THE RAGDOLL
Ragdolls are wonderful cats. Large and mellow. Floppy and loving. They have a coat that is bunny soft and yet rarely matts. It sheds very little. Beautiful blue eyes. The Ragdoll is a cat that is bred to be a companion. They will want to be with you. Sometimes that means following you to the bathroom, sleeping with you, and generally "helping" in anyway that they can. If you aren't willing to have a "shadow" you should not adopt a Ragdoll. As I type this, I have one of my boys on my lap!!
RAGNIFICENT KITTENS AND CATS
Are raised in our home with love and care. They are fed the best all natural foods. Don't be fooled by the companies that put in a huge amount of advertising money. All of our cats and kittens are negative for Feline Leukemia and Feline Aids.
RAGDOLL INFORMATION
Ragnificent Ragdolls wants every kitten to have a wonderful long healthy and happy life. One way to do this is by keeping your Ragdoll inside. Ragdolls should not be allowed outdoors. Of course, with leash and harness, an outing is fun for everyone. The Ragdoll doesn't possess the natural instinct to defend itself or find their way home. This would leave it very vulnerable to other animals as well as cars, disease and theft. The life span of an outdoor cat is significantly shorter due to the risks involved. We also do not allow declawing. This is a surgery that mutilates part of the kittens toes. Not only is the nail taken but a good part of every bone in every toe/nail. It has the potential to cause physical and emotional pain for the cats entire life. Cats can develop litter box aversion due to the pain they encounter after declawing. Most Ragdolls are not aggressive clawers. We teach them early to use the cat tree or other acceptable scratcher. There is also a product available called Soft Paws. The little soft caps go over clipped nails and protect your furniture. These are inexpensive and the cats rarely notice they are wearing them. PLEASE SEE ARTICLE BELOW BY A VETRINARIAN REGARDING DECLAWING.
BOY OR GIRL????
Many people ask this question. Others already have a strong opinion. Before you decide, there are several things you should know. RAGNIFICENT RAGDOLLS sold as pets will sold spayed/neutered. This significantly narrows down the differences. A very typical belief is that males spray and females don't. This is entirely untrue. Both sexes can and will spray under certain situations. Typically it is the unaltered cat that sprays. This is "marking" territory. Males do this to mark, females like to let the boys know they are available. Ragdoll males are usually larger.Females a bit more "dainty" in everything they do. there are individual personality trait and can really vary among cats. If you deal with a breeder who knows their kittens well, you will be able to get more accurate feedback about the kittens personality. Ultimately, you want to go by temperament of the individual kitten.
RAGDOLL PERSONALITIES
Do you ever wish you could have more personal experience with the breed? Buying a Ragdoll is a big decision and will be part of your family for a very long time to come. PLEASE READ THE PAGE ON RAGDOLL PERSONALITIES. It will give you a huge variation of honest input (uncensored) from individuals about the personality and temperament of Ragnificent Ragdolls.
RAGNIFICENT RAGDOLLS PURCHASING INFORMATION Our kittens go to their new homes at approx 12 weeks.If you want to take a kitten home earlier (any breed, especially Ragdolls) please read this unbiased info first. URL:http://www.breedlist.com/faq/young.html
Our kittens will be current on their vaccinations,Wormed and all pets will be spayed or neutered before they go home.Doing a spay/neuter is an easy and simple surgery on kittens. The difference in the recovery for a 12 week old kitten is amazing. My adults who are spayed/neutered have a much longer recoup period. I welcome anyone who would like to come to my home and visit my cats in person, they are a lot of fun! You won't find my cattery with cages. The cats run free and are part of our family. Ragnificent is always available to answer questions. This is something that we really enjoy and try to keep in touch with our kittens and their new "parents". We have extensive references, please ask or read Ragnificent Referrals.
PRICES
pet kittens: male are $675 includes neuter, vet check and all current vaccines/wormings. Females are $675 which includes spay, vet check and all current vaccines,wormings etc.
show alters: $875 A show cat does not mean just markings, but body structure and certain temperament traits as well.This is what makes a show cat successful.
Please read Ragnificent referrals to see the real personality of our kitties.
The Cat’s Claws
The Cat’s Claws, Unlike most mammals who walk on the soles of the paws or feet, cats are digitigrade, which means they walk on their toes. Their back, shoulder, paw and leg joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves are naturally designed to support and distribute the cat's weight across its toes as it walks, runs and climbs. A cat's claws are used for balance, for exercising, and for stretching the muscles in their legs, back, shoulders, and paws. They stretch these muscles by digging their claws into a surface and pulling back against their own clawhold - similar to isometric exercising for humans. This is the only way a cat can exercise, stretch and tone the muscles of its back and shoulders. The toes help the foot meet the ground at a precise angle to keep the leg, shoulder and back muscles and joints in proper alignment. Removal of the last digits of the toes drastically alters the conformation of their feet and causes the feet to meet the ground at an unnatural angle that can cause back pain similar to that in humans caused by wearing improper shoes.
Understanding Declawing (Onychectomy)
The anatomy of the feline claw must be understood before one can appreciate the severity of declawing. The cat's claw is not a nail as is a human fingernail, it is part of the last bone (distal phalanx) in the cat's toe. The cat’s claw arises from the unguicular crest and unguicular process in the distal phalanx of the paw (see above diagram). Most of the germinal cells that produce the claw are situated in the dorsal aspect of the ungual crest. This region must be removed completely, or regrowth of a vestigial claw and abcessation results. The only way to be sure all of the germinal cells are removed is to amputate the entire distal phalanx at the joint.
Contrary to most people's understanding, declawing consists of amputating not just the claws, but the whole phalanx (up to the joint), including bones, ligaments, and tendons! To remove the claw, the bone, nerve, joint capsule, collateral ligaments, and the extensor and flexor tendons must all be amputated. Thus declawing is not a “simple”, single surgery but 10 separate, painful amputations of the third phalanx up to the last joint of each toe. A graphic comparison in human terms would be the cutting off of a person's finger at the last joint of each finger.
Many vets and clinic staff misinform clients. Owners believe that declawing removes only the nail itself and believe this is a "minor" surgery comparable to spay/neuter procedures and certainly doesn't involve amputation (partial or complete) of the terminal-toe bone, ligaments and tendons. Some vets rationalize the above description by saying that since the claw and the third phalanx (terminal toe bone) are so firmly connected, they simply use the expression "the claw" to make it simpler for clients to "understand". Other vets are somewhat more honest and state that if they used the word "amputation", most clients would not have the surgery performed! Onychectomy in the clinical definition involves either the partial or total amputation of the terminal bone. That is the only method. What differs from vet to vet is the type of cutting tool used (guillotine-type cutter, scalpel or laser).
Onychectomy (Declawing) Surgery
The below is a clinical description of the the declawing surgery taken from a leading veterinary surgical textbbook. Contrary to
misleading information, declawing is not a "minor" surgery comparable to spaying and neutering procedures, it is 10, seperate, painful amputations of the distal phalanx at the joint (disjointing).
"The claw is extended by pushing up under the footpad or by grasping it with Allis tissue forceps. A scalpel blade is used to
sharply dissect between the second and third phalanx over the top of the ungual crest . The distal interphalangeal joint is
disarticulated (disjointed), and the deep digital flexor tendon is incised (severed). The digital footpad, is not incised. If a nail
trimmer is used, the ring of the instrument is placed in the groove between the second phalanx and the ungual crest. The blade
is positioned just in front of the footpad. The blade is pushed through the soft tissues over the flexor process. With the ring of
the nail trimmer in position behind the ungual crest, the blade is released just slightly so that traction applied to the claw causes
the flexor process to slip out and above the blade. At this point, the flexor tendon can be incised and disarticulation of the joint
(disjointing) completed. Both techniques effectively remove the entire third phalanx." (Excerpted from: Slatter D; Textbook of Small Animal Surgery 2nd ed vol I, p.352 W.B. Saunders Company Philadelphia.)
Complications
Declawing is not without complication. The rate of complication is relatively high compared with other so-called routine procedures. Complications of this amputation can be excruciating pain, damage to the radial nerve, hemorrhage, bone chips that prevent healing, painful regrowth of deformed claw inside of the paw which is not visible to the eye, and chronic back and joint pain as shoulder, leg and back muscles weaken.
Other complications include postoperative hemorrhage, either immediate or following bandage removal is a fairly frequent occurrence, paw ischemia, lameness due to wound infection or footpad laceration, exposure necrosis of the second phalanx, and abscess associated with retention of portions of the third phalanx. Abscess due to regrowth must be treated by surgical removal of the remnant of the third phalanx and wound debridement. During amputation of the distal phalanx, the bone may shatter and cause what is called a sequestrum, which serves as a focus for infection, causing continuous drainage from the toe. This necessitates a second anesthesia and surgery. Abnormal growth of severed nerve ends can also occur, causing long-term, painful sensations in the toes. Infection will occasionally occur when all precautions have been taken.
"Declawing is actually an amputation of the last joint of your cat's "toes". When you envision that, it becomes clear why declawing is not a humane act. It is a painful surgery, with a painful recovery period. And remember that during the time of recuperation from the surgery your cat would still have to use its feet to walk, jump, and scratch in its litter box regardless of the pain it is experiencing."
Christianne Schelling, DVM
"General anesthesia is used for this surgery, which always has a certain degree of risk of disability or death associated with it. Because declawing provides no medical benefits to cats, even slight risk can be considered unacceptable. In addition, the recovery from declawing can be painful and lengthy and may involve postoperative complications such as infections, hemorrhage, and nail regrowth. The latter may subject the cat to additional surgery." The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR)
Two recent studies published in peer-reviewed veterinary journals (Vet Surg 1994 Jul-Aug;23(4):274-80) concluded “Fifty percent of the cats had one or more complications immediately after surgery.... 19.8% developed complications after release.” Another study (J Am Vet Med Assoc 1998 Aug 1;213(3):370-3) comparing the complications of declawing with Tenectomy concluded “Owners should be aware of the high complication rate for both procedures." Many cats also suffer a loss of balance because they can no longer achieve a secure foothold on their amputated stumps.
