses - big horses need an extra 6 months on average for the growth plates to fuse. Domestic cats don't vary in size to the same degree.
 
I have a male ragdoll and while he took longer to physically mature, he sexually matured right on schedule.

I had him neutered because he was starting to spray at 6 months. :mad:
 
No idea how you can persuade them but someone should. I have pedigree cats including a raggie and there is no truth in the suggestion that they sexually mature later; they will knock out unwanted kittens at the same age as any moggy. If they didn’t buy them as breeding quality GCCF registered cats then they are unlikely to recoup their money as anyone looking for a quality cat wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.
 
Faracat, I was thinking along those lines but wasn't sure.

Canadiangirl, thanks for a raggie owner view.

Joelb, dunno about their pedigree. I just hate the ' let her have one litter' mentality as it seems totally unnecessary breeding
 
I have a male Ragdoll we had him done around 12 months when he was fully grown and he is rather a big boy!
There was no chance of him fathering kittens as he didnt leave the house, Ragdolls dont tend to go very far.:)
 
thatsmygirl said:
Ragdolls are such lovely cats if I could afford the sort off money they are I would have one.
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You can have mine ;) she never stops moaning, moults 24/7, trashes furniture…..in fact does everything the breeder told me they didn’t do lol. Her brother was angelic but lost him very early to diabetes.
 
My mum has one.

He had to be neutered as early as possible as he kept bothering our older cat.

However he still hasnt calmed down (he is 4 now) and from time to time if you are stroking him (me in particular) he will try and, shall we say, make love to your arm!!

He is however very affectionate and entertaining and usually very lovable (when he isnt misbehaving.)

Think when they say mature late they mean they reach full size and colouring later than most breeds. Not sure how they mature sexually as he isnt a stud cat.

Forgot to add: he is the fussiest cat ever when it comes to feeding him- one day he loves a food flavour the next he will spurn it!
 
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I bred cats for 20 years. The man saying he will recoup his money is in cuckoo land if he thinks he will make anything out of breeding cats if he does things properly. It is extremely expensive. Personally I would recommend to neuter them both at 5 months and have done with it. Some breeds do appear more precocious earlier than others but at 5 months you should be okay. I do hope they see sense.
 
joelb said:
You can have mine ;) she never stops moaning, moults 24/7, trashes furniture…..in fact does everything the breeder told me they didn’t do lol. Her brother was angelic but lost him very early to diabetes.
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Ditto, mine howls at night and in the morning even though she was done at 6 months old, moults constantly and runs hound like a raving loony

However she has grown up with my toddler and they are joined at the hip. She sleeps right next to him at night and he cuddles her like a teddy, they mess around together and toddler is sometimes not overly nice to her and she makes her feelings known (she is a worse biter than a dog). They love each other :)
 
Ok here goes yes they mature slower but this really relates to adult size and weight and it is revommended that females are not bred from as young as some other breeds but the males are sexually active just like any other male car. I assume neither cat is registered with the GCCF but if they are I am guessing it's as pet only as to register any Ragdoll on the active register the parents must be HCM tested. There are loads of back yard Ragdoll breeders out there at the moment and trust me they are unlikely to recover their money. I had two GCCF reg active queens and lost them both last year inc 4 kittens due to complications arising from breeding, nothing I did wrong just pure bad luck so please try and put them off breeding it can cause so much heartache or just mention to him that I reckon last years disasters cost me in the region of £3k
 
I have always had maine coons, another late developing big cat breed. But mine have all been done at 6 months (obviously not allowed outside until they're neutered/speyed).

Breeding any animal is done at a huge loss, if you do it properly, that is. It really isn't worth either the money, or the potential heartache!
 
My brother has ragdoll cats although they were rescues (due to stupid breeder over-breeding them and then not being able to look after them). He had his "done" at the usual time any other cat is done. They can be quite sensitive I think though as one of his took the neutering rather badly and they almost lost it during the anaesthetic... but generally I think they're fine. I have Bengals and again, I had them neutered at the usual time.

Generally I thought breeders of pedigree cats sold them for certain purposes. Certainly with my cats, they were sold to us as "pet" only and not breeders. The breeding quality ones are either retained by the breeder or sold at huge cost over a "pet" price. In other words, the ones they've got are probably not up to standard. I think breeding ones are registered or something? Its something they should really find out about before even considering it (although I think its a bad idea anyway TBH!).
 
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I have 2 male ragdoll cats and had them both neutered at 6 months old. I think like many have mentioned that they mature slower than the average cat in size/weight but i was advised by my vet to have them both neutered when i did.
 
I have a Ragdoll, and a Bengal, both neutered just before 6 months... and the Ragdoll was showing more signs of "maturity" at that age than my Bengal. Definitely get it done as soon as you can! Ragdolls dont stop growing until age 3-4 and their full coats dont come in until then, but they reach sexual maturity like every other cat.

With regards to breeding, I feel so strongly about this. There are so many unwanted kittens and older cats needing good homes. The cost of raising a litter of kittens up to age 12 weeks and you wouldn't get much profit, especially if any vet bills were costly. Also, the cat needs to be of breeding quality, NOT pet quality in order to breed otherwise it can create problems for the breed further down the line! Also an important point that if kittens are bred from pet quality cats they cannot be sold on as pedigree/registered Ragdolls and therefore could not be sold at the same cost as a papered pedigree Ragdoll!

Female cats who are not neutered can become extremely uncomfortable and can go into season every few weeks until they mate. They can also spray and display territorial signs, and howl all night every night until they mate and in these instances would not be a pleasure to own!!

In my opinion, It's definitely not a solution for a quick buck to be made, it takes a lot of care and a passion for the breed to make a good breeder!
 
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