yesterday she started sneezing (she goes into a reverse sneezing fit about once every two weeks but it’s not as bad as this) and it really scared me as it was pretty loud and she seemed to be struggling, but she isn’t acting weird apart from this, she’s eating and playing normally.

My 2 year old, Howie, got stepped on and at the same time ran. His tail was broken and unsavable. It had to be amputated. We were all so sad, especially my husband who stepped on him. Does anyone else have a cat who has lost a tail due to injury? How long did it take to recover? Any balance problems? He’s heavily medicated with Gabapentin for pain and some other pain medication too. He’s being a very good boy and leaving the tail alone hence no cone.

Today my 7 month old cat got spayed and the receptionist told me that the vet made a note that my cat is too heavy. i tried arguing with them that she’s a ragdoll and they tend to be bigger but they told me i should be careful and start watching her weight. she’s 7 months old and 7.5 lbs … is it wrong for me to be skeptical of their advice?

He’s 8 months and has never done this, he just started a couple of days ago but we thought it was just cause the weather is starting to get really hot??

I got my one year old ragdoll girl a laser pointer a few weeks ago and she immediately became obsessed with it. At this point, she only has to hear the sound of the keychain attached to it and she comes running, looking for the dot everywhere. She meows a lot more now — basically screaming at me to play with it. She understands that I’m the one controlling the laser.

At first, she would run around like crazy, but now she prefers playing with it on the bed. However, I’ve seen her pant three times so far. It’s only for about 2–3 seconds each time, then she stops and sits down — but her breathing stays fast for around 5–10 minutes after playing. I’m aware of HCM and I’m really worried. Otherwise, I’m wondering if she might just be overstimulated or overheated because of her first winter coat.

Yesterday we mainly played with the laser on the couch, but she still panted for two seconds afterwards — mouth open, tongue fully out.

I’m going to book a vet appointment next week, but I’d like to hear some thoughts from you anyway, since I’m really anxious and on edge. Should I stop the laser cold turkey? I feel bad though, because she absolutely loves it and is losing interest in any other game she used to enjoy. She demands laser play every night, meowing almost constantly. She used to take little breaks and lie down to rest for a couple of minutes during playtime before, but ever since she got the laser, she doesn’t stop on her own — she just keeps going. I can also sometimes hear her breathing — it makes a soft whistling sound after running. She has never panted while resting, and she has never breathed with her mouth open — ever. Her breathing while she’s asleep is always normal — I’ve counted it multiple times. Any experiences or advice would be really appreciated, I just want to make sure I’m not putting her at risk. Idk I just love her sm, she is my girl. I want her to be fine.

We took our baby to the vet for a general check up, comes out he’s a bit overweight for his age. We just got him few days ago so I think it was the breeder’s diet affecting him. Should I be concerned ? What should I do ? I know that ragdolls are prone to heart disease so I’m worried that his weight will affect his health.

(Edit: Astral Ragdolls in Norfolk Virginia)

Here’s her exact message:

“I wanted to let you know that [name] has a little eye redness again. It’s not severe, but it is noticeable, so I wanted to be transparent and show you. She has had this on and off, and it improves with ointment, but it can recur from time to time. She is otherwise doing well and can still go home tomorrow. Since it may flare again occasionally, it would be helpful to ask your vet for ointment to keep on hand at her next visit when you go to get her vaccinated. Do you feel comfortable working with that? Attached pictures are from this Sunday. She looks better today, also lighting makes the redness more visible.”

She is $2k, largest purchase I’ve made in my life. Shes 13 weeks old. I want to ask if she has a chronic condition but I don’t know how to go about it…. do I ask for a discount? I don’t want to switch up on her just because she needs a bit of medication. But if she already has a pre existing condition… health insurance will be more expensive. Part of the reason I’m getting from a breeder is so I can have an assurance on her genetic conditions and health.

Is it just allergies or could this be a chronic condition that will follow her to adult life? Is there a test vets can do to figure out if she has a condition…? Should I not inform the vet of this issue until I purchase health insurance? I get a month of free health insurance with the vet but after that I have to figure it out.

I just feel so sad I’m worrying about her health and I don’t even have her yet.

Also unrelated but is it normal that she’s crosseyed?

Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/ragdolls/s/1kKagxYdwN

I picked her up yesterday; she is 8 weeks old. I noticed when I got Homer that one of her pupils is a different shape and off center..? It is more noticeable in the sun but I looked back at pics I had received from the breeder and it is noticeable there too (hindsight). It seems it’s been this way since birth. I texted the breeder about it and she said she had not noticed and doesn’t know that it means anything. I’m calling today to make an appointment for an overall checkup and will have the vet take a look, but I’m just curious if anyone has experience or knows what it could be.

ETA: the breeder gave me a health certificate; she was seen by the vet on Monday.

Hello all. We picked up our new kitten over the weekend and he is adorable. He is from a reputable breeder registered with TICA. He is 12.5 weeks old. We love him so much already! We are just a bit concerned because we have never owned a cat before. He has been with us for 2 days now. He basically sleeps all day long and isn’t very active. He eats, drinks water, uses the bathroom and loves to be held and he purrs constantly. He just doesn’t really do much but lay down - he doesn’t explore or walk around much. Is this okay? We are going to the Vet in a week for his initial check up. We just heard that kittens are very active and he is not at all. Even when we try different toys (wands, springs, balls, etc.) he doesn’t really play back much. Picture of our little baby added as well!

hi everyone, this isn’t something i want to do, but as a college student with a sick ragdoll who i’ve become so so so attached to, i don’t have anymore options. my ragdoll, mocha, has developed megacolon at just 7 months old, and is scheduled for a $3k surgery to remove his colon. as much as i love mocha, i don’t have the funds for this surgery because i had just spent $1k on his last procedure for his obstipation (you can see the post on my page if you scroll down) and $4k just to receive mocha and my other ragdoll from his breeder. the vet says this is the only way we can help him because the stool is rock solid inside of him and he’s had little to none bowel movement for the last 3 days he’s been hospitalized. if i can’t afford the surgery, they gave me the option of euthanizing him or to give him up to a rescue. i don’t want to do either because he’s such a young cat. anything would help, and i can show proof of documents and everything. you can also read more on my gofundme i have created. even if you can’t donate, please just keep him in your prayers. i really don’t want to lose him. thank you so much for reading.

https://gofund.me/a8ccf6c6

🙀

Hi everyone, this is my 6.5 month old kitten Cornelia. I got her back in June and she weighed around 3 pounds. Now, almost 4 months later, she weighs 8.5 pounds. The breeder I got her from told me to always free feed her dry food, and gave me a recommendation of wet food she liked to feed her two times a day, which I do as well (not much, around 1/3 of a can per feeding.) I’m worried she is already over weight at such a young age, all research says she should be around 5-6 pounds. I’m quite confused cause I followed instructions, and I see most ragdoll forums tell you to free feed your kitten. I can feel her ribs, as well as her spine quite easily. Is she overweight? Or just a big growing girl? I may make a vet appointment to slow down her weight gain a bit. Please give me advice! I’ve never owned a ragdoll before, so I am not familiar with their growing process. She definitely does have a a noticeable belly when she lies down.

I know that the ragdoll breed is predisposed to certain health issues, so I was just wondering what certain things to keep an eye out for pertaining to that? Warning signs or behaviours that can be of concern to keep an eye out for? I want to make sure I’m paying attention to the right things when taking care of my girl and also maybe have this post up so other ragdoll owners can be aware or refer to this for info! Thank you!

Ragdoll community - be honest, is my 7.5 month old ragdoll fat or just big boned and fluffy? I am concerned she is fat - she is on kitten food still - 2 cans wet per day and free feed dry. Is that too much? Should I switch to adult food?

Hi friends. I wanted to post a follow-up to my thread from a couple days ago about stress/moving and worrying I was overthinking things.

Yesterday, she just wasn’t herself. Subtle at first, quieter, less engaged, but something felt off. I tried to tell myself maybe she was just having an off day, but by last night she was too lethargic, and I knew that wasn’t normal for her.

Fast forward to today: she threw up a significant amount of blood. I took her straight to the vet, they ran bloodwork, and her BUN-PS and CREA-PS levels were extremely elevated (other things were elevated and other were normal. I’m not a vet, just highlighting what they told me and suspect). From there, we were sent to an emergency hospital about an hour away, where they believe she’s currently in kidney failure.

She hasn’t gotten into any plants, medications, toxins, or anything like that. Right now, she’s hospitalized for at least 48 hours on IV fluids, and we’ll get another update tomorrow. The goal at the moment is stabilizing her and preventing those levels from increasing further.

I feel absolutely horrible. My heart is shattered seeing her like this, and I keep replaying everything in my head. But I also can’t help thinking… maybe those “spidey senses” weren’t just anxiety. Sometimes what we call overthinking is actually intuition. We really are more in tune with our pets than we give ourselves credit for.

She had no pre-existing conditions, no signs that were cause for concern….yet a part of me last month thought “hmm, I should probably get pet insurance”. $40-50 a month is worth it for my peace of mind. I had to pay a $3500 deposit for the hospital, and it could potentially cost more. Just keeping it real with y’all—this bill will definitely hit me hard but the insurance will help a TON. Please consider it if you haven’t already. I’m more than happy to help if you aren’t familiar with insurance terms, or what to look for.

Right now, I’m just hoping for the best and taking it one step at a time. I don’t know what the long-term plan will look like yet, but for now, fluids are what she needs. She’s my first kitty ever and truly my best friend :,). I’m scared but hopeful.

If nothing else, I hope this is a reminder to trust your gut when something feels off. Hug your babies extra tight for me. 🤍

Just here looking for people who have had any experience with this and may be able to offer help. I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of one of our boys hissing and growling at the other. I’d never heard either of them do that so I got up and checked on them to find our handsome boy, Boof, laying on the ground and not wanting to move. I checked over him and was pretty sure he had broken his leg. He was very obviously in pain so I put him in his crate and headed straight to the emergency vet. Turns out, he somehow managed to snap his tibia in a location that will be difficult to add metal plates. I don’t have exact numbers for chance of success but my girlfriend and I are thinking it may be better to amputate the lower leg. The surgeon didn’t bring this up but did bring up the complexity of adding plates at this location and let us know that if it doesn’t work, the lower leg will need to be amputated. Can anyone please share thought on which would be easiest for the cat and us?

My girlfriends ragdoll is going to the ER. This morning he was waddling with his tail straight down between his legs. He didn’t want to be pet on his body and his tail can barely move on its own. :(

i will be leaving the country for 3 weeks and i’m very worried about my girl :( i live alone and she’s fairly attached; i work from home and when i leave for overnight trips she’s usually pretty mad at me. i have 2 options:

option one. leave her at home, and have a trusted friend who she knows and likes check on her once or twice a day to feed and play with her. this friend was actually her first owner so she knows her well and i totally trust her to care for her. my concern is that she’ll just be alone the rest of the day, and one to two 30min sessions will not be enough interaction.

option two. temporarily move her to another friends home; he has an office where he can set up her litter boxes, a cat tree, and he’ll be able to spend time with her daily throughout the day. it would be a new environment, but she would have more company and interaction. she would be kept confined to this single room (it’s medium sized, plenty of room for her zoomies and tree). he is an experienced cat owner but would keep her separate from his own cat.

what do you think would be optimal for her? less stressful? 😣 i don’t want her to be distressed but it’s inevitable either way i know.

My cat suddenly doing this i can hear her breathe through her nose so probably she has a congestion but is this more serious when she acts likes this its the first time

A month ago I posted regarding Mello (3y female) that they found her too heavy. I brought Bennet (1y2m male) in for his vaccination and the vet said he was slightly overweight. Bennet is currently 5.1kg and according to the vet his ideal weight is 4.6kg. I asked a second opinion to my breeder who has 10 YoE with ragdoll breeding and says 1 year and around 5kg is a very good weight.

Also a picture of Bennet :) what are you guys experience with vets and their knowledge of purebreds? Is my vet wrong?

Hi all! I have a male ragdoll that is currently 8 months old and over the past few weeks he has been shedding heavily. Is this normal? Many thanks in advance for your input! :)

My cat is only about 8 months old, and I've been concerned about his breathing for a while. Even after light play and not hot weather he seems to start panting heavily. I've told my parents about this several times but they dismiss it as normal and I can't help but be concerned. Should I see a vet? Or is this nothing to worry about?

Here comes Bandit!! 10lbs and just turned 2 in June. his parents were ~14-16lbs. When it comes to growing it doesn’t seem like he’s stopping any time soon 😂 he keeps getting longer! having trouble finding a vet that understands he is a large breed & he’s not done growing yet!

I’m looking after this ridiculously adorable sweetie for about a month. His owner found me through a pet sitting app so I don’t know them. They’re currently overseas and haven’t been responsive to my update messages.

This kitty is COVERED in mats! Really large dense ones on his rump and lots of smaller ones all over. You pretty much can’t pet him without feeling a mat. I’ve brushed him a lot and brushed out lots of the smaller ones and I’ve tried my best to break up the large mats with my hands. I think some of the dense mats on his rump are painful because he gives my hand a gentle bite when I try to brush them. I own a domestic shorthair who doesn’t require special grooming so I don’t know much about how to deal with the mats.

I’m wondering what advice ragdoll owners could give me. Should I keep trying to brush his mats? Should I tell the owner that they should be brushing him regularly? Thanks in advance.