Bear – Ragdoll Kitten of the Month
Bear – Ragdoll Kitten of the Month
For those of us who love cats, we understand how important they are in our lives. Those of us suffering from depression and or anxiety our cats can become life savers.
I can’t talk about Bear without mentioning Mac. In late March of this year I lost Mac, my “comfort cat” of 14 years I was devastated. (he was maincoon mix)
One evening after I had been in tears for 2 weeks my dear husband came home and said. “We are getting a cat and here are the 3 breeds that are known for being comfort cats” They were Burmese, Ragdoll and Main coon. I looked at him like he was nuts. As all the cats we have ever owned were rescue cats, there had been a lot of heartache. Mac had been our “lucky find” Healthy and loving. I did not want to go through the “hit and miss” again. I couldn’t.
Then he told me we were going to go through a breeder. To “buy” a cat seemed ludicrous to me. But he insisted we finally get a kitten that we could raise from “scratch.”
Our research began and we decided on a ragdoll and found a local breeder. An hour before we were suppose to go meet the kitten we had picked out from pictures on the web, we got a call and were told “something had happened. That was IT. I couldn’t do this anymore, I couldn’t loose another cat. My husband checked and there were no kittens available from local breeders for months. Two days later we got a call from our breeder, Lena from Ragdoll Seattle. She had a little boy that she was going to keep for herself but knowing how heartbroken I was she offered him to us. We immediately fell in love, and named him Monroe and went to visit.
Then we waited until he was old enough to come home.
During this “waiting time” I found FLOPPYCATS and fell in love with Charlie, Trigg and Jenny. After 2 weeks of watching YouTube and shopping our floor was soon covered in “recommended” toys. My dear husband then banned YouTube and the pet stores until there was an actual kitten in our home. I went through withdrawals and the waiting was killing me.
May 25th came and finally he was in my arms for good. After one day we realized that the name Monroe did not fit him at all and he then became BEAR.
How do I describe my “floppycat?” He is PERFECT.
He is Gentle, already showing signs of a true comfort cat as when my tears come or anxiety flairs he comes and curls up on me without even being called.
He is Smart, one time scratching the couch, showed him the scratching post and he hasn’t scratched furniture since. He knows what a stearn “BEAR” means and changes his actions and looks up at me like.. “what?”
He is Funny, he cracks us up as he fetches his ball and hides it in my husband’s shoes. I have created Hybreds from toys recommended by Jenny. Two of his favorites..the long one is made up from a the “Cat Catcher” with the little mouse removed and a “Necko Flie” attached (this one is the Kittycada also removed the string from the Necko Flie). The other is a “Tiger Teaser” wand with a “da bird refill feather” replacing the bit of fur that was on the end. These toys are great for me as I can use them from my bed or couch.
He is FLOPPY, sleeping is an art form. Changing positions so many times no wonder he wakes up starved he has had a work out while he slept.
He is Beautiful, being a blaze chocolate mitted kitten as he grows I am constantly amazed as his markings fill in. His tail is becoming quite a statement.
He is Calm, Bear and I are practicing riding in cars and going into stores. He made his first trip into the grocery store and his “comfort cat” coat is on the way. He doesn’t mind the harness and leash to much and is beginning to enjoy our walks.
He is also growing like a weed.
”my bear nest is getting a little small mom”
I am in love and I think my husband is jealous as Bear cat gets many more kisses than he does. As I play with Bear my husband also says “you sound like that lady in the videos” I am now allowed to watch Youtube again but restricted to one visit a week to the pet store, (little does he know)
Bear – I Love you my little bitty (for now) kitty
Do you have a Ragdoll Kitten or Cat? Consider submitting your kitty! Ragdoll of the Week submission guidelines
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,
Bear is sooo cute!
I was so sad that you lost Bear. What did he die of/from? My heart goes out to you, but am happy you have Toby. May I ask did Bear die of/from?
Judy Lynn
Hi Judy, We had no definitive answer. His breathing became very labored and I took him to the vet. The vet took x-rays and came back that it was asthma and that we would probably have to start treating him. He gave him a steroid and antibiotic. He said to call him the next morning and let him know how he was doing but by 6pm he wasn’t better. We called the vet and were told that the steroid shot usually takes up to 72 hours (this was the advise of the nurse not the dr who had gone home) I stayed up all night with him then went to bed at 3am. My husband woke me at 4:30 I took one look at Bear and knew. We scooped him up and headed to the hospital. My husband ran every light and broke all the speed limits. Of course Bear was gasping and freeking out. As we pulled up to the doors he just collapsed and died in my arms. We were told his lungs were full of fluid. To be honest, I could not ask for more information and the thought of doing an autopsy just broke me. The vet later met with us and apologized. They actually changed office procedure. In cases like this a DR is to be contacted immediately. He said his heart just gave out and could not keep the fluids out of his lungs. Again I was in so much pain I really didn’t want to ask for more information.
The breeder forwarded us copies of both parents’ HCM tests and as two parents with negative HCMS cannot pass along the gene, it was just a “thing that happened” We blame NO ONE. We loved our Bear and our breeder was and has been FANTASTIC, and our vet was incredibly kind. He even contacted a “kitty heart specialist” and if we want they will check out Toby’s heart. BUT he seems so healthy. sooo the short answer… we are not sure. We look back now and realize he had trouble breathing for a while. The vet said that Cats are incredible at hiding when they don’t feel good. Our Mac’s breathing had become labored toward the end and I thought I was just being paranoid. Could we have done more.. probably… But we loved him with all our heart and now.. that’s all that mattered.
Oh no! 🙁 Poor Bear… Im so sorry reading that he passed. I hope you get many years with Toby. </3
Hi Alora, so sad to read your story about Mac and Bear. I’m sure you will have Toby in your life for a long time. I recently lost my seal point Himalayan and it’s completely devastating. You’ll never guess what his name was: Toby Bear! He was the love of my life and I miss him terribly. I’m currently waiting on my first ragdoll. The litter was only born 2 weeks ago, so I have a bit of an agonizing wait. His name will be Loki and I’m sure I’ll post him as a Kitten of the Month candidate when the time comes!
Loved reading about Mac & Bear!! So happy you have him, he’s a beautiful boy! 🙂
Lisa
oh my gosh, I forgot I had submitted this. We lost Bear in January at 11 months. Our Hearts were so broken. I remember coming home from the vet hospital and sitting on our couch, looking at each other and saying “now what do we do”. Well what we did was contact our breeder the next day. She was heart broken also and told us there was a litter due Feb 10th (Bears Birthday) and we would be first on the list. The waiting was more than painful and lonely, but finally Toby came home April 26th. He has big paws to fill but he is doing a good job. We love him so much. (he is a seal colorpoint) We love him so much, and I have laughed everyday since. We made a shutterfly photo book of Bear that sits on our table and we still watch videos of him.
Thank you all for your wonderful comments. He was our Beautiful Bear
Hi, Alora: How traumatic that must have been for you and your family! *BIG HUGS* I’m so very sorry to hear about Bear’s passing. Poor little fella. I’m very happy to hear you keep his memory alive and have a new Ragdoll love named Toby. Wishing you, Toby and the rest of your family the best of health and furever happiness with each other!
Big hugs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3
What a beautiful story about your Bear baby! (I am so very sorry for the loss of your beautiful Mac boy. *BIG HUGS*) Thank goodness your sweet hubby decided to do the right thing and get you a kitten to raise. So happy you found such a wonderful breeder who could understand your pain and help you like she did. Bless her heart. Bear sounds absolutely amazing and the pictures are GORGEOUS!!! He’s so beautiful!
Thank you for sharing your Ragdoll Love Story with us!
Big hugs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3
P.S. I really lurve how you catified existing toys for Bear and yourself to play! Clever! 🙂 <3
Bear is gorgeous! Enjoy him and know that you are blessed to have him. He will never replace Mac, but he will be his own little wonder for you.
I’m so sorry for your loss of Mac, but I’m thankful Bear is bringing great joy to you. If only all kitties could have a home as loving as yours! 🙂
Oh my gosh- Bear is so adorable. The picture of him upside down on the chair is such a Ragdoll pose! He is going to be one handsome boy- will look forward to an update when he’s Ragdoll of the Week! Thanks for sharing his story and pictures.
I enjoyed reading about Bear. I was in a similar situation too where I had lost a darling blue mitted Ragdoll to FIP at about 13 months. He was diagnosed on a Tuesday and by Thursday he was gone. I was devastated and couldn’t face going through something like that again. When I “sort of” recovered about a year later and needed to fill the void, I found my Kobesan through the NC Ragdoll Rescue site. He was about 18 months old, his humans were being transferred to Alaska and couldn’t take him. I jumped at the chance, drove about 150+ miles and picked him up the day after I saw his picture on the Ragdoll Rescue site. I took a chance I know, but he has turned out to be the most loving, adorable, funny companion I could ever hope for. He follows me around the house like a puppy and sleeps with us at night–he loves my husband’s feet. When I go outside on the porch he sits at the door and “cries” for his mommy. Unfortunatly, same for the bathroom! He has enriched our lives so much I can’t even begin to say. Thanks for posting Bear. God Bless you all!