Ragdolls desperate to go outside

[raggeddolls]

I posted in chat about my 2 Ragdoll kittens and was basically accused of being a horrible owner for not letting them go outside, apparently I am selfish and should never have bought them if I subject them to the life of an indoors cat.

I researched the breed thoroughly and it’s been made pretty clear that ragdolls should be indoor cats. The breeder recommended this too.

Problem is both my neutered male kittens who are around 7 months yowl at the back door desperate to go outside. My garden is not cat proof and it’s a design which makes it very hard to car proof - we are not one level and have hedges/bushes rather than fences. I did ask one neighbour who owns the hedge if we could replace with a fence at our own expense but he said no.

So I can’t see how we could keep them in the garden even if we went outside and supervised them. I have been looking at specialist cat tents for outside but they would just be exchanging one prison (our house!) for another confined space.

Just wondering if anyone can relate?

I think we will have to move houses and get a garden where we can build a catio - not possible in current garden due to us being on a hill and having different levels in the garden.

It’s so stressful. I just want to keep them safe. They have a large house to run around in, lots of toys and we spend a lot of time playing with them ( they love chasing a ball up and down the stairs) but they are desperate to go outside.

There’s a Ragdoll who’s been roaming our neighbourhood for the last three years without coming to any obvious harm. However, when he was still quite young, I had to move him off the middle of the (not at all busy) road in front of my house as he’d decided to chill out and curl up there. He may have done that because Ragdolls are known to be quite dim, or it may just have been the typical road safety naivity of a young cat, I don’t know. He’s a popular character round here, the local school kids like to pick him up and take selfies with him.

They don't want to go outside, they don't know what's outside. They've seen a door and want a nosy through it.
Ragdolls are not outdoor cats. Keep them safe inside.

@raggeddolls I have an exotic shorthair, I think that's a similar breed. I let her out, she'd hate to be inside. We live in a very quiet area and she mainly chooses not to leave the garden anyway. In summer she sometimes potters down the lane but in winter she's inside except to go to the loo really.

I'd let your ragdoll out if you're not on a main road. At least trial it. I keep mine in at night so you could do that. A life fully lived is better than a longer sad life IMO and sounds like yours really wants to go out

Ragdolls are bred to be lap cats.
Let me think- run over, stolen, wrecked coats and health from being wet…. I could continue…
Any ‘decent’ breeder ie not a backyard one only sells them to indoor homes and it is generally put into the sale contract.
No doubt I will now get lots of comments about how everyones rag dolls can cope with outside soooo well.
My answer to that is then come and see what I see and deal with on a weekly basis.

I'm just not sure what you want from this second thread. You can't build an outside space but you don't want to keep them in but equally don't want to let them out. So what answers are you looking for?

Mine are indoor cats but they have an enormous amount of climbing things, boxes, toys, etc. I have more stuff out than when i had toddlers! Plus they get a lot of attention. Several hours a day. So they're happy indoors. Ragdolls are needy. So that's my only advice really. Lots more stuff to do and lots more attention.

My auntie's Ragdoll only stays in the garden anyway. He doesn't stray far from her and ideally likes her out there with him. He just loves the smells and the grass and the sunshine and the birdsong. He potters around while she's gardening and it makes him so happy. When she's in the kitchen cooking or washing up he sits on the patio a few feet away.

I'd want to be confident that the cats are bonded to you and your home before letting them out, and try harnesses at first if you like, but I consider it my job to give them the best life so can.

I have Maine coons.

They are pretty stupid.

I let them out supervised -I have discovered they don't really like going far from me so if I sit in my (shared) square garden they mooch around a bit but don't go far.

As soon as I move to go back inside they are straight back to me.

If you are worried about them shooting off you could try harnesses with a long lead?

I've never had any cats other than moggies so am genuinely interested why people don't let particular breeds go outside?

@Growlybear83
Ragdolls are very lacking in common sense. Mine have fallen off things a few times and don't even land on their feet! They just sit there looking confused in a "how did that happen?" way! So you really can't trust them with traffic.

For me personally, my last cat was a moggie that went out. He came home one day with his paw literally hanging by a thread, vet said it was a fox. I'm in London and we have a lot of urban foxes round our way. So that's a reason for me too.

Also I don't trust that someone wouldn't take them and sell them on. Or just keep them.

But, as I said in my post. I think for that reason you have to provide them with a very good indoor life. Ragdolls are not cats for people who want an animal that's very independent.

Rag dolls have a rep for no street smarts and she doesn’t want two dead cats.

Catios your only option, cats don’t give up.

All cats take big risks every time they go out - they could be run over, attacked by a dog, shot with an airgun, get chased and become lost. In addition to all that, pedigrees may be bred with additional 'issues' - and they may be stolen.

I have pedigree oriental cats which have the 'opposite problem' to Ragdolls - they are extremely athletic and adventurous and get into every type of trouble you can imagine, and then some. I let mine roam until a few years ago but two fatal incidents and a serious attack in quick succession was too much (I live in a rural area, you'd think it would be safer than town - it isn't).

Breeders often stipulate that the kittens they sell should be kept indoors but realistically they can only ask. Once you have the cat you can do whatever you like. It's a question of balancing the risks with their quality of life.

Thanks very much for the explanation! I'm in London too, with a fox family at the bottom of my garden and had to scoop up my last poor old cat, who was deaf and nearly blind, several times to save her from a fox who was about to attack her.

I've got a Ragdoll. He goes out but just mooches round the garden for a bit then comes back in. Yours might be similar.

Get cat fences inside your boundary .. or rollers on the fence to stop them jumping out .

I haven't seen your previous thread but I'm struggling to imagine a setup where creating any kind of catio is impossible?

Our Ragdoll definitely enjoys his catio (on sunny days!) and for me it's a good compromise. Ours is very typical of the breed though (not bright and not very active), and isn't especially determined to escape the house.

That said, I'm sure he would enjoy roaming, and I acknowledge that keeping him inside is a selfish decision based on how important he is to me and my children, who would be devastated to lose him to the road. But unless you are a vegan, it is massively hypocrital to lecture an indoor cat owner about denying their cats an outdoor life.

I’ve got a ragdoll, she goes out.

Mine is a rescue and the rescue wanted her to have outdoor access. She loves going out having previously been a breeding queen.

She doesn’t go far but she loves it and I have no regrets letting her out.

I've got the opposite problem! My extremely anxious fluffy long haired black & white rescue cat refuses to go outside, despite or perhaps because of being abandoned outside.
I've had her for 5 years now.
Interested in the cat window box idea!

Every time she hears a noise she doesn't like she hides behind the sofa.

I had the outside of the house painted by 3 men in august and it's taken her months to get her confidence back.

If my cat did choose to go out it now it would be too dangerous as knowing her she would probably flee in fear at any loud noise and might not find her way back plus there's lots of dogs & fast cars on my estate.

Regarding rag dolls I think there's various reasons they're not supposed to go out but I think that if they stay indoors they will need a lot of attention & playtime.

Can you try to harness train them at all and take them out supervised? If you do let them out maybe make it close to a feeding time so they are not inclined to move too far from their good source.

I think it's unkind to keep cats indoors all the time without even a cattio. I think you should have thought of this (your house being unsuitable) before you bought 2 ragdoll kittens.

Sorry if that isn't the answer you wanted but they are telling you as clearly as they can - they want to go outside.

Honestly I think you need to choose from 3 options you won't like. Either rehome them somewhere more suitable, move house or let them out and take your chances.

I had 2 ragdolls. One wanted outside and I gave in, but I did stay with him initially. Then I left the door open, but he rarely went out without me and never made any attempt to scale the gate (which was my point of weakness). His sister never bothered going out all after her first wander around.

I have a rescue ragdoll and had some very supportive posts on an earlier thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_litter_tray/4766846-adopting-a-rescue-ragdoll
I was told on adopting he was an indoor cat and he should not be allowed outside. His situation is slightly more complicated as due to a medical issue common to ragdolls he needs have daily medicine so if he was taken or lost the new owners would not know his issues.
A poster on my thread said it was like letting a two year year old child out on their own. They may not want to be supervised but they are in danger if allowed out by themselves.

My cat loves his new home, he is friendly, happy, affectionate and so playful. I presumed when told when we adopted him as an indoor cat at the age of one, this would not be an issue. However he wants to go outside and does try to escape. We live in a urban area opposite a park with lots of dogs and have a small yard which we cannot enclose due to shared access.

I have bought him a harness which is meant to be impossible to escape from. He walks very happily in it until he sees another animal (xl bully, pigeon, cat) then he runs at them and can escape harness by a weird wriggling technique. Being on a lead I can generally grab him before anything terrible happens but he has escaped a few times before and will charge down a road after anything.
I can normally get him quickly but if he was left out on his own, I do not think he would last long. He mght also be stolen. Terrible with cars as well! So we walk together, him on a lead, I let him explore the park and sniff everything. It is like having a dog but you don't get the exercise but still do the litter-tray!
Where you live makes a difference- my in-laws neighbours have a free-ranging ragdoll as no cars or dogs - apparently he is a monster for killing wildlife! My cat is very happy and I give him lots of attention- he was going to be put down due to his medical needs so I think you do the best you can and you will have a happy cat!

Re the fence , you don’t need your neighbours permission to put up a fence as long as you leave the current trees there and put the fence on your land instead of the boundary.

That said most cats can figure out most ‘cat proof’ systems - read the reviews!

Get advice from Protect a Pet.

Our Siamese have a catio and that seems to fulfill the ‘going outside’ for them - they spend more time in the conservatory that it’s attached to . Moving house seems a bit extreme , have you contacted anyone like Safecat to see if they could build you something on your current house .

It probably depends how pretty your ragdoll is. Some of them are not that pretty and probably safe. I’ve got three, and one of them is stunning, cat advert type with blue green eyes - pretty sure he would get stolen pretty quick if I let him roam on his own. They are also very stupid and have no fear of people so would just happily go with anybody if they got fuss.

I do take them out on a harness sometimes which they do like, although have to take one at a time. One walks happily with me, the other two just want to sniff everything and barely move.