When we lost our Missy kitty earlier this year to cancer, we were absolutely heartbroken. We soon decided new life would help to ease our sadness, and we started to look at the local pet stores and rescues for a new cat. Of course, we loved and wanted to take home every single one we saw - even the older ones, but we knew we wanted two kittens. Being our other two cats are older, we wanted to get a pair so that they could entertain each other and not wear out the old girls.
From the start, we knew it was going to be hard to try and fill the space that Missy had left. She was an outside cat of a friend before we inherited her 12 years ago at 2 years of age, and all she'd ever wanted was to be a kitty of luxury. She had a lovely personality and was always so grateful for her kinder home. The new kitty was going to have some pretty big furry shoes to fill! We looked and we looked at the kittens in the area, and though they were all so cute and so fun, none of them made us feel that "something special" for which we were looking.
We came home after one of our forays to a nearby shelter (still empty-handed), and I logged onto the Internet and looked up "Ragdoll cats" in Google. Though Missy was not papered, our friends knew that she had been a "throwaway" from a local amateur breeder's Ragdoll litter. They'd also owned her brother - Loverboy - and we've always regretted that we didn't take him too all those years ago. In looking at the many Ragdoll breeders' sites, we discovered it was because of the TYPE of cat Missy had been that we were having so much trouble with all the other kittens we'd been seeing. Ragdolls just have something about them that make them so very special!
So we started researching the breeders in the area, trying to find someone who had a kitten for sale. We discovered they were largely out of our financial means, and so I began writing to the breeders asking if they had any cats that were not "show quality", that they might part with for a discount. I did not find that many who were willing to lower their prices, but what I did discover was a networked community of warm and lovely people who understood our plight (not only had we suddenly lost what seemed like one of our children in losing Missy, but we had been having various life difficulties for some time) and were willing to get the word around to help us obtain a kitten for a reduced rate.
In the process, I learned a lot more about this particular breed of cat and the people who raise them. On almost any of the breeders' sites is the interesting story of how the breed came to be, right here in sunny Southern California. As I read more about their personalities and tendencies, I found I was reading all about our Missy cat. This was the type of cat we needed to get if we wanted to even come close to her temperament and personality - though no two cats are ever the same, we wanted one with her "way" of being.
There are numerous sites on which you can learn about the Ragdoll cat - most notably the Ragdoll International site where they list breeders and also have a forum in which to share, and there are many ways to find out who sells them in your area (beware newspaper ads - you want to make sure you get a cat from a good breeding line!). Being they originated here in Southern California, breeders are most prevalently found in the area and surrounding areas, though they can be found all over the United States now and are being introduced to other parts of the world, as well. Below are the names of the catteries we contacted, including the one from which we eventually purchased our babies - and, yes, I said babies, plural!
ANDIES RAGDOLLS - Andrea Morley at Andies Ragdoll Cattery
Email: morleybeach@cox.net
Website: None
CALIRAGS RAGDOLL CATTERY - Mark and Peg
Email: caliragsragdolls@aol.com
Website: http://calirags-ragdolls.com/
DKOTABLU - Jsterling at Dkotablu
Email: jsterling@dkotablu.com
Website: http://www.dkotablu.com
DREAMDOLLS - Julia at Julia's Dreamdolls
Email: CATZ4U@aol.com
Website: http://members.aol.com/catz4u/ragdoll/ragdolls.htm
EC HO GLEN - Laura at Echo Glen Ragdolls
Email: laura@echoglenragdolls.com
Website: http://echoglenragdolls.com
KAIMIKA - Kim at Kaimika Ragdolls
Email: kaimikaragdolls@cox.net
Website: http://www.kaimikakats.com/
RAGBENCHER - Cheryl Adams at Ragbencher Ragdolls San Diego
Email: Ragbencher@cox.net
Website: http://www.ragdollkitties.com
RAG BIG BOY - Beverley at RagBigBoy
Email: beverly@ragbigboy.com
Website: http://www.ragbigboy.com/index.htm
RAGDOLL ANGELS Monica at Ragdoll Angels
Email: angeldolls@ragdollangels.com
Website: http://www.ragdollangels.com
RAGDOLLKITTY CATTERY - Cynthia at Ragdollkitty Cattery
Email: ragdollkittycats@aol.com
Website: None
RAGMEISTER - Gary at Ragmeister Ragdolls San Diego
Email: Ragmeister@Ragdoll.org
Website: http://www.ragdoll.org
RAGSTER - Sharon Clark at Ragster Ragdolls San Diego
Email: step555@aol.com
Website: http://www.ragster-ragdolls.com
RAZL DAZL - Pete and Cindy DeWolfe at Razl Dazl Dolls Ragdolls Hesperia Ca. (760) 244-6495
Email: cindy@razldazldollsragdolls.com cindyhighdesert@msn.com
Website: http://razldazldollsragdolls.com/_private/index.html
SPICEDOLLS - Linda Fagrell at Spicedolls San Diego
Email: ragdollkitties@sbcglobal.net
Website: http://www.ragdollkitties.net
STARBUCKS - Starbucks Ragdoll Kitties
Email: kwanyin08@gmail.com
Website: http://www.ragdollkittys.com
STARDOLLS - Stardolls
Email: jlstarcevic@cox.net
Website: http://www.ragdoll-kittens.net
STELLARHARTCATS - Chelsea Hart at Stellarhartcats.com
Email: stellarhartcats@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.ragdoll.net
SWEETHEAVEN - Connie at SweetHeaven Ragdolls
Email: sweetheavenragdolls@cox.net
Website: www.sweetheavenragdolls.com
UP MY ALLEY - Madelon Matthews at Up My Alley San Diego
Email: madelonmatthews@cox.net
Website: none
WEST COAST RAGS Tammy at West Coast Rags
Email: Ragdolls4u@aol.com
Website: http://members.tripod.com/Ragdolls4u/id8.htm
YOUNGRAG DOLLS - Kirsten at YoungRagdolls.com
Email: kirsten@youngragdolls.com
Website: http://www.youngragdolls.com/
We finally chose to go with CaliRags Ragdoll Cattery. We traveled up to Anaheim from our home just north of San Diego (about an hour and a half), and Mark and Peg had a beautiful 6-month-old girl for us. They had originally planned on showing us her sister, but that kitten was having a little trouble with a change in diet, so they offered the alternate kitten instead. The (un)fortunate thing was that we immediately fell in love with both of them and determined to find a way to bring both the sisters home with us, if we could. It ended up that we were able to do so, and as soon as the sister's little problem was clearing up, we did. These are two of the sweetest, coolest, most fun cats we have ever known. Mark and Peg go above and beyond their call of duty in their raising of these beauties, and they are worth every single cent you pay for them. Our kitty family again feels complete, and the joy these little girls bring to our lives is priceless. Everyone has settled in and gotten used to each other's presences and we are thrilled with our decision to purchase this breed of cat. They don't replace Missy in any way, but they nicely fill her space with love and happiness.