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My basic info
Breed
Ragdoll
Color
Cream or Ivory (Mostly)
Age
Adult
Sex
Female
Pet ID
–
Hair Length
long
My details
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
PRETTY
5 year old Female Sealpoint Ragdoll
Like cats of other breeds, Ragdolls have been bred for particular physical characteristics: large size, a medium-long coat that resists matting, conformance with standards of color, color distribution, and so on. As you can see in her photos, Pretty is a “seal point,” with a dark mask and extremities and brilliant blue eyes. But Ragdolls are almost unique in that the quality most important to breeders and other enthusiasts is not physical: it is the famous “Ragdoll personality.” If you live with a Ragdoll, he is very likely sitting on you right now, or on somebody else, or revealing his tummy in confident expectation of a belly rub! When you are at work, your Ragdoll lounges the day away on your bed or on a favorite sweatshirt that you kindly left on the sofa. If you practice the kind of meditation that involves visualizing a symbol of relaxation, your Ragdoll makes a superlative role model.
Given these inbred traits, it is unsurprising that a Ragdoll does not thrive in a kennel, even for a short time. Whereas at home they are the most relaxed of cats, they can become quickly traumatized in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by strange people and many other, unknown felines. Poor Pretty unfortunately found herself in just such a situation, from which she has been slowly recovering while in foster care.
Pretty’s foster mom works as a psychotherapist for human beings and has been trying to coax Pretty back from her trauma since last June. The results have been truly heartening. When she arrived in rescue, Pretty was terribly shy and reluctant to be handled, but now she welcomes petting, meows hello, and walks around taking obvious pleasure in observing her foster mom and another caregiver. She loves to look out the window at the trees and birds outside but shows no inclination to escape. Because foster mom has several cats at home, and what Pretty needs at the moment is focused care, she spends her days not at the house but with foster mom at her psychotherapy office. There she has her own room, and within that room a “personal-space cozy tent,” but she also has the comfort of being near her foster mom all day long. At night she has the privacy of her own room, where she enjoys playing with tissue paper balls and other toys.
Finally this lovely girl is ready to seek her permanent home. In physical terms, she is an easy-care cat. Like most Ragdolls, she is not prone to matting but benefits from (and tolerates) a gentle, weekly brushing. She uses a scratching post consistently, but an occasional nail trim is still a good idea, and at least until you have earned her trust, it would make good sense for you to take her to a vet for this service, rather than restrain her in your arms. As for her emotional requirements, Pretty yearns for a family of gentle people who will let her personality unfold gradually, as it has in her foster mom’s care over the past few months. For the first weeks in her new home, Pretty will probably be slow to approach you. This is fine. Just let her watch you from a safe place. Talk to her quietly, sit and read, or check your email or listen to quiet music in her presence. When she does approach, respond with words of pleasure, but do not reach out abruptly. The time will eventually come for love; in the meantime, let every new sign of trust cheer your heart.
Pretty is a healthy cat who is spayed, fully vaccinated, and tests negative for FIV and FeLV. She has “young teeth” and is litterbox perfect. For now, we think it is best for her to go to a home without young children (they move so fast) and certainly without a dog (they move fast and they bark). We will consider placing Pretty in a home with another cat, but given her emotional fragility, we would want her feline companion to be very low-key, maybe a Persian or another Ragdoll of benign temperament and sluggish demeanor. Introductions are best done slowly whenever an adult cat is brought into a household with a resident cat; in the case of newcomer like Pretty, who has been intimidated by strange cats in the past, a period of months might be required.
For more information about Pretty, please contact her foster mom Amy at 831-334-2777 or amybc@mac.com. Pretty is fostered in Santa Cruz.
