Major Romeo Salt – Ragdoll Wannabe of the Week
Major Romeo Salt – Ragdoll Wannabe of the Week
The adventure of Major Romeo Salt.
One day, not so long ago, a month to be exact, a lone kitty roamed the neighborhood. He was skinny, his long hair coat messy, and his tail down, he walked passed all the homes in the street. As temperatures dropped to the low teens and some nights into the single digits, the kitty made a home under a yellow shed. Not too far from the shed stands a little house, home to 4 girls, 2 human ladies and 2 kitty gals. The lone kitty was shy and quickly retreated to his shed when the humans entered the yard. They could only take a quick look at him at a time. As the days went by and the cold was here to stay, the kitty grew weaker and hungrier. He knew it was only a matter of time, before he wouldn’t be able to survive out there on his own, he had be brave and approach the humans eventually.
One morning he discovered a bowl of food and water inside a warm cozy insulated shelter box. As he slowly approached the box he cried and cried long sad meows. The mows were deep and labored and constant. Still afraid he retreated to his shed after hastily eating and drinking. The next evening, the humans went outside with another bowl of food and a fresh dish of water. From a distance they could hear the long sad meows turn louder and louder as the kitty emerged from the yellow shed. This time he would stay a little longer but at a reasonable distance and continued the long cries. The humans learned that this kitty isn’t a feral, but a stray, and he cannot fend for himself in the cold. He once had a home, but where?
The third night, a human came out with a bowl of wet food,. The sound of the can cracking open and the smell of the fish filled the air changed everything. The crying kitty trotted over, sat right in front of the human and the cries turned into a mix of purrs and happy meows. While desperately eating his meal, the human had a chance to take a good look at the kitty and reached out to pet him. His body was stiff and bony, his coat dry and matted, his face full of scabs and his tail filled with leaves and dirt. Inside the house, the resident cats observed the feeding process and slowly backed away. The newcomer wasn’t a pretty sight.
The humans knew that serious action needed to be taken, but what? They grew attached to him and wanted to bring him inside but plans needed to be made first. The kitty stayed outside for one last night. The humans lost sleep as they are haunted by the sounds of his cries through the glass kitchen door. Inside they were warm and cozy while outside sat the lone kitty with blue eyes, shivering in the cold. As the humans lied in bed, they made plans for a vet visit, a special room for the kitty and everything else involving a new cat.
The next day operation “save the kitteh” was in full swing. The humans ushered him through the house into his new-dedicated room, complete with food, water, a litter box, kitty furniture and blankets. Behind the closed door, the resident cats took note of this secret operation. To be on the safe side, they retreated to the basement and hid in the darkness. Meanwhile inside the isolation room, the kitty settled in quickly, exploring all the amenities of his new home. After a hearty meal and time to warm up, he started grooming his coat and proceeded to a much-needed calm nap. Several hours later he went to the vet for several exams and a weigh in. He weighed only 11 pounds, had a respiratory infection, fleas and worms. His microchip led the vet to his owners but unfortunately they surrendered their 6-year-old rag doll named Romeo, and it was up to his new owners to take the plunge and care for him. Why wouldn’t they? He is just too pretty and has a calm loving personality.
Back at his new home, he received quality wet food every 2 hours and a much needed bath. His long and difficult ordeal was finally over. As the days passed he grew fonder of his new humans and rewarded them with purrs and rubs. During the next 2 weeks he gained a pound and was well on his way to becoming his old healthy self.
After a month in his new home, his body felt less bony, his fur softer and his energy levels higher. He was introduced to the feline ladies and has the whole house to make his home. Sappho and Artemis, the resident cats aren’t too thrilled for the new comer yet, but they tolerate him and he doesn’t look for any trouble. His mission is to eat, groom his coat, sleep and gain weight. He has a calm personality and purrs as loud as a motor. His body language is more relaxed and he enjoys taking naps on all the sofas, beds, carpets and towels, as long as they are not Sappho’s towels. At mealtime the 3 cats eat together and enjoys all the flavors of the Wellness wet food brand. They also have the option to enjoy GO Fit + Free dry food which is high in protein. During playtime, he is the fondest of a leather string and running after a little ball that the humans toss throughout the house. Unlike his lady friends, he is much more receptive to human guests and allows all sorts of interactions.
The humans added the rank of Major to his name to promote him for being such a trooper and survivor! He is now the Honorable Major Romeo Salt.
Do you have a Ragdoll Kitten or Cat? Consider submitting your kitty! Ragdoll of the Week submission guidelinesThank you for reading! Submissions like these – the “Cat of the Week” and “Kitten of the Month”- are provided by their owners and reflect their individual experiences and practices. The information these submissions share does not necessarily reflect Floppycats’ recommendation or endorsement regarding cat nutrition or care. Always consult a qualified feline nutritionist or veterinarian for personalized advice on your cat’s dietary and health needs. If you want to learn more about species-appropriate nutrition, please visit our cat food page.
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,
He could possibly even have some Snowshoe in him,When I take my big naughty boy Murphy for his leash walks,people will comment a long hair Siamese.Or a cat sitter I Was speaking to one day,thought he was a Snowshoe cause of his inverted V,known as the bi color Ragdoll,he was akitten and his long coat grew in as he got older.So who knows,but for sure I THINK Major is a special handsome color pointed kitty and 11lbs aint a bad size either,night night Major Romeo Salt.
Ragdoll wannabee or whatever,thats a beautiful story.Even a pure Ragdoll is still just a cat.But they have some very distinctive Floppy traits,my boys are huge and they love too Flopp back with their head pointing towards the floor while being carried around,Ive owned many cats but till I OWNED A RAGDOLL I NEVER EXPERIENCED ALL THIS FLOPPY LIMP BEHAVIOR.MAKES YOU WONDER HOW IT CAME ABOUT IN THE Ragdoll genetics.Anyhow your Major is a real Handsome Boy,and deserves to be honored on any kitty website.And hes so lucky he found a new wonderful home obviously things were not working out wherever he was before,and the kitty Angels led him to a great warm safe and loving home.
Thanks everyone! We are doing our best to make him a happy cat!
Thank you so much, MajorSalt, for sharing Romeo’s story with us. So glad he got a Happy Ending and a Loving Forever Home! Whew! His journey is so heartbreaking but thank goodness he landed in your neck of the woods.
So very happy for all of you! He’s a beautiful kitteh and rightly deserving of such a wonderfully, honorable name!
Your story really got to me and had me in tears by the time I was done reading it. Thank goodness there are kitteh loving folks like you and your family!
Big hugs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugardoodles 🙂 <3
I know, I don’t care much for it either because of that – but use it for the search keyword it is. I have thought of just making any “Wannabe” submission “Cat of the Week” – thoughts?
I think you are right when you use it for the search keyword it is. Your site ranks really high on search engines and it is partly because you update this site constantly and use the right keywords (especially in titles of articles). So from that perspective, having the word “Ragdoll” somewhere in titles would be more successful than the word “Cat” which is used on so many other high ranking cat sites. Maybe you can write a cool article about Ragdoll vs Ragdoll Wannabe to teach the kitty world about the finer details of purebred and how many of those may end up in shelters but without papers one cannot be sure about their pureness kitties are wonderful no matter what and so on hahah!
Thanks for understanding – I do talk about rescue stuff on our rescue page – https://www.floppycats.com/ragdoll-rescue.html – but you’re right, maybe a Ragdoll vs Ragdoll Wannabe is in order. I think “Cat of the Week” might work out just fine though. I’ll think about it some more.
What a wonderful story
With a happy ending. 🙂
I love his “freckles”!
What a story and such a lovely ending to it and new beginning for Major Romeo Salt!!
I’m delighted that gorgeous Romeo found a wonderful new home! Please keep him safe forever. What a shame that his previous family “surrendered” or deserted him and left him to fend for himself like that! Thank you for sharing Romeo’s story. You are angels for saving him and taking such good care of him now!
Great story!!
Love this story! Salutes to Major Romeo Salt and his rescuers! He looks a lot like my Ragdoll Wannabe, Emily, who is pictured in my profile shot. She hasn’t had any scary experiences, except for her food bowl being empty several times, and I just can’t imagine how sad Romeo must have been having been surrendered by his humans and out on his own.
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderfully told story!
Lynn
Is a ragdoll wannabe a mix? I’m not familiar with specific ragdoll traits, just went off of what the vet told me lol. I rescued all my cats so to me they are just cats haha. Your kitty Emily is very cute!! She is a darker plumper version of Major lol! Can’t wait for him to add on some more weight so he can be my big teddy cat!
A “Ragdoll Wannabe” is a cat that is not a purebred Ragdoll. You could say Himilayan Wannabe – whichever breed in front of “Wannabe” – it’s how it’s termed in the rescue world.
Awe, I wash a more creative word was used 🙁 When I think of the word wannabe, I think of someone that aspire to be something, you know like there is a goal. Yet in this case, a wannabe Ragdoll could never reach his goal of becoming a Ragdoll. Ain’t that deep lol?
What a wonderful story! I’m saddened that Romeo would be surrendered but so happy he’s found a new loving home.
What a story. Thank you for sharing. Please keep us updated on Romeo’s progress
I am happy to report that Major Salt weighs 14 pounds today! He looks like he would need to pack on several more but he is doing great!