My Ragdoll Cat Adventures Blog Post 6

28th March 2022

What Are They Going to Do Next?

It was amazing watching their changes in the first year. They went from little fluff balls to almost fully grown Ragdoll cats about the size of a small dog! Their personalities were developing as well. Jack was the bolder of the two brothers in the early days. He delighted in running off with the latest toy and claiming it as his growling at Tom (until he got bored with it.) Tom did not seem bothered really and preferred cuddles instead. 

I got them this puzzle feeder ball and it was so funny the first time they played with it. Jack managed to get hold of it with his teeth and ran off into the hallway with it with Tom plodding behind. In minutes Jack had knocked it about until the lid came off and all the treats fell out. So much for that idea.

Jack also got himself into problems with some household items namely my door mat which he managed to pull out some of the weaving and then ended up getting tangled up in it. I was amused to see him running into the kitchen dragging a doormat behind him! He also had a habit of sticking his head into their ball stacker toy and scared me to death. I had visions of taking him to the vet with it on his head and trying to explain to the vet how it happened. They were so clever and crafty as they managed to pull out the balls from in between the stacks and chase them around.

The first unfortunate bad cat parenting incident of mummy not paying attention was on my 39th birthday. I had left an unopened present on the dining room table which had some plastic ribbon on it. The boys had been sitting on it for a while and I assume they were just enjoying sitting on the smooth paper wrapping. Later on that afternoon, Tom started retching. His little cry he made nearly broke my heart. It was the first time he threw up and I immediately panicked. I tried to think of what the cause could be like hair balls or just food that disagreed with him. He did not seem in pain but was definitely subdued. He threw up another couple of times and by the evening I rang a Vet advice line who were really helpful and said basically to not feed him for twelve hours, try and keep him hydrated and monitor his symptoms and call back if he gets worse. By bedtime he seemed ok and was alert and lively and begging for some food. I gave in and gave him a bit of wet food and he seemed fine.

Next morning again he seemed ok and he ate his breakfast with no problems. Then about thirty minutes later he had thrown up again in my ensuite bathroom (at least it is easy to clean up there). It was then I found the cause. A chewed up piece of plastic ribbon that had been on the birthday present! He certainly perked up after getting rid of the offending item and was fine after that. I felt dreadful though. Lessons learnt. Or so I thought! A few months later I found a small hair band in his poo! At least it had gone through and out the other end in one piece and he did not seem bothered by it. Always make sure you keep anything that may be chewable out of the way of Raggies!