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.

Sorry to digress but do other people with ragdolls have constant meowing? One of mine never shuts up! And she is so loud

I had two ragdolls a few years ago, brothers like yours. They were the loves of my life, one in particular.

My breeder told me that there are a couple of reasons why raggies should never be outside without supervision. The number one reason is that they get stolen - a lot. The second (and, in my opinion, more important) reason is that the majority of ragdolls are friendly and docile. It makes them easy pickings for predators, both animal and human.

However, raggies are, first and foremost, cats! All cats love to go outside, because cats are territorial animals and they want to put their mark on and explore their patch. Personally, I don't believe any cat should be outside unsupervised because of the hunting and killing of local wildlife. It also dramatically increases the risk of them being injured or killed.

If you have no hope in fencing them in 100%, then they would probably love a patch of their own. You can simply use star pickets or wooden stakes, then chicken wire round the sides (use weed mat pins to hammer it in so that they can't get underneath), and either build the netting high enough so they can't jump or climb it, or put some kind of cover over the top. Just more chicken wire or some bird netting. A cat won't jump if there is something over their head - they may 'stand up' and see if they can get through it by exploring it with paws, but they definitely won't risk a jump.

You may think just a patch of grass would be boring for them, but I can assure you it's not. There's all manner of insects, lizards etc. that they can try and catch. Plus they get some sunshine and some lovely fresh air. They will be happy with that.

Keep an eye on them while they're out, particularly as kittens - older kittens like yours can be very bold and also be complete arseholes and try and tear things apart. I have two that have just turned one and one of them in particular is going through the dickhead stage where he tries everything he shouldn't do. Typical teenager, really! All cats I've had go through the adolescent phase, including my raggies.

Ragdolls are wonderful cats. You do need to take a bit of extra care of them, but they are such rewarding pets! I'd give anything to have a couple more of them.

Regardless of breed I think 7 months is a bit too young, our 7 month olds aren’t outside yet.

You can fence well inside the existing boundary though, I’d do that. Cheaper than moving. You don’t have to fence the whole garden just a section.

We cannot do that here as the gardens are large and wrap around and are completely open on 3 sides with access through the middle (hard to explain, it’s an old cottage) plus we are in a conservation area, but we are at the end of a private lane in a super quiet village so ours will be allowed limited time out from 9 months (not ragdoll).

The roller design garden proofing looks nice and can work in your set up. Or get a builder/landscape gardener to build you a cat proof garden enclosure. They can do that on levels and build up around it.
Having said that, we have a road of mostly pedigree cats and they all go out, including next doors ragdoll, who is as adept at climbing and jumping as all the others. He’s probably the cat who is most outdoors loving of them all.

@0scillate One of mine never shut up either. I used to have full conversations with him! Used to drive me nuts, though. Which is why I bought his brother. It helped a lot.

But Arnie was just a chatterbox by nature! And when I groomed him, you'd swear I was murdering him - he screamed and screamed the whole time. Didn't matter what brush I used, he just hated it. In fact, he was one of 'those' cats who just hated doing anything he didn't want to do!

But he was my little soul mate. Best cat I've ever had and, although he's been gone ten years now, I still miss him every day. I have another chatterbox now, but he doesn't hold a candle to my sweet little Arnie! (Of course, I love all my cats dearly, it's just that Arnie was special. He stole my heart and never let go.)

Over the years, I have had three ragdoll cats. We have a ragdoll proof garden, why not rehome them to me.

My mum has got 6 pedigree cats: three rag dolls and three Maine Coons.

She’s had them for a range of 4 to 8 years.

She has got her garden cat proofed but they still escape all the time. One of the Maine Coons doesn’t really go out of the garden but the other 5 love to explore.

They don’t go far and are rarely gone for more than an hour at a time but they’ve always come back and never come to any harm. She has got them all microchipped and a nice large cat flap and they just come and go as they please.

She moved house a few months ago and she had to keep them inside for two weeks and they were a total nightmare, constantly howling to go outside. I know that’s a different situation to yours but I can empathise with the howling.

I can’t imagine being caged inside a house 24:7 is fun for any cat.

I had two male neutered ragdolls. They were house cats until I moved house, they were a few years old. I decided to let them out,I was scared of losing them (getting lost, stolen or run over) they never really went far, they liked going out but never for long. It really made it much easier in the summer months with opening windows, doors etc.
you can get trackers now, I’d suggest getting them.

I hope to God you did not take this foolish and highly uneducated advice to let them outside to roam free! Terrible terrible advice! I’m glad you seem to be much more sensible than these bozos and are listening to the advice of the breeder.

Try doing whatever you can to activate their hunting instinct. Get suction bird feeders for the windows and/or a fish tank; playing with them on an empty stomach is a good strategy, then feed them right afterward. Watch YouTube videos for ideas! Ragdolls are absolutely not meant to be outdoor cats. They are also one of the most commonly stolen cats and as pet owners, our ONE job is to protect our pets and we cannot do that if they are roaming outside. They could end up in the hands of a really mentally unstable person.

Also, outdoor cats are actually really bad for the ecosystem. But since no one ever thinks to do simple Google searches and learn something now and then, no one seems to be aware of this at all. Ridiculous.

😊

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.

Thats surely extremely rare? I’m a Londoner who has always had cats & obviously foxes but never had any issues, same for neighbours.

I have 2 ragdolls. Boy and girl. When I lived in a semi on a housing estate, they were indoor cats

Boy cat was desperate to get out, and escaped a couple of times and was reluctant to come home. Girl cat would happily be an indoor cat - the one time she went out to see (by mistake, the door was left open) - she just sat on the outdoor windowsill until I noticed and let her back in.

Now I live more rurally, and they're both allowed out during the day and totally happy with that. Boycat roams a bit further, girlcat tends to stay in the garden, but I see them sprinting around and attempting to climb (girl cat isn't very co-ordinated bless her), and I think it's good for them. I used to have to call them in at night, but after a couple of years, they just come in at the right time on their own.

I think that no matter what you do, those boy cats are going to escape at some point, and you'll see how they deal with the outside/coming home. Get some dreamies in so you can shake the packet to call them back!

Personally as a cat owner myself I would prefer my cats to have happy lives so if keeping them inside is distressing them let them out. Surely it's better to run the risk of k jury outside to have a happy but maybe shorter life than a long unhappy life.

My brother has rag dolls, 5 in total. They all go outside. Some are braver and more adventurous than others. One just stays in the garden, others venture miles and being home mice like any other cat. It's not possible to keep their patio doors closed all the time

I have Maine coons that are allowed outside. However at 7 months I took them out on a harness only. I’d take the same stance for any baby of 7 months regardless of pedigree. I couldn’t take mine both out together as they wanted to go in different directions so on days with no one else around they had to take turns. The following spring I let them out alone. I have a cat flap and both wear trackers.

Ragdolls can technically go outside, but they should never be unsupervised due to safety concerns. If building a catio isn't feasible (it doesn’t have to be right by the back door – you can carry them to it), consider making your home more cat-friendly and engaging. Add wall-mounted beds, climbing spaces, cat wheels, and a variety of toys that you can rotate. Most importantly, spend quality time playing with them to keep them active and mentally stimulated.

Because some breeds especially rag dolls are not very smart. If a car is coming they sit down in the road instead of moving off it.

Your best bed is getting a catio made. Then they would get fresh air but not get run over.

I'd get a catio because ragdolls are not streetwise. Also they are likely to be stolen unfortunately.

Take them out on a harness and lead, my blind cat can’t roam around so I put her on a lead and let her explore. Is that an option?

Hi, I have the same problem, my raggy Marnie is so adventurous and wants to go out! I used to let her on my apartment deck which was up high and secure and she loved it, she would be out there all day just chilling. I recently moved house to a bigger place with an outdoor area/garden which is high fenced in. However she climbed a tree and couldn't get back down! My partner broke his hand trying to get her and then the fire brigade had to come and she went right to the top of the tree they almost gave up. A huge ordeal and quite traumatic for her and she took a few weeks to recover. BUT she is back at it again! She somehow found a gap in the fence and jumped the fence twice! Luckily, the second time we had got her a TrACTIVE collar and found her quickly. Fence is now covered in. Then yesterday she got stuck under a tight piping (within the fenced yard) and took 2 hours and lots of pulling and prodding to drag her out! She just loves the garden and will stay in there all day but I can tell she wants to explore more and will find ways to get out. It's very worrying... These cats are not made for the outdoors. We have an aggressive dog next door and I am so so worried she'll land on his side of the fence and get attacked. I love her so much and want to keep her safe so I let her out supervised and check on her when I am home but she's locked in at night/when we go out. I also trained her on the leash for walks so she is getting outside time but still scratches at the door and desperate to go out. So I feel your pain, it's stressful having to keep all the doors and windows locked and hearing them cry and scratch so much. Next I think we will get some netting and try cover over the fence areas. I would say try keep your cat indoors if you can... they really are so silly and clueless. They will get hurt or lost so easily! Good luck :)

My ragdoll 3 goes out - seems streetwise maybe because she lives with my bengalburmese x who is fierce - rags sits on the wall and visibly shrinks when she sees a car or human - also loves hunting

Usual posture for the ragamuffin

Oh lord who thought crossing a Burmese with a bengals was a good idea both breeds are enough work on their own 😂

Ragdoll’s cannot free roam outdoors. Those saying let them out clearly do not know the breed.

I have 3 and have bred Ragdoll’s for 7 years.

I would recommend cat proofing your garden or building a catio to give them safe outdoor access. Alternatively you can take them out on a harness and lead.

There are multiple safe options to give your cats outdoor access without exposing them to risk.