Tips and Tricks
Food
We strongly recommend a premium food that contains no corn, wheat, or meat by-products. Most animal allergies, and many illnesses can be prevented by avoiding these ingredients. As an added benefit, the better the quality of the food, the less they eat, and the less waste they produce. We use Blue Healthy Growth Kitten Food with Life Source Bites for hard food, and EVO and Innova cat/kitten canned food. Although it seems expensive, the cost actually ends up being the same or even less expensive than lower quality foods because the animals eat MUCH less quantity (up to 2/3 less per day!). And, there is very little to eliminate because of the high nutrition value of the food. We have experienced this first hand, and it is truly amazing how much less they eat of the better food.
Changing Foods
If you ever do switch foods for your kitten, it needs to be done slowly to avoid diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach upset. Mix ¾ old food, with ¼ new food for a few days, then move to ½ old food and ½ new food for a few days. Continue in this pattern adding ¼ of the new food every few days, and the switch over should go smoothly.
Litter and Litter Boxes
We use Kitten Attract litter in the beginning of litter training. It has an herb that attracts the kittens, and we really recommend it in the beginning when you are establishing where your litter box will be located, or if you ever want to move the litter box.
We then gradually switched the kittens over to World’s Best Clumping Litter. Ragdolls can be finicky about litter. So if you have a picky litter kitty and you want to change brands, slowly mix in the new litter with the old, putting the new on the bottom. Gradually increase the amount of the new litter every few days or so until they are accustomed to it.
We do not advise the use of grocery store litters such as Tidy Cats, Fresh Step or other like brands. They contain perfumes as well as silicon particles that have been established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a known human carcinogen. Also, breathing these particles can cause respiratory infections in the kittens. A recent study actually found clay-based litter silica dust in cats’ lungs, and that cats with respiratory disease had up to six times the amount of silica in their lungs as healthy cats. For more information on this, and other tips, go to http://www.worldwise.com/catboxlitter.html.
There is also a great litter for cats with long hair by the same company that makes Kitten Attract that can be a good one for finicky kittens/cats who don’t like litter sticking to their feet. It works great, especially if you only have one cat. There is more information on it at the above link.
It is recommended that you have one more litter box than the number of cats that you have. We use Buddha Stairs litter boxes. They are hooded, so there is no flinging litter, and they have stairs, which really do capture almost all of the litter. This is very helpful, because Ragdolls are notoriously finicky when it comes to litter sticking to their paws, and some may wipe their paws on many things trying to ensure that they have nothing on them. The stairs in the boxes are a great place for that!
If you want to move where the litter box is, your kitty may have something to say about it. Once again, Ragdolls are known to be finicky when it comes to their boxes, so you may have to move the box a foot or two a day, eventually getting it where you want it to be.
Transitioning to Their New Home
Cats notoriously hide when they go into a new environment. Although Ragdolls don’t seem to do this as much, they can disappear for even 2-3 days. If this happens, give your new buddy his/her space and allow them the time to adjust. Put out food, water and a litter box for them, and before you know it, they will acclimate nicely!
We recommend that you have the litter, food and water ready for them when they arrive at your home so they know where it is in case they do hide. Be sure to show them all three first thing.
If you have other pets, it often helps to keep your new family member in a separate room with the door closed at first. This allows the animals all to smell each other’s scents from the safety of under the door, and without the threat of being face to face. This will often prevent any fighting or showdowns, and will get your pets to be buddies faster. We have been amazed at how well this works with new comers.
Never force them to be together, or scold them for reacting to each other. If you give them time, before you know it, they will be buddies!
Scratching Posts
Scratching posts are a huge part of your kitty’s life, and having them will save you a lot of headache! Some cats like the rope posts, some, the carpeted ones, and others prefer the wood ones. Your kitten has had all available to him/her. The best solution is to have a kitty tree of sort that they can climb (cats LOVE to climb and to go high up) with both a rope and wooden post they can choose from. We have found that they generally don’t like to sharpen their claws on the carpeted cat posts.
Some less expensive alternatives are a piece of plywood, or the cardboard scratchers available at pet stores. We used these for years. But whatever you choose, think what will work for your kitten when they are a strong adult. The little cute ones don’t usually work for full grown cats who put everything they have into sharpening their claws! It is recommended that the height of the post be at least 32 inches tall as well.
Cat’s and kitten’s claws need to be trimmed with a cat nail trimmer about every month. Sometimes having two people to do this job helps!
Correction/Discipline
There are several methods that help to communicate to your little one when they need to not do what they are doing. The spray bottle on jet is very effective! When you spray them, try to not let them see you do it. They will think the plant they were climbing into got them instead of you. Be persistent if needed, but they will soon learn.
For plant eating, there are great sprays on the market with bitter tastes that don’t harm the plants. They taste awful, and will keep them far away if used properly.
Sound diversion also works well. A soda can that has been emptied, and has a few coins in it makes a lot of noise when shaken that stops them in their tracks.
There is also the technique their mom used of picking them up by the nape of the neck. Ragdolls in particular often go limp in submission when you do this. Again, be persistent, and before you know it, your little love will be behaving beautifully.
Cat Nip
Cat nip is not recommended in toys at all until the kitten is 6 months old because it is actually a drug to them, and can interfere with the brain development. Here is a link with great information on it: http://www.cat-world.com.au/all-about-catnip
Food
We strongly recommend a premium food that contains no corn, wheat, or meat by-products. Most animal allergies, and many illnesses can be prevented by avoiding these ingredients. As an added benefit, the better the quality of the food, the less they eat, and the less waste they produce. We use Blue Healthy Growth Kitten Food with Life Source Bites for hard food, and EVO and Innova cat/kitten canned food. Although it seems expensive, the cost actually ends up being the same or even less expensive than lower quality foods because the animals eat MUCH less quantity (up to 2/3 less per day!). And, there is very little to eliminate because of the high nutrition value of the food. We have experienced this first hand, and it is truly amazing how much less they eat of the better food.
Changing Foods
If you ever do switch foods for your kitten, it needs to be done slowly to avoid diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach upset. Mix ¾ old food, with ¼ new food for a few days, then move to ½ old food and ½ new food for a few days. Continue in this pattern adding ¼ of the new food every few days, and the switch over should go smoothly.
Litter and Litter Boxes
We use Kitten Attract litter in the beginning of litter training. It has an herb that attracts the kittens, and we really recommend it in the beginning when you are establishing where your litter box will be located, or if you ever want to move the litter box.
We then gradually switched the kittens over to World’s Best Clumping Litter. Ragdolls can be finicky about litter. So if you have a picky litter kitty and you want to change brands, slowly mix in the new litter with the old, putting the new on the bottom. Gradually increase the amount of the new litter every few days or so until they are accustomed to it.
We do not advise the use of grocery store litters such as Tidy Cats, Fresh Step or other like brands. They contain perfumes as well as silicon particles that have been established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a known human carcinogen. Also, breathing these particles can cause respiratory infections in the kittens. A recent study actually found clay-based litter silica dust in cats’ lungs, and that cats with respiratory disease had up to six times the amount of silica in their lungs as healthy cats. For more information on this, and other tips, go to http://www.worldwise.com/catboxlitter.html.
There is also a great litter for cats with long hair by the same company that makes Kitten Attract that can be a good one for finicky kittens/cats who don’t like litter sticking to their feet. It works great, especially if you only have one cat. There is more information on it at the above link.
It is recommended that you have one more litter box than the number of cats that you have. We use Buddha Stairs litter boxes. They are hooded, so there is no flinging litter, and they have stairs, which really do capture almost all of the litter. This is very helpful, because Ragdolls are notoriously finicky when it comes to litter sticking to their paws, and some may wipe their paws on many things trying to ensure that they have nothing on them. The stairs in the boxes are a great place for that!
If you want to move where the litter box is, your kitty may have something to say about it. Once again, Ragdolls are known to be finicky when it comes to their boxes, so you may have to move the box a foot or two a day, eventually getting it where you want it to be.
Transitioning to Their New Home
Cats notoriously hide when they go into a new environment. Although Ragdolls don’t seem to do this as much, they can disappear for even 2-3 days. If this happens, give your new buddy his/her space and allow them the time to adjust. Put out food, water and a litter box for them, and before you know it, they will acclimate nicely!
We recommend that you have the litter, food and water ready for them when they arrive at your home so they know where it is in case they do hide. Be sure to show them all three first thing.
If you have other pets, it often helps to keep your new family member in a separate room with the door closed at first. This allows the animals all to smell each other’s scents from the safety of under the door, and without the threat of being face to face. This will often prevent any fighting or showdowns, and will get your pets to be buddies faster. We have been amazed at how well this works with new comers.
Never force them to be together, or scold them for reacting to each other. If you give them time, before you know it, they will be buddies!
Scratching Posts
Scratching posts are a huge part of your kitty’s life, and having them will save you a lot of headache! Some cats like the rope posts, some, the carpeted ones, and others prefer the wood ones. Your kitten has had all available to him/her. The best solution is to have a kitty tree of sort that they can climb (cats LOVE to climb and to go high up) with both a rope and wooden post they can choose from. We have found that they generally don’t like to sharpen their claws on the carpeted cat posts.
Some less expensive alternatives are a piece of plywood, or the cardboard scratchers available at pet stores. We used these for years. But whatever you choose, think what will work for your kitten when they are a strong adult. The little cute ones don’t usually work for full grown cats who put everything they have into sharpening their claws! It is recommended that the height of the post be at least 32 inches tall as well.
Cat’s and kitten’s claws need to be trimmed with a cat nail trimmer about every month. Sometimes having two people to do this job helps!
Correction/Discipline
There are several methods that help to communicate to your little one when they need to not do what they are doing. The spray bottle on jet is very effective! When you spray them, try to not let them see you do it. They will think the plant they were climbing into got them instead of you. Be persistent if needed, but they will soon learn.
For plant eating, there are great sprays on the market with bitter tastes that don’t harm the plants. They taste awful, and will keep them far away if used properly.
Sound diversion also works well. A soda can that has been emptied, and has a few coins in it makes a lot of noise when shaken that stops them in their tracks.
There is also the technique their mom used of picking them up by the nape of the neck. Ragdolls in particular often go limp in submission when you do this. Again, be persistent, and before you know it, your little love will be behaving beautifully.
Cat Nip
Cat nip is not recommended in toys at all until the kitten is 6 months old because it is actually a drug to them, and can interfere with the brain development. Here is a link with great information on it: http://www.cat-world.com.au/all-about-catnip