British Short Hair or Ragdoll kitten?

[anon3455]

First time cat buyer here and would be grateful for some advice! We have been doing lots of research into getting a kitten after having decided that a cat will be the most suitable for our circumstances. We have a large spacious home, both my DH and I regularly work from home (although not always), and we have very gentle, loving children age 6 and 2.5 who are both incredibly gentle with animals. I am conscious that I have zero experience with cats, having been brought up in a home with dogs and horses and am keen to make sure I make the best decision re breed for our family. We would prefer an indoor cat due to living near a busy road and wouldn’t want to keep a cat indoors who didn’t want to be there. We have narrowed it down to the BSH and the Ragdoll breeds. I have heard that Ragdolls are more affectionate and happy to be handled, although have also heard that BSHs can also be too, although more shy. Any pros and cons of the breeds/ advice as to which we should go for would be much appreciated! I should add that I have exhausted all options re cat rescue charities and because of the age of our children we do not seem to be considered suitable. TIA ☺️

Also- no other pets are in the home ☺️

I've known five BSH and all apart from one were very...volatile. I wouldn't have wanted them around young kids. Affectionate but on their terms (which is a cat's way) but to the extreme. Wanted all of the strokes, until they wanted none of them.

Why not a Rescue? They have cats requiring indoor homes. It seems odd there is nothing - rescues round here are overwhelmed with cats.

You will see in my OP that we have exhausted rescue options due to the age of our children.

Have you considered Siamese , we’ve had a ragdoll previously but the Siamese are much more interactive and people loving plus being completely beautiful .

Thank you for this- this is what I was slightly worried about! We visited a friend who has some and they seemed a little avoidant of children (although of course they were not perhaps used to mine!)

Where I foster regularly rehome to homes with children they are independent unlike rspca etc. they also rehome cats as indoor only some we say must have access outside but if they feel the cat/kitten will be ok as indoor they will rehome. A recent pair of the most gorgeously affectionate kittens got rehome to a couple in a large flat. If you near South Yorkshire drop me a message

Thanks for this- it’s actually not a breed that I had thought of so will look into them too ☺️

In your circumstances I’d go for a rag doll over a BSH. We’ve got a BSH who we love and he’s been a great addition to the family but he’s not super affectionate and definitely not a lap cat.

He is patient with the kids (who are 8 & 12) and fairly affectionate with them but will give a non-claw swipe if he’s getting fed up.

He also does love going outside - I couldn’t keep him as an indoor cat.

I hear you on the rescue issue. We had the same thing.

We have had 2 BSH cats that we rehomed. We found them to be very lovable, especially the boy. They followed us round the house and outside in summer. They were gorgeous and we had them for over 10 years before they had to be PTS

My grandsons eight and ten have had a ragdoll for 5 years. What a gentle loving lady she is too.

You do need to brush them, so a bit more work.

We have a Scottish straight or Scottish short hair which is the straight eared variant of the Scottish fold. Honestly ive never met a more sweet, placid cat. She doesn't like going outside and is very happy inside. She loves following us around the house and sitting with my children to be stroked. I got her when my youngest was 3 and she loves children, even loud ones. The breed in general is very people loving and chatty.

Oh my goodness she is absolutely beautiful! 😻

I have a ragdoll. He's lovely and very affectionate but also very needy and quite intense with the attention he needs. He can also be a little boisterous but is getting better with that as he's got out of kitten hood. You'll read that ragdolls don't like going, but my boy absolutely loves going out but has to be supervised when out. All in all, I wouldn't be without him now, but he's very time consuming with the attention he needs.

A kitten with a toddler is not a good idea when you have no experience with cats.

We have a BSH and have had a few over the years. All have been very placid and gentle. One wasn’t a lap cat; the others were/are. They tend to be purr machines too. My favourite breed 😻

I think they can be quite vocal though and sometimes very attention seeking which may not be so great if you and DH wfh a lot and need a cat happy to mooch about on its own also.

Burmese are my favourite cats, other than moggies.

Please don't consider a Scottish Fold. Their ears are a result of a faulty gene which causes health issues and they often are in a lot of pain as a result. Should be banned to breed them, it's terribly sad that they have become fashionable.

Ragdoll cats are lovely. Very playful. Fluffy.
not too chatty. Siamese are very noisy and can be highly strung.

If you get a long haired cat you will need to brush them daily and very thoroughly. You probably know this but if this is your first cat I'd suggest a short haired breed would make the transition easier. Lots of designer breeds can't groom themselves effectively so need a lot of help or professional grooming.

I didn't suggest a Scottish fold. I suggested the straight eared version as the ones with the folded ears often have health issues. My cat is a Scottish straight.

Well yes you do need to brush a long hair cat. But ragdolls don’t seem to get too tangled. Not compared to Persians. Ours loves being brushed and it’s a jolly experience all round

My dcat is a bsh and ragdoll cross

Shes got mostly bsh traits ive discovered reading this thread 😭

The BSHs i know all love being outside and are very adventurous. Meanwhile the one Ragdoll i know is happily an indoor cat. Try several rescue centres though rather than a breeder - i'd be surprised if they all refused you based on age of children. I know for sure this is the case for dogs but surprised re cats unless it is a new thing? I adopted rescue cats with primary aged kids.

I know you didn't, I just wanted to make sure OP was aware to avoid.

ETA: (Wrong text quoted but I was referencing Scottish Folds!)