Dusty and Dolly – Ragdolls of the Week
Dusty and Dolly – Seal and Blue Bicolor Ragdoll Cats
My Doll story starts very sadly; My elderly dad moved down to South West Florida to be near me a few years ago and rescued a beautiful little fur girl from a local shelter; the 1st kitten above! My husband and I are profound cat lovers but didn’t realize it at the time but my father was getting dementia. He never named his kitten, and we thought he was caring for her, and we did check on her but in retrospect we should have done more! A few years passed and his condition got really bad and we had to put him in a private memory care facility. The only thing he wanted to take with him was his cat, whom he still never named! He went into the home first before we brought the unnamed beauty to him, but we had a terrible thing happen!
Dads cleaning lady accidentally let his cat out and she ran away! Well, I was beside myself worried and crying hysterical! So upset that my poor dad was in a home now and the cat he adored was gone! We were in Hot South West Florida and it was in middle of July but I went door to door in the sweltering heat for days looking for who we decided to name at this time as LOLA! My dad always liked the name Lola from the song “whatever Lola wants, Lola gets”. We offered a $500.00 reward. I made my husband leave all the doors and windows open and garage door up a bit in my dad’s home in the hope that she will return! And four days later she did! I was so happy to see her my heart skipped a beat! I feel she went looking for him! We brought Lola to dads for a few months but decided it wasn’t fair to Lola to live in one room and my dad understood. So Lola was ours!
We brought Lola home to a home with a possessive short haired queen older cat we had named Samantha. They did not get along. And Samantha soon passed on at age 17 shortly after. So Lola was our new princess. She was so, so, so sweet! She flopped when you held her, she picked up her paw, she didn’t have the blue eyes, and we weren’t sure what breed she was, but it didn’t matter at the time. Unfortunately, Lola too got sick after only 2 years of us having her. She was only 9. We spent thousands and thousands trying to save her life, but we had to let her go to the rainbow bridge. We were absolutely devastated! My husband and I had cats all our lives, but this cat was different. She was almost human. So kind, so sweet.
My husband then started researching what kind of cat Lola might have been and he came across the Ragdoll! We both agreed she had to be a Ragamuffin! There is a Ragamuffin breeder here in town in Cape Coral, Florida! I then started researching and found Floppycats! I couldn’t get off the site! I spent hours, day after day, week, after week on the site watching video of Charlie and Trigg. My husband suggest we find a breeder and just go look. I wasn’t ready as my heart was so heavy it was only 3 months and tears were still rolling down my face over loosing Lola. I am crying as I write this! We went on vacation to Orlando and there happened to be a breeder close by and we swung by and she had lots of litters! We saw one litter with a brother and sister that seemed very close and we were done!
And a few weeks later, when they were 14 weeks we drove back and adopted Dusty and Dolly. We named the seal point Dusty because his ear has a small spot of no color on it like someone had dusted it and the blue point girl we named Dolly because she was so playful like a Doll! Well I sat home for the first year playing and caring for these unbelievable creatures! They happened to get very sick a few times and cost us tens of thousands the first year, but that’s why they were sent to us because we had the means and love to give to these fur balls! We did biopsies only because we saw on Floppycats how Jen would have and did do for Rags! We never did a biopsy on Lola we were advised against it and to this day we are sorry we didn’t!
Maybe if we found Floppycats earlier and saw that a cat could have proper extensive operations and live we may have done it! Even with all the money and time in and out of hospitals with my two who have inflammatory bowel and liver disease, they have brought us such joy we just can’t find the words to explain how much fun, how wonderful, how sweet and loving they are! They are doing well on prednisolone and have a cat only vet and are eating the best food money can buy! Their labs just came back and they are healthy now and we know how to treat them and what is exactly the problem! These Ragdoll cat breeds are the most fabulous of animals. Our eternal thanks to you Jenny for helping us find our way into the elite world of Ragdoll guardians and helping educate us on how to care for them, how to be a wonderful cat protector! How to see they have fun, we bought almost everything you recommend on your site! The Fitzgerald’s of Cape Coral; Dusty, Dolly, Richie and Gina!
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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,
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. Very sorry about your Samantha and Lola. You are so right, you were just the parents for Dolly and Dusty and hope and pray that they stay in good health for many years to come. They are very blessed to have parents so loving and kind as you.♥♥♥
Three beautiful kitties! I assume the first picture is of Lola, your introduction to the world of Ragdolls. You mentioned she didn’t have blue eyes, so probably she was a “mix.” We had two wonderful Ragdolls, classic seal-mitted boys we found a thousand miles apart. Gizmo died suddenly at age 10 and Moosie was almost 13. We have a mixed breed lady, Baby Mew, aged 16, who looks a lot like your Lola – same splendid nature without the typical coloring and large size. All our babies were/are rescues. Thanks for sharing your pictures and sweet story!
Awww, Gina, I am so touched and moved by your story. I am so very sorry that your father was plagued with dementia and had to go to a special care facility to keep him safe and as healthy as possible. I am also so very sorry about the loss of your beloved Samantha and eventually your precious Lola (lurve the name…Huge “Damn Yankees” musical fan here!)! *BIG HUGS*
Your story about Dusty and Dolly is so precious. I lurve how they are cuddling together in each and every photo you shared. I am so sorry to learn of their health issues and bless you and your hubby for taking the time, money and love to research and get them the best care and get them to the healthy state they are in today with their health issues under control and a wonderful diet for them to eat! They truly found The Best Guardians & Family possible…that’s for sure!
I can feel your love and heartache for all of your kittehs in your story. Bless you and your hubby for being such great caregivers to your feline loves!
Lurve the camo shirts on Dusty and Dolly, too! So adorable. AND, btw, I adore their names and they are SUPER GORGEOUS!!!
Wishing you and your hubby and Dusty & Dolly many years of happiness, love, good health and wonderful adventures together!
Big hugs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle 🙂 <3
Thank you for sharing your story. Lola was a lucky kitty to have you to the very end. And Dolly and Dusty are blessed to have you as their mom and dad. They are gorgeous. Happy tails to the Fitzgerald’s of Cape Coral!