Cotton – Ragdoll of the Week
I would like to introduce my new Ragdoll boy, his name is Cotton, or Cotty as we now tend to call him. He has been a member of the household for nearly two weeks now and is such a joy. He is the second Ragdoll that has owned me, my first girl, Carrie, a sealpoint, was an absolute delight.
I was watching the TV over here in Perth about 14 years ago when I saw a story on Ragdolls and from that moment I decided that was the cat I wanted. I bought Carrie from a breeder, but she wasn’t socialised and was quite timid with visitors. Unfortunately at the age of 12 she was diagnosed with lymphoma and I decided I was going to fight this terrible disease. She had three courses of chemotherapy and I was very blessed to have had her with me for another eighteen months.
After losing her I decreed that I would never have another Ragdoll as I wasn’t going to put myself through the agony of losing one. However, my luck was about to change. I am on a Ragdoll group on Facebook and was approached to see if I would like another Raggie. I was sent photos of this beautiful boy Cotton, and of course immediately fell in love with him. He is a 2-year-old blue tabby mitted boy, he weighs nearly 7kg and eats like a horse. His original owner was devastated when she had to give him up, as she has taken a job in the US for two years. She didn’t want any payment for him, just to know that he was going to a much-loved home, where of course he is. I 
unfortunately don’t have any details of his breeder or where he came from, all I was told is that he is a pedigree boy. I send her photos of him most days, I cannot thank her enough for the joy she has given me by allowing me to adopt him.
Cotton is a very confident boy, he greets people at the front door with that usual Raggie trait, falling over in front of people. He loves to chase me around the house, absolutely loves the vacu um cleaner and especially loves to sneak into the shower just before we get in when the water is running. Then he can hop out and put wet pawprints all over the floorboards. He loves to play with the cardboard rolls in the middle of toilet rolls and kitchen paper and he has two fur mice he chases around the house. We are always finding them in unusual positions.
He loves to jump on the bed at night and land on my stomach, the only problem is with his weight it is not a good feeling. At the moment I am trying him on all sorts of food, wet and dry, although I have been told that there is more nutrition in the dry food. He is loving his 
Royal Canin dry food and also Whiskas sachets. He doesn’t like milk, so water is the drink of the day for him. I bought him a scratching post the other day, one with the home on the bottom and unfortunately he is too big to get into it. I have a feeling he might be needing a much larger one.
Cotton is living with two golden retrievers, Krissy 12 years and Bonnie 16 months. Krissy loves him and they seem to get on well but at the moment Bonnie is a little exuberant and I am going to gradually introduce them. Lots of special treats for Bonnie and also having her on a lead and just letting Cotton come to her when he is ready. I am so looking forward to having a sofa with a raggie and two goldens sleeping on.
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,
Thank you to everyone for your lovely comments on my new boy Cotton and my baby in heaven Carrie. Since writing about Cotton we have had a great breakthrough with Cotton being out with the two golden retrievers all the time. My young retriever gets a little excited at times but the interaction with the three is now just gorgeous. Just the perfect household for me now.
And thank you so much Jenny for publishing the story of Cotton.
This is a great story! It’s nice to hear your keeping in touch with his original owner, it has to be hard giving up your furry companion. Cotton is a real cutie and he looks so soft and fluffy, just like a real cotton ball. 🙂
You should try feeding him Blue Baffalo dry food. That is what I feed Punkin and it seems to be the best dry food I have tried yet. It’s wheat gluten free, only made with things a wild cat would eat (like duck and chicken) and even comes in a weight control formula. I still give Punkin wet food too, but I buy only locally made food for freshness (most store brands have preservatives) and I only feed her it once a day as dinner.
Ragdolls are such sweeties, I’m sure it won’t take long before you have both dogs and Cotton all sitting together. Congrats on your adorable kitty! <3
Awe he is precious and what a great story! We recently got a kitten and I am amazed at how fabulous Ragdolls are. We have two Labs and they like the kitten but the kitten LOVES them! It’s so cute to see all three waiting for their meals. One of my Labs was a little excited around the kitten but now she is very sweet with him. So, they will become great friends I am sure. Congrats on your adorable guy.
Very sorry for your loss of Carrie and understand the devastation you felt. Am so glad that you opened your heart and gave this gorgeous boy a wonderful home. He looks so sweet and cuddly. Know that he will be happy there with you and your goldens. Thank you for sharing such a heartwarming story. Best wishes for a long and happy life! ♥♥♥
PS – That jacket on Cotty is just adorable!
Your Carrie was beautiful and Cotton is really handsome! Thank you for sharing their pictures and stories with us 🙂
Wet or dry food? – a difficult decision. After reading Jenny’s comments here on dangers of dry food, I began wondering if I had done the wrong thing for my babies all these years. Now our kitties eat canned food most of the time with dry kibbles as snacks between meals. I guess we just do the best we can, learning as we go…
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your Carrie. I too lost my beloved ragdoll at age 12 from bone cancer. And I also vowed, “Never Again!” Thank goodness the universe has other plans for us…..What an adorable and perfect boy!! Cotton is Absolutely gorgeous, and it sounds like fate really intervened to get you two together!
Cotton looks like he might feel like a soft, fluffy cotton ball! What a great name! So glad you helped his previous owner- I adopted Emily from an original owner who was sick and couldn’t take care of her anymore, so I know the joy, but sadness for the loss of the original owner.
Thanks for sharing your baby and the pictures of his cuteness!
Thank you for sharing your story! I am so sorry to hear about your Carrie girl’s illness and her death. But, I am so happy that fate intervened and got you together with your Cotty! He’s a beautiful boy and sounds delightful!
I also share your love of Golden Retrievers. I like to think that Ragdolls are the Golden Retrievers of the cat world! (They certainly have the “I love people” gene and the “Boy, am I hungry!” gene that the Goldens have… lol)
BIG HUGS to you and your babies! 🙂 <3