Chopstix O’Neill III – Ragdoll Kitten of the Month
Submitted Sep 18, 2017
Our kitten, Chopstix, was born on April 17, 2017 and he is our first pedigreed Ragdoll kitten. What a ride he has taken us on!
We had been heartbroken with the loss of our little stray, who came to us at maybe 10 years of age. We were never sure, since our then-vet told us he was 10 years old for three years in a row. His personality was such that our present vet thought he might have been a mix of Ragdoll and Maine Coon. After his passing, we did research on personalities of kitties and that is how we ended up with Chopstix, who is my first kitten ever. He is a Seal Mink Mitted and as you can see, not a show quality Ragdoll, but that was our last consideration when searching for a kitty. We just wanted a Ragdoll to love and loved he is!
The very first day he arrived, he came right out of his carrier and followed my husband around the room to the words “Heel!” A little ball of fur who adapted instantly to us. He ate well, slept well and never once cried out in those first days. In a very short time, he had the run of the house, challenging us to games of hide and seek or just hanging out with us, although he does not jump on laps or curl up with us in the evenings, he does pay us very welcome visits at night. He absolutely LOVES playing on our bed. Making the bed is cause for great leaps, pounces and attacks. We’ve added an extra top sheet on top of our bedspread just for Chopstix, and our house will never look as pristine as before! He rules us and we are the better for it.
As far as food is concerned, Chopstix is both a gourmet and a gourmand because he is not fussy at all; we recently transitioned him to an all-canned diet, which he loves. The transition took approximately half a day, LOL! After reading what Jenny had to say about kibbles, then reading what Dr. Lisa Pierson advocates, we felt absolute confidence that that is the healthier path for our kittens. Yes, Chopstix has a little sister now!
In his own words, Chopstix has this to say about his sister.
”Yeah, she’s ok for a girl. She’s a little bossy and she is always taking my toys away from me, but I don’t mind. I let her play with everything. Mom says I’m the best little boy in the world!”
Unfortunately, it was not all clear sailing for little Chopstix. Shortly after Meili arrived, Chopstix came down with a case of ringworm, which thankfully did not affect Meili; he recovered well and is a healthy, playful kitten today. The two bonded almost immediately, and they groom and clean one another constantly.
He is an amazing kitten in that when our female baby arrived, Chopstix immediately took her under his wings and has been very loving towards Meili. When I first showed her the toy with the ball rolling around the track, she was a little apprehensive about it, but big brother Chopstix showed her how to play with it, then sat back and watched her. Sometimes I wonder whether we’ve lost our male kitten, because he is so solicitous of her and watches her for us when we are busy. He soon dispels our fears because when Meili is sleeping, Chopstix becomes the fun-loving, sweet kitten he has always been.
Some of their favorite things in the world:
- Sherpa on Wheels Pet Carrier, Black– They both love this carrier and take turns riding in it. I keep it next to my desk and one or the other will be sleeping in it while keeping me company.
- Their Cat Condo, which has been discontinued, but looked like this one, cost less than $80!
- Turbo Scratcher
- 3-way Tunnel plus extra cube by Whisker City
Foods that Chopstix loves:
Merrick Single Ingredient Chicken, TIKI Cat- Chicken, Merrick Purrfect Bistro in Chicken and Turkey, Royal Canin Kitten Instinctive Loaf in Sauce. We are discontinuing the Royal Canin ever since they changed their formula recently to put their main ingredient last on their list! Unfortunately, that is the only brand little girl likes, but at least with Chopstix, we no longer serve it to him.
We are so enamored with Chopstix and his sister, Meili; I cannot see us ever being without a Ragdoll in our lives! As much as we love them as kittens, we will also love them as adults and look forward to all their shenanigans as they grow and get into trouble together!
Mom Mary O’Neill
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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,
Only one word: Adorable!!
Oh no! So sorry to hear about your husband’s shoulder and all the extra work you are having to do. Hope he feels better soon! You are exactly right about the coloring similiarities between our 4 kitties. Yes, I find it all very confusing too! So happy you are visiting their FB page. I really need to add more photos and will try to revive the page soon. Have had a lot of things that have prevented that from happening, but hope I can post a few updates soon. Thank you so much!
I am still learning about Ragdolls and their colors. All I know is they are all so beautiful and their looks are inly surpassed by their docile natures! Is Gracie featured here? I would love to see her.
You can see Sweet Teresa’s BEAUTIFUL KITTEHS via her Heart Of Grace FB page at:
https://www.facebook.com/heartofgrace1/
Miss Olivia Grace Pittypat Bookbinder (aka Miss Gracie Boo!) is on the cover photo for the page. Miss Illaria Rose Peabody (aka Miss Illaria and Little Puddie-Pie) is the profile photo. Teresa also has a Maine Coone rescue named Miss Moody Mariposa (aka MMM or Miss Mari). And she is working with two ferals she has taken under her wing in the past 2 years named Lady Greystoke (aka LG, a beautiful Blue Manx) and Ginger Boy (aka GB, a lovely Ginger Tabby). 🙂 <3
Hey Patti!
Well, silly me posted almost the same thing below BEFORE I saw that you so wonderfully posted all that info for me. Bless you sweet sis! Thank you so much for helping me. Love you and Miss Pink Sugarbelle to pieces!
Hi, Sweet Sis! No worries! Happy to help! Love you oodles!!! 🙂 <3
Hello Skyhag!
Yes, Gracie (Olivia Grace) was featured when she was just a baby as Kitten of the week and also her sister, Illaria Rose is on here as well. Would love it if you would visit them on their FB page. You can see Grace (Blue mitted sepia), Illaria (Seal mitted Lynx), our Maine Coon rescue, Miss Mariposa, Ginger Boy (yellow and white tabby and his little wife (Lady Gray), a gray manx who had the name Lord Greystoke before we realized “he” was a “she”. They all have lots of photos on FB and welcome everyone to come and see them here:
https://www.facebook.com/heartofgrace1/
Sorry for this later-than-usual-for -me reply. Hubby had rotator cuff surgery a week ago and although he is a great patient who doesn’t ask for anything, my work load is still doubled. The worse part is, I need to make 3 meals a day. WHAT?! “But you just ate yesterday; do you HAVE to eat again?: LOL!
Grace’s coloring looks like my Chopstix and Illaria looks like my Seal Lynx Point Meili.
I will never get these different colorations straight.
Your kitties are all so adorable! I liked Miss Grace’s page; am still looking through all the pictures. :-))
Thank you so much for sharing Chopstix’s and Meili’s story with us. They are both absolutely GORGEOUS. I especially love the minks cause they are my Gracie’s heritage since she is a sepia. Love all their beautiful photos, especially the one with Chopstix peeking out from the bookcase! Wishing you all a very long and happy life together!
You are very welcome! The only thing different I didn’t expect was that Chopstix, the older of the two watches her as she plays instead of playing along with us if we’re interacting with her. I almost feel guiltyplaying with her. Ut the two of them play really well together; a lot of running around sounding like thundet approaching. LOL!
As you can see, typing on the i-Phone is not my forte!
Congratulations on your beautiful kittens!! Could you please tell me more about how the introduction between the two take, how old were they and how long it take for them to bond? I have a 5 month old Ragdoll girl and I’m thinking of getting her a “brother”, as I truly believe she would enjoy having another furry friend around. Thank you!!
Hi LyAnna! Thank you for your question. I am by no means an expert on this, but I will tell you what we did.
Chopstix was 6 months old and Meili was 3 months old when we brought her home. We left her in the carrier when we introduced them. Chopstix was very curious and just looked and sniffed at her, while little Meili hissed at him from inside the carrier…possibly out of fear.
We bought a metal enclosure that we set up inside our master bath, which contained her litter box in one corner, carrier in another corner and her food and water close to the carrier and some toys and she slept in there for a few nights (it killed me), but didn’t bother her one bit. She never cried or acted distressed being left alone at night. We didn’t let Chopstix in there with her until we felt comfortable that he wouldn’t harm her. He is such a gentle kitty, but big, even at six months, and we were a little apprenhensive when he started playing with Meili. We watched them REAL closely! At first she would cry or yelp and we would separate them when he played too rough; little by little she learned to stand on her own. They never fought or hissed at one another. Since these are our first Ragdolls, we figured it must be their sweet dispositions. To this day, neither one has gotten angry with us or each other.
The introduction period took about 5 days, then we took the enclosure away and left our bathroom door open for Meili to roam around the bedroom and bath. She was confined to the master suite for at least 5-7 days.
We let her out into the living areas whenever we were there watching them. When we had to leave them alone in the beginning, we would once again confine her in the master bath( without the enclosure) and sometimes have Chopstix in another part of the house. When it became obvious that Chopstix took it upon himself to babysit her, we let him and watched as he licked and groomed his baby sister. I have photos and videos of those first days. Such sweet kitties!
If I can help in any way to answer questions, please just ask!
Skyhag, thank you so much for your reply. I’ve been reading a lot about it, but I wanted a 1st hand opinion, specially one involving two Ragdolls with about the same age as our girl and our future kitten (if all goes well). I will try to do something similar to what you did. Thank you!! ☺
Miss PS is absolutely gorgeous!!! I am still leatning about all the different colors of Ragdolls and have noticed that the Blues are always so beautiful! What a wonderful life our kitties have and lucky you winning those beautiful bowls!! They are a bit steep in price, so I hope I can win one one day!
Why thank you SOOO VERY MUCH!!! Miss PSB is a Blue Lynx Bi-Color. It’s hard to find a Ragdoll color and pattern that is NOT GORGEOUS!!! I’m drawn to the Flames & Creams & Sepias but there were none available in the litter we got Miss PSB from. 🙂 <3
Oh, yes! I have been incredibly luck with the PawNosh Bowl giveaways! I LURVE THOSE BOWLS!!! I own three of them now. Won a BIG AQUA one and little AQUA one via Jenny's super pawesome giveaways and then a dear, sweet friend gifted me with a beautiful Tangerine medium-sized one! They are WORKS OF ART and I would never be able to afford one on my limited budget! But, I'll tell you, they are worth every penny! Hope you win one in a future giveaway, too!!!
Big hugs & lots of love!!!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3
What a wonderful and beautiful story about Chopstix!!! Such a GREAT BIG & SUPER PAWESOME NAME (Chopstix O’Neill III) for such a little, adorable & gorgeous kitten!!! Chopstix has grown into a beautiful kitteh and his purrsonality sounds wonderful!!! HE IS SO GORGEOUS & SOUNDS LIKE A CHARMING LITTLE SCAMP & LOVEBUG!!! And what a wonderful Big Brother he is to his STUNNING sister, Meili!! LURVE the pics!!!! 🙂 <3
Thank you SOOO VERY MUCH for all the great info you included about your Chopstix and what he likes to do and likes to eat!!!! Glad he is not a picky eater!!! 🙂 <3
So glad you have these two adorable kitties in your life! Wishing you many, many more years of good health, happiness, love & purry adventures together!!! 🙂 <3
Big hugs & lots of love!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3
Miss Pink Sugarbelle! Hahahaha! Patti, that is a very cute name for your fuzzy kitty! Is she on this site so I can go look at her?? Thank you very much for your comments, they are much appreciated!
Awww, thank you so much!!! Yes, there are several pics of her here on Floppycats. Here’s a link you can use to find the blog posts where she is pictured: https://www.floppycats.com/?s=Pink+Sugarbelle
Big hugs & lots of love!!!
Patti 🙂 <3
omgosh he is adorable and the name is so great!! i love it. thanks for sharing your story!
Thank you, plmcat. Our little stray was Chopstix II and my husband loves that name, so Chopstix III he became. Sigh…LOL!