WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER BEFORE ADOPTING A RAGDOLL?

If you are interested in adopting a kitten, you should consider the following:

• They are very attached to their owners and will try to follow you everywhere in the house
• They hate loneliness, so they should not be left alone a lot. One solution is to take them in pairs or with other pets such as other cats, dogs, rabbits or papapallos.
• It should be borne in mind, however, that as they have a thick, white, semi-long coat, they lose a lot of hair during moulting (like any other cat, on the other hand).
• They are not suitable to be left outside unsupervised, they are too good and are not afraid of anything or anyone...you would then risk having them stolen or injured, once you let them out they will always want to go out
• If you live in high flats and you let them out on the terrace, you have to provide them with protection as they are a bit clumsy and could fall off
• They hate chaos and noise and therefore need a quiet place to retreat to, but they get on very well with children as long as they are not too nervous or agitated
• They should be brushed at least once a week to prevent knots from forming
• If you get them used to sleeping in your bed at first, it will be very difficult to get them out of it and they will cry at night or scratch at the door
• Ragdolls are large cats, as with Maincoons the males can reach up to 10kg, but they are slow growing, which means that their full development will only be reached around 4 years of age
• The colour of their coat darkens with age, reaching its final colour at the end of development at 4 years of age, so do not be frightened or surprised if their coat gradually changes colour.

NUTRITION

Correct cat nutrition is a very important aspect. Your four-legged friend's health depends on a healthy and balanced diet. Especially with kittens, an abrupt change in the diet must be avoided, otherwise there is a risk of intestinal disorders. Ideally, you should use the same food that the breeder has already given the kittens before.

Should you wish to change your kitten's diet, the transition from the old to the new should be made gradually over a period of about one week. This transition helps to minimise the risk of ‘soft faeces or heavy diarrhoea’, which are very detrimental to the kitten's proper development.

We therefore recommend:
- Day 1 and 2 75% of the previous food and 25% of the new food
- Day 3 and 4 50% of the previous food and 50% of the new food
- Day 5 and 6 25% of the previous food and 75% of the new food
- From day 7 onwards 100% of the new food

With adult or semi-adult cats, however, we recommend alternating kibble with wet food on a daily basis. The kibble bowl should always be stocked with food, while at least 70 g per cat of quality wet food should be given once a day. If you really want to spoil them, you can also boil fresh chicken or turkey for 3-4 minutes and cut it into small pieces.
Many people only give dry kibble for convenience and because of the smell. This is very wrong, as cats, and especially males, consume too little liquid with kibble alone and are likely to have kidney problems as they get older.
It is therefore also very important that your cats drink plenty. Always provide them with fresh water, ideally with drinking fountains to stimulate them to drink more.
The quality of the food you give your cat is very important. If possible, avoid food that you find in ordinary supermarkets as it is of poor quality and of questionable composition and is often more expensive.

We use in our Cattery and are also  NUTRI-PRO consultants, a Swiss company that imports in Switzerland natural and healthy pet food from teh Belgian company Ceral C Pro Food, a very healthy professional food for a raisonnable price, free of preservatives, additives, colourings and fillers found in common industrial foods. In addition, C Pro Food uses environmentally sustainable production processes and the best raw materials. To order this food click here!

It is also important to clean the bowls daily... Ragdolls are extremely clean cats and if the bowls are dirty they may refuse to eat!

If you want great food for little money, we recommend ordering it on the zooplus website, which also has the best prices. If you buy the large d-packs you will get more affordable prices even for quality food. In general, the rule applies that the smaller the packages, the more expensive they are.