Is it possible to discipline your Ragdoll cat?
Most Ragdoll owners experience some form of behavioral problem at one time or another. Many find it difficult to believe that disciplining Ragdoll cats is possible; however, despite a cat’s independent attitude towards life in general, it is possible to train your Ragdoll cat. Training your Ragdoll cat takes a healthy dose of patience and perseverance; but don’t get discouraged, you can correct the worst problems your Ragdoll has to offer.
Remember That Pets Aren’t People
Animals rely heavily on instincts for their behaviors. If you’re experiencing negative behaviors you can correct these by being consistent in your interactions with the cat. Your Ragdoll most likely thinks of you as a big cat and interacts with you based on this perception.
You should never consider hitting or using anger to discipline your Ragdoll cat. Pets do not understand violence and will only teach your cat to fear you. If you need to reprimand your cat for bad behavior, consider one of the following methods.
Use a Squirt Gun
Using a squirt gun filled with water and a touch of vinegar is an excellent training tool for your Ragdoll cat. If you observe your Ragdoll scratching or harassing other pets squirting followed by a verbal “No!” is a very effective behavioral deterrent.
Rattle a Can Filled With Coins
Another method for training your Ragdoll cat is to startle them with a metal can filled with coins and a verbal “No!” when you observe the offending behavior. This method will lose effectiveness as your Ragdoll cat becomes familiar with the sound so use it sparingly.
The “Face Push Method”
The final method for discouraging your Ragdoll is the “Face Push.” This is a good way to deter aggressive play. The face push is a firm but gentle push against your cats face followed by the verbal command, “No!” Most cats hate having their faces pushed in this manner and is an excellent training aid.
Related Articles Other People Have Read:
- Cat Behavior Problems: Can You Discipline Your Ragdoll Cat?
- Training Your Cat Part II
- Correcting Cat Behavior Problems
- How to Change Your Ragdoll Cat’s Behavior
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Hi there,
Anybody out there have a ragdoll that throws up all the time?
Dexter’s Parents,
My ragdoll has very rarely thrown up. I have noticed that the few times that he has is when I gave him canned food that was a little on the greasy side or if I gave him more than usual. My ragdoll eats mostly dry food, but when he gets a treat of canned meat he tends to gobble quickly and over eat. So, I limit him to a small amount and try to only get grilled food that I have drained very well. No more throwups.
If adjusting type or amount of canned food does not help, you need to get him to the vet.
Are you sure he is throwing up or does he have hairballs. If he is regurgitating white watery globs, then it is probably hairballs.
Our little prince rarely has a hairball come up. One third of his dry food is a hairball formula and he gets 1/2 inch – 3/4 inch of laxatone twice a week. No more hairballs.
Our guy has been to the vet and was diagnosed with a sensitive stomach. He’s always thrown up, but in the past 10 days prior to us taking him to the vet, it was quite frequent – 4 days out of 7. Vet says he’s healthy, but just “food sensitive.” He gets laxatone every second day.
Now, also of note, our boy also loved car rides and had no issues taking long distance trips. He would actually sit in the middle console and eat his kibbles … that’s how relaxed and comfortable he was. Now he gets car sick.
J. King … interesting comment re wet food. Since keeping our boy on dry, he hasn’t done too badly. Maybe we’ve crossed a bridge. What “grilled” food do you give your little prince?
I was informed that exotic breeds like Ragdolls often have sensitive stomaches, so was wondering if anyone else out there found that to be the case, as well.
One thing you can do to help this is to use Slippery Elm Bark. It coats the stomach and intestinal tract, helping with stomach upset, and both diarrhea and constipation.
You can find it at health food stores. Take 3 capsules, open them up and mix them with 1/2 cup water; cook over medium heat, boiling lightly, until it becomes a dark brown gelatinous looking mess. Let it cool and then store in the fridge………. Dosage is 1 tsp/10 lbs, and I give it 5 minutes before the meal, or when you notice any gastric upset.
We give our Prince Harry the Fancy Feast brand. We give him chicken, chicken & liver, and beef and liver. We have found that beef alone causes stomach upset. But the important part is we ONLY get the ones marked “Grilled”. We also drain and squeeze out any of the gravy and juice. We also restrict the amount to NO MORE than 1/4 of one of the small cans.
Unless you are having unusual problems with hairball, I would not give laxatone any more than twice a week. Our little prince gets his on Wed and Sat. Although we have 1/3 of his dry food a hairball formula. Per our breeder we have always feed him 1/3 Iams Regular Chicken, 1/3 Iams Hairball Formula, and 1/3 Royal Canin Indoor Cat Formula 27.
The only time that he has had any problem with throwing up is if we give him any canned meat other than the “grilled”, we gave him more than 1/4 of the can at a time, or we did not drain and squeeze out any liquid from the meat. If we follow those restrictions, he has no problems at all.
We have a ragdoll his name is Bailey blue he is 4 years old, he is behaving really badly urinating on the sofa which is leather and has damaged it quite badly, causing bad ordour and damage to the leather.
He also dedicates on the floor of the kitchen instead of using the litter tray, we have put him in the kitchen to prevent him causing damage to the sofa.
We have an other 2 cats, a male and a female aged about 13 and 14, we have tried disaplining him but nothing seems to be working, could you please advise me on disaplining him or preventing him from this bad behaviour.
Kind regards
Les Batty
Les Batty
I would suggest that you NOT try to discipline Bailey. This type of behavior indicates that something is wrong with Bailey. I have the following suggestions.
1. Take Bailey to the vet. Explain the problem to the vet and have the vet check for any physical issues that may be contributing to this behavior. Has Bailey been neutered? If not, discuss with the vet any benefits to this procedure.
2. If it is not physical, it could by psychological. Consider carefully everything in Bailey’s environment. Have you been playing with him as much as in the past? Have you been feeding the same food? Is the litter box in the same place? Have you changed litter boxes? Have you changed the type of litter? Have you cleaned the litter box with a strong cleaner? Do you clean the litter box regularly. It should be emptied and cleaned with a very mild cleaner at least once a month. The litter box should be scooped at least twice a day. Changes in Bailey’s environment or how he is treated or changes in his routine may be upsetting Bailey.
3. The urine odor in the sofa or the sofa has to GO. As long as Bailey can smell the odor in that spot, he will keep returning to that spot. After you have a clean sofa, you may want to consider covering it with a large sheet of plastic, particularly during the day when you are not there. The crinkling of the plastic will sometimes discourage cats from getting on the sofa.
Our 9 month old ragdoll (F) has not been eating her wet food. We tried changing texture and flavors with no success. She eats her “Chicken Soup itten dry food” with no problem and has plenty of energy and everything else is normal. Any thoughts/suggestions
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