Moby – Ragdoll of the Week
“Is it my imagination, or are cats getting bigger?” said the only other person in the veterinarian’s waiting room when Moby and I arrived for his FIV/Felv screening. Moby had been an indoor/outdoor cat, surrendered by his owner to Purebreds Plus Cat Rescue in Northern California with the familiar and always perplexing excuse that his owners “didn’t have enough time” for him. Not enough time to let him supervise the folding of laundry? Not enough time to snuggle with him on the couch while watching David Gergen on CNN? Not enough time for grooming, certainly! Moby arrived in foster care with his body so closely shaved that there were long bald patches, making me wonder whether he had a chronic skin problem.
Maybe a more experienced foster parent would have been less suspicious, but I’d speculated as to what more serious issue “not enough time” might conceal. Had Moby really been abandoned because of litter box problems, destructive behaviors, or aggressive tendencies? Would I hear from the veterinarian that he exhibited telltale signs of HCM? I need not have worried. Moby was healthy and “litter box perfect,” did not scratch carpets or furniture, and was, within a day of arriving at my house, an affectionate cuddle dumpling, not vocal except for an occasional, comical “Eh!” It took a few days to write an appropriate descriptive sketch and get a reasonably good photograph to post on the Purebreds Plus website, but after the requisite two weeks of isolation (to ensure that he had not been incubating an illness on intake), I made Moby officially available for adoption and waited for the telephone to ring.
One week passed, then two weeks, then a month, two months, three. After three months, I received one inquiry, but the potential adopter was keenly interested only in my other foster cat, a cross-eyed Havana Brown named Rivers. You are probably asking yourself why, given that rescue has become socially desirable behavior, no one would have come forward to adopt this big, personable boy. Yes, he is mismarked, with too much white to be a seal bicolor and too much color on the hind legs to be a van, yet with his majestic size, his abundant soft coat, and his classic Ragdoll personality, one would have expected him to attract interest nonetheless.
His impediment, you might have guessed by now, was middle age: Moby was approaching his seventh birthday, and although seven is not at elderly for a cat—Ragdolls are not even fully grown until the age of four—many adopters will not give serious thought to a cat older than two or three. The one potential adopter, in her final message to me, made this point clear: after “deep reflection,” she and her husband, despite being of retirement age themselves, had determined that Moby and the only slightly younger Rivers were too old for them. With Moby’s birthday looming, I made the decision to adopt him and his companion Rivers myself.
Moby is a dream cat, a large, fluffy boy who is friendly even to strangers and whose favorite pastimes are grandly surveying his domain from the height of a cat tree, playing chase-and-wrestle with Rivers, being brushed in the early morning, and nestling on my lap with his head on my chest and his fat paws rhythmically kneading my arm. He lives entirely indoors now and, although he enjoys looking out the window, he shows no signs of Wanderlust; I think he would rather stay inside, where it is warm, than venture out into the San Francisco fog. I have another Ragdoll whom readers of this column will eventually meet online, but she is much more reserved than Moby, and let’s just say that, at least so far, my two Ragdolls share litter boxes but not confidences!
My cats and I appreciate our welcome to the Floppycats community. Thank you, Jenny, and happy holidays!
Socialize with other members of the Ragdoll Breed! Join us on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
Do you have a Ragdoll cat? Want him or her to be featured as Ragdoll of the Week? Please feel free to share your kitty with us by contacting us.
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,
I just ran across Moby’s picture going through the Ragdoll’s of the week ! Wow, what a beautiful boy you have and a beautiful story to go with him ! ! The 3 of you are very blessed to have found each other !
My Ragdoll, Oliver, came to me at 7 1/2 mo., 3 months after I lost one of my babies. He had some medical issues and I believe my boy that passed made sure I picked him because he knew I could help him. 🙂
If you want check him out, Ragdoll of the Week August 6. 2012.
Merry Christmas youngsters Moby & Rivers. Lovely to meet you XX
Moby’s a cute little boy WOW… It’s the markings that make him that way, and the shape of his legs, you must be a very proud Mommy. Thanks for adopting them, I couldn’t think of a better owner knowing how good you treat the others. 🙂 1/2 way through reading it, I was so worried and going to see about adopting them myself.
My home’s suitable, but may upset the black tortie, so Congratulations and wishing many fond Christmases ahead…
What a beautifully written piece. Moby and River were lucky to have found you!
Thank you so much. I am lucky to have found them.
What a beautiful ending to such a difficult beginning for Moby. I am a follower of Purebreds Plus Cat Rescue, it is nice to see the happy stories. Moby is such a sweet Raggie despite what he has been through, I am glad he has found his forever home ^^ and River too! He looks super soft!
Thank you, Melody, for your kind words about Moby (who is very soft, indeed) and for being a follower of Purebreds Plus Cat Rescue. As strange as it is to consider that Moby was unwanted, he has been ever so much luckier than many of the cats we see in rescue! At least he arrived in good health, with no skittishness or other evidence suggesting past abuse.
I am also cheered when I read the happy endings.