The Essentials Prior To Kitten Coming Home…

Litterbox and Litter..

But the largest litter box you can find. Your Ragdoll won’t stay small for long.. When looking for a litterbox look for one with high sides at least on three sides.. I also don’t recommend a covered box. One of the best and least expensive boxes I have found is a black cement mixing box available at Lowe’s.  Large tupperware containers are also great boxes and these are available at Target. With a tupperware container you might have to do a bit of cutting for an access door.

Here  at 5 Star Rags we use  World’s Best Clumping Litter (corn based litter) and Smart Cat grass based.. If you choose to use a clay then I suggest Precious cat. There are pros and cons to each.. The clay is heavy and can be dusty, but it is definitely cheaper and smells better.. The corn based  and the smart cat litter is quite a bit more expensive but is VERY easy to scoop and such lighter than the clay..

Food Dishes..

Glass, Stainless Steel, or ceramic bowls are the easiest to clean.. Avoid plastic bowls for dry food and water as these can cause chin acne.

Basic Carrier..

A medium sized carrier is very important for any trips out of your home.. The basic dimensions I recommend are 24″ long.. 16″High and 16″ wide.. Every company has different dimensions so these are approximations. You don’t want to get a small carrier that your kitten will soon outgrow.

It is VERY important that you never take your cat/kitten out of the house, except in the carrier. A scared cat can get away from anyone. The cat may be perfectly calm as you leave the house, but if a car should backfire, or a dog barks close by, it could startle the cat and he/she will panic.

Remember to use the carrier for bringing the cat to and from the vet’s office. Please do not let other people in the waiting room touch your kitten. They are probably there with a sick animal. You don’t want them to pass the germs on to your kitten.

Toys and Playtime

Playtime for a kitten is not only fun but also necessary for their development. Ragdolls are very smart cats. They will need things to keep them occupied when you are not there. While you are there, they will be happy following you around and “helping” you with your work. However, if a kitten gets bored they will find fun in the wrong places.

Cats are usually the most active first thing in the morning and again late in the evening. Their favorite toys seem to be the small, lightweight toys that they can carry in their mouths.

Ragdolls can learn to play fetch quite easily. Take a small toy or ball and sit down on the floor with your kitten.. Shoot the ball about 3 feet away from you and when he/she runs to the toy, encourage him/her to bring it back.. If the kitten doesn’t bring the toy back just try again and again.. Many young ragdolls love to engage in this kind of activity.

Another favorite toy is a stick with feathers or an actual wand toy (can have mylar strands, feather, leather strips etc).. Please make sure to put these types of toys out of the reach of your kitten/cat when you are not there to supervise the play. Feathers and strings can pose a choking hazard to your kitten/cat.

Carrier to take on an airplane

When traveling on an airplane you will need a soft sided carrier that will fit under the seat in front of you.. The one that we use and recommend is made by Sturdy.. The large Sturdi Carrier is the perfect size for most  full grown Ragdolls..

 Food For Kittens

For the most current kitten foods we are using please click on  link “Getting ready for you new kitten.”

* Getting ready for your new kitten * 

Food that we feed our Adults

Here at 5StaRags we feed our cats a homemade raw blend that we make here every three weeks. We also wean all of our kittens to a raw and canned food mix so when they go to their new home they are used to the canned food and it is an easy transition.

For those interested in trying raw you can purchase many different blends. There are some pet sores that offer raw blends that are good. Here we also use a company called Souly raw. Souly raw is located in Southern California and does ship their foods. If you would like to try Souly Raw their link is provided below.

Souly Raw  Souly raw is a wonderful company located in San Diego California. Souly raw offer some very unique proteins sources. My cats love this food.

thek9schoice@comcast.net – Email Stephanie at K9’s choice if you are interested in Blue Ridge Beef or Oma’s Pride.. She is located in Northern California and ships and also offers discounts on large orders.

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Basic Ragdoll Care

Bringing Your Kitten Home

For the first day or two confine your kitten in one room of your house with his/her food, water and litterbox. Make sure the litterbox is far away from the food dishes as possible.

This room should be where you want the kitten to feel most comfortable in, preferably where you would always keep the litterbox.

Please do not invite any visitors to visit the first few days. This is a big change for a kitten to leave his mom, brothers and sisters. He may be a little cautious at first. Talk to him quietly and encourage him to explore his surroundings. Also put the kitten in the litterbox every 15 minutes or so and let him walk out by himself. This way the kitten will learn where the litterbox is in relation to the room.

After this initial period, let your kitten explore the rest of the house, but close doors to spare rooms, and bathrooms. You do not want to overwhelm your kitten with too big a space to explore. Eventually, when he gains more confidence, you can introduce other rooms for the kitten to explore.

Introducing The Kitten To Other pets:

If you have other pets, such as cats or dogs, you can expect some fireworks at first. It is usually not the kitten doing the hissing or growling, but the resident animals. Naturally they are hesitant towards a “newcomer” in their house. After your new kitten has been in it’s room for awhile, take him out and let the other animals smell his room. They can then sniff and get familiar with the smell of the newcomer without the threat of actually seeing it. This will help somewhat when you are ready to introduce the kitty to them.

When you are ready to bring the animals together make sure you are with them. Most adult cats that are not around kittens all the time are actually afraid of the kitten, so most won’t attack the kitten as long as the kitten doesn’t get too close. With dogs, you will have to be careful, especially with the bigger one, so they don’t overwhelm the new kitten with their sniffing and large, friendly tongues.

Feeding the Kitten:

Please follow your breeder’s instructions for food and water.

Do not change his food suddenly or he can get diarrhea. If you HAVE to change his food for some medical reason, do it gradually.

Be sure to clean and refill the water dish at least daily. If you don’t wipe the bowl out it will get slimy on the bottom. This is bacteria and can make your kitten sick.

It is very helpful to keep the kittens food and water dishes close to the kitchen sink. That way you will see them often and can clean and refill as needed.

DO NOT give your cat or kitten cow’s milk. Cats are lactose intolerant and will get diarrhea if given milk or milk products. Cats should drink water once they are weaned.

Litterbox Placement

If you want to take your kitten to bed with you at night, you may need another litterbox for in your bedroom, especially if the first one is on the second floor.

Kittens are like little children, and they may hold it as long as they can, and then have to run for the box. You don’t want any accidents because the kitten was to afraid to go downstairs alone.

It is very important to keep the litterbox clean. Scoop the solids at least once a day, and change the box completely once a week. Cats are very clean animals and the most common reason for litterbox mistakes is that the litterbox is dirty.

Kitten Proofing Your Home:

Take the time to go over your house much like if your were bringing a toddler into your home. Look for small, sharp objects , string, rubber bands and hair bands. String is especially dangerous to cats. Cats have little barbs on their tongues, which point backwards and help push everything down their throats. If they start to swallow string they can’t spit it back out. If they swallow enough of the string it can get tangled up in their intestines and then they may require surgery to remove the string.

It is also very important to cover electrical chords as kittens LOVE to chew on anything.. A great chord cover is available at amazon, called black loom split tubing

Recliner Chairs are also very dangerous around kittens. They think they are fun places to hide in and when the recliner comes down they can be seriously injured.

Houseplants are another thing to watch out for. Many houseplants are poisonous, or at least an irritant to cats. Please move plants to a room the kitten can’t get into or else hang the plants, being careful to watch for fallen leaves.