I am often asked for recommendations of Ragdoll breeders. I learned long ago not to recommend breeders! So I let readers do it =).
If you love the breeder that you adopted your Ragdoll cat from, then please post your favorite breeder in the comments section and be sure to include:
- Cattery Name
- City, State
- Country
- Website
- When you adopted your kitty
- Adoption Story
#5 and #6 are important to show the validity of the comment/knowledge. Otherwise, I think anyone could post the rest. Thank you!
If you're on the hunt for recommended breeders - you will also want to check out our page on Bad Ragdoll Breeders.
How to Know if a Cat Breeder is Reputable: An Interview with Bette Willette
Sharon Shulby of Magnadok Ragdolls shared the following with me:
"In looking for a Ragdoll, please advise people that, first off, Google the cattery and "complaints". If they have a history of scamming people, keeping their money, not delivering the kitten on the agreed upon date, selling sick kittens, what in the world makes you think they'll be any better with you? You MUST do due diligence!
Also, ascertain if the parents have been tested for FIV, FeLV and HCM. And the breeder can prove it to the prospective parents. That any breeder who wants to send your kitten home at under 12 weeks old, isn't doing right by you or the kitten. They get 3 vaccines, at 8, 12, and 16 weeks. I prefer that my breedings are fully vaccinated before they leave here. Also, younger kittens don't have that time with their parents and littermates to socialize. This is VERY important for the well being of your kitten.
If the parents aren't registered with FIFe, CFA or TICA, your kitten can't be registered either. And there's no guarantee that the kitten is truly a purebred RD.
What I can tell your readers, again, that if they do their homework before buying a RD kitten, there shouldn't be a problem. Good luck!"
BEWARE! Ragdoll Breeder Scams
Apart from just bad breeders, you have to watch out for scams too - people that pose as Ragdoll breeders or home raised ragdoll kittens, but really are just scam artists. Here are a few times we have encountered them:
- Jasmine Ragdoll Kitten – Ragdoll Breeder SCAM - now they are Pretty Ragdoll Kittens – https://prettyragdollkittens.com
- Adorable Ragdoll Kittens for Sale Scam Online
Discussion on Facebook about How to Figure Out if a Breeder is Good or Not
Jeremy
My girlfriend and I are looking into ragdoll catteries and she came across Midwest Ragdolls (https://midwestragdolls.com/). I wanted to do more research before continuing and found that there's an old site with a different name but the same contact info and location (https://ragdollkittensforyou.com/). I also found that they reuse the site from Midwest Ragdolls for goldendoodles (https://partigoldendoodle.com/). Midwest Ragdolls looked legitimate, but these discoveries made me unsure.
What also made me suspicious was my girlfriend sent the following message:
"Hello, we are potentially interested in reserving one of your ragdoll kittens. We would prefer a female cat of the blue point variety. What is your typical reservation timeline and pricing? Would we be able to visit the kittens? Thank you!"
And the response she received was (and this is pasted in exactly):
"Hello
If you reserve now youll get one in July
They are 100$ deposit and 1500$ total
Thank you !
Dr Jennifer"
I wanted to know if I was being too cautious or if these are all red flags we can't ignore.
Jenny
Hello. As far as a I know, Dr. Jenn is a real breeder. However, if you do not feel comfortable, then don't proceed and find another breeder. My concern with that response is that Dr. Jenn is an American, but Americans don't put the dollar sign after the number. They put it before - like $100. So I think the person that replied is foreign.
John
Divine Ragdolls
Haines City Florida
United States
ragdollkittensdivine.com
My first ragdoll was a rescue I had gotten elsewhere and unfortunately, he passed away within a year of having him, and my family was crushed. I had no idea it is believed that 25-30% of the ragdolls have genetic issues so this time I wanted one that had health testing, genetic testing, vet exams, and was raised with a family of children at a home versus a pet shop or a farm since I have children as well. They have a large family and truly breed for the betterment of the breed at their home and have been breeding for decades. Their cats and kittens are indoors only so there weren't any parasite issues and they explained so much! They also did weekly / bi-weekly photos for me. My little guy always follows me around, loves to play, and then when he is tired out he wants loving and even watches TV with us. My wife loved the fact he came litter trained and "scratch trained".