Information on how to purchase a Ragdoll kitten from RegencyRags cattery located in Galveston County, Texas, just south of Houston.

Please take the time to read through this page.  It's a bit lengthy, but contains a lot of valuable information.  It includes a brief overview of the procedures for purchasing a Ragdoll kitten from RegencyRags, followed by a pictorial review of the kittens few months here at the cattery.

Further down is Sukie's Story relating to the unfortunate consequences of believing in Ragdoll myths, along with some other important things you should know about Ragdoll cats and kittens.

 At RegencyRags we take pride in knowing our Ragdoll kittens are of the highest quality in and around Texas -- even beyond.  We strive to balance three important aspects in our Ragdoll kittens:  Health, Temperament, and Beauty. 

     Available Ragdoll kittens and my planned litters are listed on the Available Kittens Page.

• You can choose to join the waiting list for upcoming litters or planned litters by contacting me and sending a $50. non-refundable waiting list deposit.  This deposit will secure your place for an upcoming or planned RegencyRags kittens.  Once the kittens are born you will send in a second deposit of $150. to hold your kitten until it's time for him to go to his new home between 10 and 12 wks old depending on the individual development of the kitten.

• There are times when I have kittens available that were not secured by a waiting list deposit.  Those kittens will be posted with a picture showing their color, pattern and gender.  I normally post their pictures when they're about 6 or 7 wks old.  To secure one of these kittens you will send a $200. non-refundable deposit to hold your kitten in like manner as explained above.

     If you've joined the waiting list you'll be notified within a day or so of when the kittens are born.  I'll tell you my best guess at gender and color/pattern within the week.

    Starting at 3 wks old I'll begin to send around group pictures of the kittens weekly.  Typically by 6 wks old the kittens are able to sit still long enough for me to take some individual portraits.  Before then the babies either have a hard time holding their heads up or they wiggle too much for me a to take a picture without the flash.

    When the kittens reach 8 wks old I allow home visits for those kitten buyers who'd like to take a trip to the house.  This is a fun time for the kittens and families to meet each other for the first time and I encourage these visits if at all possible.

   When the kittens are 8 wks old I send around my Kitten Primer that I wrote specifically to help RegencyRags kitten buyers settle in nicely with their new kitten.  This includes a shopping list of all my recommended products.  I ask that you review this Primer carefully and either email me with questions or bring a list of those questions with you the day you come to pick up your new Ragdoll kitten.

    The kittens receive their first 4 in 1 vaccine at 8 wks old.  Kittens are dewormed and given Advantage flea protection before they leave the house.  If your vet would like to administer Drontal to your kitten and take a fecal sample that's up to you. 

• If you pick up your kitten at 10 wks old, you'll need to make sure your kitten receives his second vaccine within the first week he's home with you. The third vaccine should be given at 16 wks old.

    The kittens come with a 2 year genetic health guarantee that covers congenital defects like HCM.  All of my breeding cats are DNA tested clear of HCM.  If you would like to have your own kitten DNA tested for HCM you can do so.  I can supply you with the information on how to submit your DNA to the lab like I do.

    Final payment is due at pick up or within ten days of shipping.  Within two weeks if I'll be shipping your kitten internationally.

• Typically I arrange a kitten pick up day so that all the kittens are taken home on the same day.  Each new owner is given an appointment to come by the house and take home their new little one.  I do take into account out of town visitors and special circumstances.          

• I do ship kittens world wide.  If you need your kitten shipped please contact me. The prices for airfare and cargo keep going up, so please ask for a price quote.  I use Continental for cargo delivery and I fly Southwest for hand delivery of kittens.         

• Please see the Payment Center for payment options.
  

   I like to check in with my new kitten buyers after the first 24 hours to make sure the transition is going smoothly.  It's rare that my kittens encounter any problems, but still -- I want to make sure. 

           Also, I appreicate it when my kitten buyers keep in touch with me.  I love updates and new pictures of my baby kittens.  So keep those updates and pictures coming!

Below is a pictorial review of our kitten's first 10 to 12 weeks here at RegencyRags including the finer points of our commitment to the health, temperment and beauty of our Ragdoll kittens. 

          The socialization of RegencyRags kittens begins at birth.  Each litter is awaited with much anticipation and advanced planning.  I have a section of my home devoted to the kittening process that is warm, clean and quite.  The mothers appreciate a peaceful place where they can birth their kittens.  I am right there helping the mother deliver her babies.  Together, the mothers and I clean the kittens, then I tuck them away in warm blankets until all the kittens are born and they are reunited.  In this way the baby kittens feel the trust their mothers have in me and that trust/bond is transferred immediately.  The kittens look to me for love and warmth just as their mother.  There's been time when I haven't been able to be a the house when the kittens were due.  At those times my darling husband has stepped in and played the role of mid-wife for me.  (To the left is a one week old litter of blue bicolor kittens out of Daphne x Aristede from 02/08.  Franklin became QGC RegencyRags Adonis of Burst and currently lives in Japan where he produces beautiful kittens just like himself.)

I stay with the mother and babies until the last one is delivered.  This can sometimes take over six hours and it exhausts me as well as the mother.  Only one time I've needed an emergency C-section when it turned out Daphne had a tubal pregnancy.  Luckily most births are uneventful and the kittens are born without complications.

Once the babies are born and snuggling with their mother I can breathe a sigh of relief.  Another successful litter born to RegencyRags!  From then on I'm with the babies every day holding them and giving them kisses.  They are weighed dailey at this point to make sure everyone is getting enough milk and are gaining an appropriate amount of weight.  I give the kittens "birth names" from an alphabet lettering system I keep for each individual Queen.  I've been asked many times how I can tell the kittens apart when I take their weights and keep records on the little itty ones.  It's simple.  Shortly after birth I check the sex of the kittens then in a column I write the letters down with an appropriate name next to each letter.  Like my first kitten was named Ashling.  She was Josette's A kitten.  Then I take a drop of Iodine and mark each kitten -- say on the right shoulder, then make a notation of that mark next to the kitten's name.  This way I can monitor weight and development until they're old enough for me to tell them apart by color and pattern.  Sometimes when I have an entire litter of blue bicolors, for instance, I continue using the iodine marks for identification for some time. (To the right is a litter of blue bicolor kittens at 4 days old.  The orange spots are the iodine markers.)  

Normally I send around a picture of the newborns to those on the waiting list within the first week of the kittens birth.  Then I typically start sending out pictures once a week when the kittens reach 3 weeks old and it's easier for me to take pictures of them.  To take pictures of very young kittens means I have to disturb them, and I try to leave them cuddled with their mother as much as possible.  Also, at 3 weeks old the kittens start to actually look like baby kittens -- up until then I think they more resemble baby mice or hamsters!  Plus until they turn 3 weeks old they wiggle around so much it's hard to take a picture without flash that's not fuzzy.  So, I've inserted to the left a picture of a litter of blue bicolor kittens -- and one blue mitted! -- at 2 1/2 weeks old.  I remember I took something like twenty pictures to get this one and still they weren't looking in my direction.  By 2 1/2 weeks old the kittens have had their eyes open about a week.  I love looking through all my previous kitten photos.  Each kitten is so precious to me.  And if pressed I can actually name every single kitten ever born to RegencyRags.  It may take me a few minutes and I have to write out the alphabet to do so, but I can do it!

By three weeks old the kittens begin to venture out of the nest.  This is a birthing box that keep the mother and babies warm and secure.  It's fun to see them tumbling out of the box to follow mother to her water or food dish.  But in the beginning the little kitten is confused once she makes that great step out of the box and cries for her mother to save her.  So cute!  Mother cats are known for their devotion to their kittens, and Ragdoll mothers are no different.  So mother comes to the rescue and plops baby kitten back in the box.  Eventually the kittens learn enough self-confidence that they actually take a few steps away from the nest.  And then a few more.  Kittens are naturally curious by nature, and even more so the Ragdoll kitten who by 3 weeks old recognizes my voice along with her mother's.  She wants to know what we're doing because as every baby Ragdoll kitten knows, much more exciting things are always happening without her.  (Pictured to the right is a litter of seven kittens at 3 wks old out of Sukie x Aristede.)

By week four, the kittens are scooting all over the place on their baby legs -- no running or jumping yet, but that doesn't mean they can't get around on their own.  It's great fun to walk in the room and watch them toddle towards me.  I pick them all up and give them lots of kisses.  Each Ragdoll kittens receives plenty of love, that's for sure.  At 4 weeks old it's a time for lots of love and coddling from both me and their mother.  A typical day is milk from mother, sleep, a peek out of the nursing box to see what I'm doing, the tip of the tongue into the water bowl to see what mother's been doing over there, and towards the end of the fourth week it's time for the babies to sample a bit of canned food. I start the kittens off with a bit of Royal Canin Baby Cat canned mixed with some KMR.  At this age they mostly walk around in it, then mother happily licks the kittens clean.  Yet, some of the food does make it in their mouths.  That first look of distaste is too funny.  (Pictured to the left is a litter of Seal Mitteds out of Josette x Aristede at 4 wks old:  Zeus [looking away], Athena, Cupid and Bia.)

Then comes the start of litterbox training at 5 weeks old.  That's always a joy.  The kittens are starting to be sure on their feet, but they're still babies and toddling around is really all they can do at this point.  Yet, they've now decided the canned food isn't really all that bad, so it's time to learn how to potty in the litterbox.  This can be a challenge for some kittens.  Others take to it right off.  I start them with traditional clay litter and a low profile litterbox.  My favorites for tiny kittens are long and wide because when one kitten pops in the box to potty the rest follow.  It's a mass potty experience.  Some of the kittens just join in for the fun and start tossing litter around with their paws.  I'd say at 5 weeks old the kittens are making it to the litterbox almost 50% of the time.  At first they like to find their own spot.  Sometimes I move the litterbox to where the group has decided to potty and this makes it easier on me.  Suffice it to say that a lot of clean up is involved at this point.  In going back through pictures to put on this page I find it interesting that if I skip a week taking pictures it's normally Week 5.  I know it's because I spend most my time cleaning up after the babies.  At this point I leave Royal Canin Baby Cat dry food out on a plate for the kittens.  I actually have kittens who didn't take to the wet food who all of a sudden have a great appetite for solid food once the dry is introduced. (Pictured to the right is Oz at 5 wks old, a gorgeous blue lynx bicolor male out of Daphne x Aristede).

By weeks six and seven they've mastered the litterbox -- almost!  Okay, they still have a few accidents, but for the most part they use the box just like Mommy does.  I reinforce they're good potty habits by giving amble praise.  Now the kittens can jump and run and play with toys.  They're exactly little minuature cats.  I sit back and can't believe how quickly they grow from week to week.  The kittens stampede at me when I come to visit them.  They love getting scratched behind the ears and being told how beautiful they are.  Ragdoll kittens love to be told they're beautiful and wonderful.  At this age they really are quite entertaining to watch as they wrestle with their littermates.  Sometimes they try to wrestle with Mother, but she teaches them quick she needs to be respected.  It's also my job to teach the babies I need to be respected, too, and that I'm not a littermate kitten they can bite and scratch.  Depending on the size of the litter, it's usually when the kittens turn 6 wks old that I start sending around individual pictures for everyone.  Until then I normally send around a group shot. Also, it's around 7 wks old that I can determine whether a kitten is pet or show quality.  (Pictured to the left is Jacqie at 6 wks old, a blue lynx pt. bicolor female out of Daphne x Aristede who's also pictured at the top of this page as a 1 wk old baby.)

               The health and subsequent well-being of our Ragdoll cats and kittens is of the utmost importance to us, equal to temperament and beauty.  As a hobby breeder, I am able to keep the number of cats I keep in my cattery small.  This in turn decreases the risk of disease -- most importantly the dreaded FIP virus.  Unlike dogs that live in packs, cats are typically solitary creatures.  They are companionable and in the wild (as feral cats) they do form small colonies, but never in large numbers seen in dog packs.  Because of this cats do not have a naturally strong immune system.  Their immune systems are easily stressed when kept around a large number of other cats.  This stress leds to a higher suseptibility to disease.

Most cats come in contact with what's known as the Corona Virus.  It's like the cold virus in humans -- we all come in contact with it at some point.  And like the human cold virus, the corona virus is typically harmless in a healthy cat of kitten with a well-developed immune system.  However, in some cats -- and we don't know the exact causes, although it's hypothosized that stress is the leading factor -- that corona virus mutates into FIP.  Catteries with a higher cat count are naturally more prone to FIP due to the stress cats endure by being kept with a high number of other cats.  (For more information on FIP and its causes, please visit http://www.sockfip.org/).

Some reports indicate that households with more than four cats begin to become more suseptible to the corona virus mutation.  The higher that number increases the higher the stressers.  This means that most catteries having more than four cats are at risk for FIP.  That puts a big responsibility on breeders to keep their cats as healthy as possible.  One of those ways is to keep the litterboxes scooped twice a day and the boxes sterilized with a bleach solution once a week to kill the corona virus.  The second step is to keep the cats in smaller "colonies" in the house -- in groups of no more than four cats.  Here are RegencyRags I have my nine cats separated into three groups that each have their own litterboxes, sleeping quarters, water and food dishes.  Everyday these groups get to spend time with the family.  They are never cooped up and kept from the love and attention all Ragdoll cats need.  Yet, keeping them in distinct living quarters ensures that diseases are kept to a minimum.  Likewise, when I'm showing a cat -- like I did with Bruno during the show season 2010-2011 -- I kept him with one other female in my own bathroom so that when he came home from shows he wasn't spreading anything he might have picked up in the hotel room or showhall to the rest of the cats -- most importantly away from the baby kittens that have little to no immunity during the first 8 weeks of their lives.  Your RegencyRags kitten receives his first vaccine at 8 weeks old and at this time he's allowed to receive his first visitors.

The health of the Ragdoll kittens produced by me depends heavily on the health of the parents.  I take excellent care of my cats.  They want for nothing.  I primarily feed Royal Canin dry and various grain-free canned food.  Most of my breeding cats are retired before they reach 3 years old so that they can experience the best a family life as a spayed/neutered pet can offer.  My outstanding producers are the exception, but even then the oldest breeding female I've ever had was 4 1/2 years at her retirement.  At this point, Aristede is the longest I've ever kept a breeding cat.  He's been with me since his birth and will turn 5 years old on July 1, 2011.  Aristede is spoiled rotten and leads a pampered exsistence so I'm not worried about keeping him breeding with the girls for another two or three years.  Once he's retired I've decided Aristede will definitely stay with me.  I get to be his forever home!  He's the very last of my kittens that were born when the cattery was still in California and I just can't give that up.  Call me sentimental, it's true, but I also know that once Aristede reaches 7 or 8 years old and his retirement I'm going to want to be the one who coddles him into his old age.

      The last but not least level of excellence I strive for in my Ragdoll cats and kittens is beauty.  I actively show for confirmation in TICA.  This is the same organization in which my kittens are registered.  I aim for a sweet doll face, a medium length rabbit soft coat, sparkling blue eyes, long fluffy tails, medium long length to the body with good musculature and good size, along with the finer points of show confirmation including but not limited to excellent modified wedge head type, pronounced change of direction from nose to forehead without creating a break, strong chins, correct eye shape and placement, medium size ears with proper placement, and a wide muzzle.

Feel free to browse my galleries for many pictures of my Ragdoll cats and kittens I've taken over the years.  Click the Galleries tab to the left. The pictures speak of the beauty I strive for in my cats.  Sometimes the pets don't have the perfect markings of a show Ragdoll cat or kitten, but the beauty is still there.  I like to think that these three key elements of health, temperament, and beauty make a RegencyRags Ragdoll stand out from the rest.  They shout out:  Notice me!  to even the casual passerby because they are all that.

Ragdoll Myths:  Sukie's Story

From the very beginning of my Ragdoll journey I'd heard the myths like Ragdolls go limp in your arms, and they are more like dogs than cats.  Both those myths are borderline true because the Ragdoll is known for its laid back personaltiy and some of them really do go limp in your arms.  But not all of them are like this, so that is a myth.  The other about them being like dogs also has a ring of truth to it.  Many owners have taught their Ragdoll cats how to fetch and most greet their owners at the door.  I know mine do.  But it's a myth because Ragdolls are cats.  And because they are cats they do have more of an independent spirt than dogs.

Yet there were some myths out there that I laughed at because who would believe them?  What about the one where Ragdolls are impervious to pain?  Or that seal mitted Ragdolls are part Raccoon?  There were many Ragdoll myths that I never took seriously because they were too far out there to be believable.  I shrugged and laughed at these myths -- that is until September 2010.

Have you ever heard that Radolls don't shed?  Or that they're hypoallergenic?  I'd heard this from time to time but stuck it in the "Ragdolls are part Raccoon" territory.  I mean, who would ever believe there was a cat that didn't shed, much less a cat that was hypoallergenic?

It's time for me to tell Sukie's story of such a woman who did believe this myth.  I have pictured to the right a darling seal mitted female at 7 wks old out of Daphne x Jeb.  That's Sukie.  I had so many people come over to the house and want to take Sukie home with them.  And who could blame them what with the way she ran to the door to greet them and sat in their laps purring and making muffins as soon as they sat down.  People begged me to take her home,  but from the time Sukie was a tiny girl I had decided to keep her for my breeding program. 

Sukie had one litter with us -- a difficult one for various reasons which made me decide to retire her.  It's always been my philosophy that as much as I love my cats and want to keep them with me, that it's my obligation as a responsible breeder to find retired cats new homes where they can experience what it's like to be a typical family pet.

I listed Sukie's picture on my website and immediately received an email from a woman in Florida who had to have her.   I was very excited to hear from this woman who met all my criteria -- she'd even been a poodle breeder so she understood all about retired breeders and how they can take a month or two to fit into a new routine.  I'd sold retired breeders to good people in Florida before, so nothing  felt out of the ordinary. Jenny paid for my ticket so that I could personally fly Sukie to her and hand deliver her to the Orlando Airport.  Even when we met face to face at the airport I didn't suspect anything.  I knew she'd never owned a cat before, but likewise I'd sold kittens to a handful of first time cat owners throughout the years and everything had been fine.  My first inclination that something was wrong was when I took Sukie out of her carrier and placed her in Jenny's car.  A bunch of fur flew out of the carrier with her which is typical for a longhair cat that's been in a warm carrier for several hours.  I blew it out of my face, then saw the strange look on her face.  I told her she'd just had a bath, that she'd been in the carrier for six hours and that cats blew coat in stressful situations.  That seemed to ease her mind, but looking back that was a warning flag I shouldn't have ignored.  Instinct told me to pop Sukie back in my carrier and take her straight home.  But when you're at the airport and you've been traveling all day to deliver a cat to someone's who's seemed perfectly normal until that one moment -- well, it's easy to count it up as nothing, just stress.  (To the left is the picture I posted on my website of Sukie at a year and a half. )

At the airport I sent an email to Jenny asking that she keep me posted on Sukie's status, that Sukie meant the world to me and I wanted to make sure she was fitting in well and to let me know if she (Jenny) was having any problems with her.  I didn't hear back.  I tried several more times, but I heard nothing. 

On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend 2010 I received an email from Jenny.  I felt so much relief.  Finally she decided to contact me.  I opened it quickly, then nearly fell out of my chair.  The email was filled with accusations that I had lied about Sukie -- that Sukie shed but her friend's Ragdoll kitten didn't shed.  She told me she'd heard on Animal Planet that Ragdolls were also hypoallergenic, but I'd lied about that too because now her kids had allergies.  And get this:  she said Sukie was very loving and everything a Ragdoll should be, but that she shed.  She told me she knew the real reason I found Sukie a new home: because the cat was a problem shedder.  The kicker was she gave me two days to send her a goodly amount of money to ransom Sukie from going to Animal Control.  She even sent me a Paypal invoice for the amount due!

Before I continue,  I do want to address this difference Jenny was seeing between Sukie's coat and that of her friend's Ragdoll kitten.  It is true that Ragdoll kittens shed less and people who are typically allergic to other cats are able to be around Ragdolls when they are under a year.  This is where the myth originated.  The myth looses its steam when Ragdolls reach that first Spring and Fall shed after their first year.  In Sukie's case it was the Fall shed that set this woman off.

First I explained as best I could to Jenny that she'd been taken in by a relatively common myth.  But she told me she'd heard all this on Animal Planet so it must be true.  There wasn't anyway for me to ransom Sukie.  I tried calling the Orlando Police Department and the Animal Control.  Because Sukie had lived with this woman for over 30 days (in fact she'd been under Jenny's care for over 3 months) I had no say in what happend to the cat.  Even if I flew to Florida right then and there I wouldn't have been able to claim Sukie as my own property.  Once a RegencyRags kitten, always a RegencyRags kitten.  I would have taken Sukie back if she'd let me have her without the ransom.  I even offered to find her a new home then send her the money from the sale.  That wasn't good enough for Jenny.  She wanted me to pay for what I'd put her through with my deceitful practices. 

As far as I know, Sukie was taken to Animal Control.  According to the Orlando authorities I spoke with, Jenny had the right to have Sukie destroyed upon her arrival.  I want to believe that Jenny did the right thing and let a rescue organization take over as I suggested she should.  I want to believe that Sukie is alive today and making someone very happy. (Pictured to the right is Sukie at age 7 months)

I ask that people not get so involved in the Ragdoll hype that they forget these are cats.  Yes, Ragdolls do make wonderful pets, but they are animals just the same.  Animals shed, it's just a plain fact.  You have to clean up after animals.  They make messes.  They run around the house and disturb you when you're asleep.  That's just what cats do.  Just because you bring a Ragdoll into your home doesn't mean you've invited a magical creature to live with you.  I never want someone to think I've misled them into believing that Ragdoll cats are more than they are.  At the end of the hype, Ragdolls are still cats.

Out of all the beautiful Ragdolls I've entrusted with new owners, Sukie is my one regret and the reason I now only place Retired Breeders within Texas.

One final note:  Ragdolls are famous for their laid-back, sweet personalities.  They will follow you everywhere because all they want is to be wth you all the time.  It's this unique devotion that makes them so desireable.  However, please be advised that Ragdoll kittens are energetic and mischevious just like any other kitten.  From past experience and as I've heard from other breeders, there's a misconception that Ragdoll kittens are just as laid-back and relaxed as their adult counterparts.  There's a slight truth to that, because Ragdoll kittens are very sweet and loving after they've finished tearing through the house chasing everything and anything remotely resembling a toy.  Keep in mind that when a Ragdoll kitten wants to play he's not much interested in snuggling.  In my opinion, Ragdoll kittens begin to settle into their adult ways beginning at six to seven months old.  All Ragdoll kittens have their own unique personalities, so keep in mind that your kitten may settle down immediately, or it may take your kitten a full year to settle into that lazy Ragdoll adulthood.

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