Buying a Ragdoll kitten - any advice?

[JS5]

Looking to adopt a ragdoll kitten. There is one in my neighbourhood and honestly he is the sweetest boy on this planet. I would like to have my own

Never bought a kitten/cat before not sure where to start, looking online is quite overwhelming. There are so many sites selling

1. Which sites are generally safe
2. Do breeders need to be approved of some sort
3. What's the risk if cat is not pedigree
4. What is average cost

All advice is welcome 😊

Please don't get a cat bred for the high price it might achieve.

Kitten season is here and rescues are already awash with kittens. Abandoned mothers, stray mothers, dumped kittens, etc. They all need loving homes. Especially the black ones who get looked over.

One of my rescue girls was I am sure seminferal. She's now a purring lap cats. If you have no cat experience I would venture you don't start with a semi feral kit.

Black cats are best. Fact. *

*might not be a fact.

People are so negative on this thread.

I have a 4 year old ragdoll as well as a 14 year old moggy and love them both.

With a ragdoll it is essential to go to a registered breeder because there is a high incidence of a nasty heart condition called HCM in unregistered ragdolls. It has been eliminated in the registered population and the parents are all checked for the genes before they can breed.

You are looking at GCCF registration.

A properly bred ragdoll will cost around £1000.

It might be worth joining a ragdoll group for your area where there are registered breeders who can give more advice.

My ragdoll is wonderful, very calm and affectionate and playful. The only problem I have with her is that she is too needy and can cry when we go out so I hate leaving her for long periods of time.

She's beautiful @Gingerkittykat!

Yep, our ragdoll is this stupid.

They’re like dogs. Follow you around, chase balls, raid the bin….

We also have a rescue moggie - and she is zero maintenance compared to the ragdoll, who is high for a cat.

Both cats affectionate. Moggie curled up next to me atm

I had a ragdoll - she was not very affectionate or cuddly. If that’s what you’re after then buying a kitten isn’t a good idea - you need to find an adult cat that you can meet

My ragdoll wooshing off with my kid's pencil case to hide! I utterly adore him. Didn't want to sound negative in previous post but they do need quite a bit of attention and they are not all the same.

Absolutely loving all of these photos

Which sites are generally safe
I found my kittens on pets4homes, they're not as bad as people say if you use some common sense. Lots of breeders advertise on there and it doesn't mean they're kitten farmers or irresponsible breeders - just make sure they're GCCF or TICA registered and that the parents are HCM clear and when you view kittens look for the usual things like a nice home raising and happy bold kittens.

Do breeders need to be approved of some sort
Normally TICA or GCCF, it's like kennel club for cats

What's the risk if cat is not pedigree
They won't be as true to the breed in looks and personality, and you can get ripped off.

What is average cost
I paid 1k each for mine (definitely get two they are very needy and love playing with each other) and I'm in the north east

I wouldn't have another moggy, it's ragdolls all the way for me. I have a lovely moggy and two ragdolls but I think my moggy is an outlier - she doesn't like to go outside, she's very gentle and laidback which is what I like in a cat. Imo most cats are badly bred for pets because they're the result of roaming parents breeding and that's not what I want in a cat. I remember my childhood moggies being awful, ragdolls are soft lovely playful clouds. They have gorgeous little personalities, very emotionally intune with people I've found and not prone to jumping on counters in the case of my two. Very naive though so must be kept inside, I don't agree with owning a cat unless you have a catproofed garden so they can feel the fresh air without pissing off your neighbours.