Juniper – Ragdoll Kitten of the Month

Submitted January 17, 2021 My name is Juniper, and I am a mitted seal point Ragdoll girl. I was born on October 15, 2020 in Laurens, SC at Upstate Ragdolls, a homestyle cattery, with lots of cuddles and tender care from a loving family including four children who spoiled me like crazy! I was part of my cat mom Sierra’s first litter. Her sister Jenny gave birth a few weeks before, and the two sisters shared raising us, both grooming and even nursing us like one big family. It takes a village! We all grew up together in a beautiful kitten room with big cat towers, tons of toys and lots of yummy food and treats.

I loved my first home and my original fur and human families. You can see lots of pictures of us all on Instagram. My forever moms Jeannette and Genny got to watch me grow up from a newborn, and they keep in touch with my human birth mom Beth, who is always available for help and advice as needed – she really loves her fur babies! I traveled with my two new moms Genny and Jeannette to Charleston, SC in December, where I now live with a grumpy big sister named Willow. (We both have tree names because my moms are tree huggers.)

I was named Juniper – or Juni, or June-bug, or Ms. Teeth depending on circumstances – because I have blue eyes like juniper berries. Willow got her name because she looked like a pussy willow when she was my age. Willow is a 3-year-old British shorthair who was not too impressed with my arrival. This did not bother me, however. I just kept bopping her on the tail until she started chasing me all over the house. Now we share everything – we even swap food sometimes! My moms have been transitioning us both to an all-wet food diet. I eat Blue Buffalo kitten formula mixed with the Royal Canin Kitten pate I was weaned on. Willow is a dry food addict and she is having a tough time with the change – maybe that’s why she’s so grumpy! This all got started because Willow kept stealing my Blue Buffalo dry food and Jeannette conferred with Floppycats Jenny, who encouraged her to make the switch. I hear there may be raw food in my future. We’ll see. My mom Jeannette became interested in Ragdolls after she retired from being a social worker in New York and moved to Charleston with my mom Genny. They got Willow on the advice of a wonderful breeder in New York who recommended her as a kitten because she was very independent and would be fine alone while Jeannette and Genny were working long hours in the city. Willow is very good-natured but not at all snuggly, so they began the search for a cozier kind of cat to add to the family. Jeannette fell in love with me after I fell asleep in her arms in Beth’s kitten room, and the rest is history! At present I like chewing on anything I can get my jaws around, including my two moms who try to gently redirect me to my silver bark sticks and other chew toys. I enjoy capturing my battery butterfly, bunny kicking my banana, scaring Willow by jumping out of the Ripple Rug she hates to share, chasing and fetching my bouncy springs and chewing on our catnip plant. I like to drag my purple kitten lovey around between my legs like a dead antelope, and I have trained my two moms to let me sleep between their heads while Willow enjoys nighttime privacy in Jeannette’s office. Life is good here in the Low Country – I recommend it!

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Do you have a Ragdoll Kitten or Cat?  Consider submitting your kitty!  Ragdoll of the Week submission guidelines Read more Ragdoll Kitten of the Month submissions. Getting a Ragdoll Kitten? Check out our book: A Ragdoll Kitten Care Guide: Bringing Your Ragdoll Kitten Home