Charlie – A Seal Mitted with an Hourglass Blaze Ragdoll Cat
Charlie is my seal mitted Ragdoll cat with an hourglass blaze that was adopted on October 15, 2009. He was born on July 23, 2009.
As a kitten he was incredibly outgoing. I wrote this 10 years ago when he was a kitten, “He has no fear and is Mr. Confident. He is really funny. He climbs all over me. He smells my lips and my breath after I’ve eaten…he just climbs up my chest and starts smelling my lips curious about the smell. Makes me giggle. I’ve never had or been around a cat like this. He’s so flippin’ confident and curious. He sleeps on my shoulders when I am typing on the computer and sleeps on my head at night. I think Rags told him that he hit the kitty jackpot by being with me, so he’s taking advantage of it! My mom and I flew to Salisbury, NC to get him from Soulmates. We flew in and out of North Carolina in the same day. The trip was long for Charlie, but he was a trooper, never going to the bathroom or causing any trouble.”
He was adopted from Soulmate Ragdolls in Salisbury, NC.
After Rags died in March 30, 2009, I started slowly looking at different Ragdoll breeders across the United States, in Canada and in Holland.
Although my favorite Ragdoll look is that of a seal mitted with a blaze, I wanted to find the right breeder and also find the right kitten based on the kitten’s lineage as well as based on my gut feeling of the kitten upon appearance. In late August, I was checking out the available kittens on various breeders’ websites. I had narrowed down the list of breeders to about three or four.
And then I saw him on Soulmate Ragdolls website. I loved, loved, loved his blaze and could tell that he was going to be gorgeous, not to mention that he was precious beyond measure. The first photo I saw of Charlie was this one:
I knew, as soon as I saw him that he was destined to be mine. I received more photos from his breeder and just knew it. She had named him “Casey” which sounds like “KC” when pronounced out loud. And KC (Kansas City) is where I live.
Charlie has since turned into a stunning cat, who has been a dream for me as a Ragdoll cat blog owner. He makes eye contact with me, he’s game for just about anything, making my life of creating videos a lot easier.
Charlie has many endless nicknames (as do all my cats) – the latest top picks seem to be “Zerzees” or “Woo”. I do call him “Charlie” a lot – which is unlike other cats I have felt soul connections with.
I rarely end up calling them by their given name. But Charlie’s name, I knew before I knew Charlie. I picked it out years ago, knowing one day I would name my cat that. In fact, I have my next cat name picked out too. I don’t know why. It just comes to me.
Anyway, Zerzees or Zerz is the most frequently used at the moment, followed by Woo. There’s also Charliemansers, Charlemagne (when I am feeling French), Bub, Woo-ee, etc. I was recently at my parents’ lake house with my mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law and I remember telling my dad when Charlie hopped up next to me on the couch, “Charlie is the first cat I’ve had that openly shows how much he loves me like a dog would.” It’s true.
Charlie’s dedication to me reminds me of all of our German Shepherds growing up and their devotion to my mom. While I truly detest breed stereotypes, Charlie does fit the Ragdoll cat description in being a puppy cat.
He is very much like a dog – follows me, meows at me and wants my attention (often more than I want to give it). Yet, he is patient, sweet and kind too. He responds well to what I ask of him too…or even when I don’t like these coming at you videos.
My family has a theory on blaze cats – that they are outgoing and Charlie fits the bill. He is always around, always wants to be where the action is. He is a curious cat, and also a very proud cat.
I have learned a lot from Charlie. Many years ago, a vet from Scandinavia was watching one of our video and told me that Charlie had a crepe coat. She mentioned that Charlie’s coat was a result of flat hair follicles and Trigg’s was from having round hair follicles. She talked about how his coat was perfect for weather in Scandinavia because it takes forever to get wet – isn’t that the truth!
When Charlie and Trigg were 1-2 years old and got diarrhea more often, I would end up having the bath them and it took gallons of water to get Charlie wet – and not so with Trigg. But the biggest “Ah-ha” I got from the flat hair follicle education was that Charlie wasn’t neurotic. Rather, he can feel and sense things way more than Trigg (or any other cat I have had) can.
So when the wind blows, he feels it more sensitively than the rest of us. For a long time, I just thought he was somewhat of a freak – but the flat hair follicle information helped me understand his behavior better in different situations.
Speaking of his coat, he’s the first cat I’ve had and been around that gets a visibly larger winter coat. I mean, like night and day. I tried to find comparable recent comparison photos, but the above was the best I could do.
The photo above on the left shows his winter coat in full bloom, whereas the one on the right shows his summer coat – always thinner and it looks like he has lost weight, but he hasn’t. His coat matches his eating habit too – Chiggy eats about the same all-year around.
However, Charlie is very sensitive to heat and humidity and will eat less when it’s very hot and very humid. I have to really watch him in the summer because of this. He reminds me of a true wild animal that packs on the pounds in the winter and then sheds them in the summer.
When his winter coat is in full bloom, he gets these little ear sprouts – they appear between the ears on either side of the top of his head – not talking about the hairs inside the ears, but rather on the outside of the ears on the top of the head. I love them – they make me squeal.
Charlie makes everyone smile. Just his presence or his photo will make someone smile. He really has that effect on my Dad – which is unusual. My Dad isn’t a cat guy in general – he succumbed because he had a daughter who was obsessed. I will sometimes randomly text photos of Charlie to my Dad (who is not on social media) and say, “Charlie wanted to know if he made you smile.”
Charlie is a superior hunter. Although not the athlete that Trigg is, he catches many rodents and other small mammals outside – when we go outside – which Charlie MUST do or he will get severe cabin fever. He loves to go outside – but unlike Chiggy, who enjoys the view, Charlie prefers to walk the perimeter and make sure no one has messed with his yard. He is very territorial and protects his lair.
Charlie’s Parents are:
Due to the powers of the Internet, Jasmine’s new owner found me online and submitted her story as Ragdoll of the Week! Read about Charlie’s mother – Jasmine.
Charlie’s Pedigree:
GRC Soulmates Tyler Toys, M, RAG a 04, 12/21/03
- Soulmates Raggedy Czar, RAG a 04, 5/25/02
- RoyaltyRags Alex of Soulmates, RAG a 04, 6/10/00
- SGC Merrypawpins Arnie of Ragtymdolls, RAG n 04, 5/6/96
- Heavenspurr Tiggie, RAG a 04, 8/10/98
- Soulmates Heavenly Sunshine, RAG a 03, 1/18/00
- SGC Catastrophe Errol Flynn of Pitterpaws, RAG a 03, 10/23/94
- TGC Chatandolls Liza Minelli of Soulmates, RAG n 03, 5/15/98
- RoyaltyRags Alex of Soulmates, RAG a 04, 6/10/00
- Rags2riches Sophia of Soulmates, RAG a 04, 12/11/02
- SGRC Ritzyrags Richard of Rags2riches, RAG a 04, 8/4/99
- SGC Ritzyrags Blue Danube, RAG c 03, 8/3/96
- CH Cloverleaf Sylvia of Ritzyrags, RAG n 04, 10/7/93
- Rags2riches Misty Blue, RAG a 04, 11/11/00
- Mourningdove Patrick, RAG a 04, 12/7/96
- Heavenlypurr Diamond in the sky, RAG a 04, 3/28/99
- SGRC Ritzyrags Richard of Rags2riches, RAG a 04, 8/4/99
Soulmates Charlie, M, RAG 7/23/09
Darlinlildols Allie Jasmine, F, RAG n 04, 2/3/06, CA/-
- Fancyrags Grady of Darlinlildols, RAG n 04, 4/27/00
- SGC Ritzyrags Sir Winston, RAG n 04, 7/24/98
- SGC Ritzyrags Blue Danube, RAG c 03, 8/3/96
- CH Cloverleaf Sylvia of Ritzyrags, RAG n 04, 10/7/93
- Narragansett Angelique, RAG n 03, 1/16/96
- Kimsdolls Jasper of Narragansett, RAG a 04, 3/5/94
- Narragansett Lakota, RAG n 04, 10/3/94
- SGC Ritzyrags Sir Winston, RAG n 04, 7/24/98
- Darlinlildols Christian Dior, RAG a 03, 11/5/04, CA/-
- Chatandolls Rudolph, RAG a 03, 6/14/06
- SGC Ragnarok’s Elvis of Chatandolls, RAG a 03, 2/1/91
- Chatandolls Hoshi, RAG a 04, 7/22/97
- Darlinlildols Beetle, RAG n 04, 10/10/01, CA/-
- Chatandolls Aramis of Darlinlildols, RAG a, 3/28/00
- Darlinlildols Victoria, RAG n 03, 2/12/00, CA/-
- Chatandolls Rudolph, RAG a 03, 6/14/06
More Photos
Videos of Charlie as a Kitten
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,
Like you always say, “Charlie is THE man!” He is adorable and love his blaze too. Would love to hug him because his fur is so lux. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful stories about both of them. Always puts a smile on my face no matter what.
Thanks, Teresa – it’s probably time to update both pages – but there are many more things to knock out on my never ending To Do list.
Charlie is a beautiful cat ! When you first got Charlie did you know he was a ragdoll kitten? I have had siamese mix cats in the past but I never knew if they were ragdoll’s. They always had pretty blue eyes and were seal point in color. They always lived to be 17 or 18 yrs. old too. Thanks , Christie
Thanks! Siamese and Ragdolls are not directly related. They are both pointed cats is really their only similarity. Yes because I purchased him from a certified Ragdoll breeder.
Hi Jenny,
I forgot to add that I would have commented sooner but I never got around to it or either I simply forgot; sorry about that. Also, Charlie is such a cutie, I’ve always loved his coat! Caymus, Murphy, and Trigg are adorable as well! (I’ve always wondered this, so, why did you name Trigg, Trigg?)
Faith
Yes, Charlie has a magnificent coat….so does Caymus. Caymus’ coat is luxurious. Actually, Murphy and Trigg’s coats are nice too – but not fluffy like Charlie’s and not luxurious like Caymus’
Thanks for asking about my Trigg – who I rarely call Trigg. My boyfriend is a math teacher – teaches Calculus – but my sister thought Trigg from “Trigonometry” was cute and so did we, so we went for it. I usually call him Gausy (like Cow with a G and then “see”, so Gow-see). There’s a famous mathematician named Carl Friedrich Gauss…so maybe I should have named him “Gauss”.
I love your cat! I adapted one from love ragdolls and she comes home on the 13th of April. I can’t wait! I fell in love with your cat so much on youtube that I am naming her after your cat! Her name… Charleigh 🙂
I saw your pictures our cat looks the same even as a kitten even down to the white paws and they have such personality. And she is most loveable of all my life time cats. We adopted her through human society as kitten she was taken away at young age they said she kneads alot. And she has tuffed hair coming out of her paws like a snowshoe rabbit she looks like your ragdoll. Does yours have the hair coming out of paws like maybe between a inch to 2 inches long. And could she be a snowshoe siamese or the ragdoll. Her name is Honey. We had her 3 years and she is fun. Chris
Chris – please send me photos of Honey! Just send them to info@floppycats.com
Yes, he has hair coming out of his paws like yours.