About Me
Hello! I’m Jenny!
I’m Jenny Dean, the founder and Ragdoll cat lover behind Floppycats. Welcome to Floppycats.
Since 2008, the Floppycats community and I have helped countless fellow cat owners navigate cat behavior, cat health, cat nutrition, and more.
Floppycats Has Been Featured On:
- Wikipedia.org
- Buzzfeed
- BoardPanda
- DailyGram
- DailyPaws
- DontWasteYourMoney
- MoneySavingExperts.com
- Reader’s Digest
- Rover.com
- Wealth of Geeks
I have had a Ragdoll cat in my life since 1987.
I was born and raised in Kansas City, MO.
I have two MAs – one in Spanish and one in Liberal Studies – both required a lot of research and writing. So having a website that would also require a lot of research and writing and that involved my favorite feline friend, Rags, was right up my alley.
Fun Facts about Jenny
- Ragdoll owner since 1987
- Blogging and helping cat owners since 2008
- Own 2 Ragdolls currently
- My family and I own a combined 11 Ragdoll cats (and many have passed)
- Tested 200+ cat products
- Interviewed 10+ Veterinary doctors for the blog
I met my first Ragdoll cat in 1982 at 3 years old. But it wasn’t until I met Halston (my Aunt’s Ragdoll) when I was 6 years old that I became a Ragdoll cat fanatic. I adored him and begged my mom to visit Aunt Nicky’s house to see Halston.
After years of begging my mom for a Ragdoll, I got my first Ragdoll cat, Skittles (age-appropriately named), when I was 8.
He was a gift from my maternal grandparents. He died at 2 years old of FIP.
Christmas 1989, my parents gifted my brothers and me two Ragdoll kittens – Rags and Cosby. Cosby died at 10 months old of FIP.
But Rags lived to be 19 years old, so I started this website in 2008. After completing my Master’s degrees in August of 2004, I returned to Kansas City because I was crazy about Rags and had missed him dearly when I was away.
My Mission on Floppycats
Rags died in March 2009 when I was 29.5 years old, and he was 19.5 years old.
It was a massive loss for me at the time. Still, he will always be my inspiration to keep going with Floppycats – it has morphed over the years into what I am proud it is today – a place where cat owners communicate and help to make their lives more joyous and harmonious with their feline counterparts.
In August of 2009, I found Charlie’s photo on Soulmate Ragdolls’ website and adopted my Charlie and Trigg in October and November of 2009, respectively. They are my current Ragdoll cats. We do have a lot of Ragdoll cats in our family:
My mom had 2 Ragdoll cats – Murphy and Caymus
My sister has 2 Ragdoll cats – Ash and Addie
My cousin Jill has 2 Ragdoll cats – Huck and Harlow
My cousin Mary has 2 Ragdoll cats – Birch and Fred
My mom’s identical twin, my Aunt Jean has 2 Ragdoll cats – Maddie and Hobbs
My Aunt Nicky, my mom’s other sister, has 1 Ragdoll cat – William
You will see all of them featured here on our site and on our Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
What You’ll Find on Floppycats
Over the last decade+ of work on Floppycats, I have interviewed many veterinarians, reviewed hundreds of products, written a few books, and met some fantastic cat owners.
Using all of this information, I’ve been able to write a considerable number of guides and reviews related to Ragdoll cats and cat ownership in general. Floppycats is designed to help you with all kinds of issues or concerns about your kitty and provide some inspiring ideas for cool products to try, ways to play with your cat, and more.
I won’t ever make a medical recommendation, but I may often share my experience with my cats. I am not a veterinarian or other trained medical professional, so it’s not my place to give medical advice. However, some posts on Floppycats cover medical issues – in these, I will have either interviewed a veterinarian or provided links to the reputable sites I have used to verify any information in the article.
Everything on the site – whether it is medical or not – is thoroughly researched. I will provide my opinion where appropriate but never rely on it alone! One of my fundamental beliefs is that all cats are individual and unique, and what works for some might not work for others. So, I avoid giving specific recommendations unless backed by an authoritative source.
I do draw on my own experiences as a cat owner, though. So many of my guides are written based on the trials and tribulations I’ve gone through with their own lives, including changes I’ve made to their diet and what I’ve learned from their behavior.
When reviewing a product, I will make clear whether the product is something I’ve been provided or purchased myself. And I only accept products to review on the condition that I can give a fair and unbiased review of the product – I won’t ever say something is good if it’s not!
Helpful Resouces for Cat Lovers
Floppycats has hundreds of posts dedicated to living more harmoniously with your cat. You’ll find ideas and endless inspiration from cat product reviews to Ragdoll cat facts.
Don’t Be Shy; Say “Hi!”
I am excited you’re here and hope you’ll share your (Ragdoll) cat love on the site!
All are welcome here – whether you have a Ragdoll or not, you are welcome to be here and hang out with us =).
Send me an email, and I’ll respond! One thing I can assure you of is that I will see your message. You can reach out to me through my contact page.
The Floppycats’ Community
Thanks to social media, namely Facebook, the Floppycats’ community has grown over the years. Included below are some screenshots from our cat-focused Facebook group where readers can ask questions, share insights, share photos, videos, and more with fellow cat owners. I absolutely love our community that steps in to help whenever they can.
Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,
I’m going to get a ragdoll 14 week old kitten and he’ll have to go on 2 three hour flights.do you have any tips?
Is the breeder setting that up? I am not following as to why he’ll have to go on two 3-hour flights. I would ask the breeder for tips and suggestions.
Any recommended breeders?
I have a reader recommended list broken down by state – if you email me and tell me your state, I can send you a list.
Hi Jenny
Just wanted to touch base and let you know that I have been following you ever since my Ragdoll journey began and I love it all so much thank you for all your hard work and research (I know it is not easy) but for people like me it’s invaluable
By the way you know 2 of my sisters from another mother (as we like to call ourselves with love, affection, and total respect for each other) Bette Willette and Sharon Shubley
Just wanted to say thank you for all you do and give a little shout out to my sisters
Btw give that Tigg a squeeze from me
Thanks
Kathleen
Thank you, Kathleen. I am glad you find the site helpful! I will give Trigg a squeeze =)
ABSOLUTELY A HUGE & DEVOTED FLOPPYCATS.COM FAN HERE!
Big hugs & lots of love & purrs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3
Hi Jenny, i love your website and very happy i came across this. I have a Rag that is almost two year that purchased from a small breeder in Kent UK called Adoring Ragdolls. My Hades is a lilac color point and i am looking to get a girl. unfortunately the Breeder where i took Hades doesn’t have kittens available for now. Would you be able to suggest any honest breeder near London area? There are so many scams that is unbelievable. Many thanks
Unfortunately, no. I don’t recommend breeders. But if you email me, I can send you some resources of how to look for reputable ones. If you do find a breeder you’re interested in, I can let you know if they seem legitimate and reputable.
Hello Jenny,
I have or had two rag doll neutered males. They were brothers. They are twelve. I lost one today. He died overnight at the vet. Kidneys. I’m so heartbroken for his brother and for myself. I don’t know if I should consider another cat for his brother or not.
Oh, man!! I am so very sorry for your loss! How active is your current kitty? Give yourself and him time to grieve, maybe? Maybe consider getting two kittens, so they can play with one another and leave him alone, if he’s not interested? Or maybe looking for a rescue?
I am looking for a male young ragdoll. Any up for adoption?
Floppycats is an informational website – and our tagline is “Uniting Ragdoll Lovers Worldwide.”
We are not a Ragdoll breeder, but we do try to help.
I learned long ago not to recommend breeders! I believe that people should make sure to do their homework on reputable breeding practices and decide for themselves. But some readers do recommend some breeders.
Here are the pages on the site that you might find helpful:
https://www.floppycats.com/ragdoll-breeders.html
https://www.floppycats.com/recommended-ragdoll-breeders.html
https://www.floppycats.com/bad-ragdoll-breeders.html
How to Know if a Cat Breeder is Reputable: An Interview with Bette Willette
https://www.floppycats.com/how-to-know-if-a-cat-breeder-is-reputable-an-interview-with-bette-willette.html
A small checklist when looking for a breeder:
Are they TICA or CFA registered?
Do they show their cats?
Do they breed within the written standard of Pointed, Blue eyed only?
Do they DNA test?
Do they keep kittens at least 12 weeks of age?
Do they provide a health guarantee?
Do the kittens come to you already spayed/neutered?
Do you feel comfortable with the communication with the breeder? You want to be able to contact your breeder months or years down the road with questions.
To see if a cattery is actually registered with TICA, you can go to this website. Be patient, when adding the cattery name into the search engine, it can take a minute or two to respond. The TICA online list is only a list of TICA catteries that decided to pay an extra fee to be listed. It is actually a very small percentage of Ragdoll breeders that did choose to advertise there.
https://tica.org/owners-breeders/catteries/registered-catteries
For CFA cattery names, you can check here.
https://cfa.org/cattery-name-index
RFCI is a great place to look also, the catteries listed there have been checked thoroughly to ensure they are registered with one or more of the major cat associations. They do sign a code of ethics as well, however with any breeder, do your own research and homework.
http://rfci.org/
Watch out for scams – https://www.floppycats.com/ragdoll-breeder-website-scam-ragdoll-family-or-ragdoll-giants.html
You might also search for a Ragdoll rescue, so we have the following webpage to help you find a Ragdoll Rescue in your area:
https://www.floppycats.com/ragdoll-rescue.html
If you find someone you like, you can always send me a link to their website and if I see any red flags, I will let you know – that’s the best I can do.
Good luck! Hope that helps and hope you’ll share your new little one with us on Facebook when you get s/he.
Jenny
Jenny
I’m glad I came across your info today particularly your video about ragdoll scammers. I believe someone was trying to scam me and I believe he/ they have done it before. I would like to send you the conversation. This is so upsetting to me that they are using beautiful kittens to scam people out of money.
Thank you.
Candace
You’re welcome to do so – not sure there is anything more I can do than this page and the video on YouTube. If someone has a connection at Google, maybe we can turn them in for fraud.
I was just looking for a video I had seen this week to show to my husband and ask “who is this”? I can’t find it but did come across all of these questions regarding breeders. Seems like a lot of people of being scammed, which is sad for the kitties and the humans, most with broken hearts following the loss of a fur baby. Not sure if it is allowed, so please remove if not…but I can highly recommend Righteous Ragdolls n Wilmington NC. I tried to paste a picture of my 5 year old Ragdoll, but couldn’t. But, I would recommend them over and over. He is my Lovebug and a true Ragdoll personality. He was not $750, but he was worth every penny!! I began searching for him when I my 16 year old Ragdoll, who I had adopted at 8 years, was diagnosed with cancer under his tongue. I knew I would not put him through pain and suffering, but I did want a companion for my 2 year old Himalayan (2 is always better than 1!!) when he crossed the rainbow bridge. They did not disappoint!
Are wasatch ragdoll out of Utah reputable?
You’ll need to send me a link to their website via email.
I am in search of a male sealpoint mitted ragdoll. Unfortunately, all I’m running into are scammers. What is the best way to find a reputable breeder. I’m amazed at the number of scams out there. Love floppy cats!
Hi Terri, sorry to hear about the scams! They are rampant. If you shoot me an email, I can send you my standard email which should help. Please also include where you live. Thanks, Jenny info@floppycats.com
Hey Terri, If you are still looking for a breeder, my friend in North Carolina has three pedigree Ragdolls from RocknRed Ragdolls. They have been breeders for many years and in business breeding Ragdolls for 7.
Hi there, I always have had lots of animals and still do, but am just about to finally pick up my first ragdoll! I have been reading and reading, but feel a bit overwhelmed by so much information regarding colors. I hate to be a bother, but your site is so awesome and has such great info and photos that I thought you would be the one to ask! Could you possibly take a quick look at a few photos and let me know what you think he is ? Mitted seal Bicolour? Maybe I am way off. Please let me know if you could do this for me and I will send pics. Thank you so much for your time, looking forward to hearing from you.
Cheers
Sure, I can do my best – info@floppycats.com
Hi Jenny. I just found you and subscribed. We just got a Ragdoll last month from the local shelter. We named him Nimmo and he’s amazing. I’m not sure which Ragdoll color he ? How do I upload photos?
Hi Grace, Welcome! Please send me a photo to my email – you cannot upload photos to the site – only I can do that (so spammers cannot). Thanks,
Jenny
Hi there I stumbled across your site as I very sadly lost my beautiful 16 year old Ragdoll yesterday. Feeling heartbroken. Out of curiously I was searching for his lineage on the internet as I think unfortunately his Breeder has since passed away. I’m from Norfolk, UK and his Breeder was Del Andersen. My boy Leo (Purrfurus Jupiter) ‘s sire was Champion (Fife) Villaroyal Blue Mist – I believe you have Ragdolls descended from him? His dam was Kimsdolls Shiwa of Purrfurus. I would love to hear back from you. Kind regards Lisa
Yes, my parents’ cats’ father was Lord Purrfurus Berry =). You can see their lineage here. I am so sorry for your loss.
Ah so was Lord Purrfurus Berry the son of Villaroyal Blue Mist then? So your parent’s cat was like a half nephew to my late cat? (I think that’s right?!) I think Villaroyal had many descendants. My boy was a blue colourpoint and so handsome 🙂
I don’t know without really looking into it – sorry! Wish I had the time resources to look into it, but I don’t. You can check out PawPeds – https://www.pawpeds.com/db/?p=rag – be sure to change generations to “10”
Hi Jenny-
What do you know about Ellis Ragdolls in Texas ? Registered under unique Ragdolls . They are offering 700 plus 90.00 to ship to nj next
Day. Cash app Venmo Apple Pay …
I requested a Facebook or
Some type of
Proof and they kinda got annoyed and told
Me to come pick her up in person.
What do u think ? Are they legit ?
https://ellisragdolls.com/
It’s a scam, as far as I can tell. Any breeder selling Ragdolls under $1,000 or really even under $1,500 should be a red flag.
Hi! I have read that ragdolls are non–allergenic. Is that true? Thanks
Not entirely – you can read more about Hypoallergenic cats here.
What do you know about LisaRagdollkittens in Richmond, VA? She is offering me a great deal and I am feeling very uncomfortable. The cat is beautiful but he is not 10 weeks old
What’s the website address?
The website is lisaragdollkittens.com
I replied via email – but yes, it is a scam.
It’s http://www.lisaragdollkittens.com
She’s offering this cat Drake, for $750 which includes shipping and says now that he is 12 weeks. He looks older and the price is low. What’s the deal? According to her, parents have had pro-BNP test run and are fine and he is microchipped and has sent parents’ photo though I have not idea if they are his parents. She says they belong to TICA and have been breeding for about 7 years. I asked why they call kittens “ puppies” and her response was “ we are lovers of puppies as well especially my husband.” That set off red lights
I am glad it set off red lights before you bought from that scammer.
How did you know? What make you certain? I am asking because I am still obviously looking.
I knew within 3 seconds from the layout of the site, how poor the English was, the availability of the cats (good breeders have long wait lists). The cats available are adult cat photos they have stolen from others. I could go on, but this page on my site covers all that stuff – https://www.floppycats.com/ragdoll-breeder-website-scam-ragdoll-family-or-ragdoll-giants.html
Very nice job Jenny well written
It’s because of your videos I adopted my kitten Tommy.
He is more fun and affectionate each day. Thanks Jenny
Rich&2 carnivorous kitties.
Hi!! Love your story!! I am worried about my rag doll who’s just over a year. She’s having lots of poop accidents and showing a bit of blood in there too. She’s also shedding a lot. Wondering if it’s her diet? I’m a first time cat owner and need advise on if I’m giving the right food etc. Would really really appreciate any guidance. My vet doesn’t seem to be too worried but my gut is telling me I should at least inquire. I don’t have FB so if you can email me pls. Thank you in advance!!
Hi Ausia,
It’s best to email me about these things – blood in stool can mean a number of things – take note of the color and be sure to take photos for your vet. Does sound like you might need to get a second opinion vet wise.
Yes, diet is the number one for everything, right? Please check out this page – https://www.floppycats.com/best-canned-cat-food.html – and then email me if you have further questions.
Thanks,
Jenny
Jenny,
I may love cats do? I grew up in a farm and ranch and have not been without a cat since age 3. Cats are a necessity and my best friends. They have character traits that are humbling and frankly, better than most all people. My Grandkitten (daughters) is moving out and my search for two ragdoll kittens has been frustrating and difficult. Littermates of any gender, lilac seal points or all white with very little color, and I tend to take a runt of the litter or one with a minor health issue because it’s unfair that they are less wanted!
No interest in showing the cats and believe declawing should be illegal. Breeders change their minds, cancel appointments, want a non refundable deposit I can see the kittens, refuse to show me where the cats live (should be in a home !), share the name of their veterinarian. I am an open book, have references and they are welcome to visit my home. My husband and I are empty nesters and they will be our “children.” We have no other pets or small children.
What’s the deal????
Any suggestions?
Hi Kim, Please shoot me an email. I can send you a list of reader-recommended breeders for your area. However, please know since the pandemic, many breeders no longer allow visitors – but they should be game to FaceTime, etc. And deposits are very common for reputable breeders with a waitlist.
Jenny,
I would love to share my story of how I obtaned my precious “schmookumboots”…My 12 yr. old Rag doll cat. but, it is a very heart wrenching story! I am not very computer savvy and am not sure I can figure out how to send pics as I lost most of them when my last computer died. But, my beautiful schmookies story is amazing!
~Karin
Hi Jenny,
My partner turned me onto your site. What a wonderful life story. I really get not wanting to work in an abusive environment. Been there, done that, and now we work for ourselves, too. One of my friends described the ability to get to that place of freedom (?) as a combination of discontent, frustration, impatience, determination, insanity and pure guts. Guilty as charged. I would add an element of faith to that bunch, but all in all, she’s got it right about me.
I admire your tenacity and appreciate your sites and the work you put into them. Thanks for giving yourself to the wonder-filled world of Blog!