Play is an essential activity for your Ragdoll cat. Play provides your cat or kitten exercise, an outlet for excess energy, and a bonding experience for both owner and cat. Most cat owners can spend hours watching their cats play. Even elderly cats become kitten-like when batting around a catnip toy. Every cat has their favorite type of activity and toy; some love bags, others love stuffed toys. Cardboard boxes are an all-time favorite toy for cats. A simple bankers box can provide your cat with hours of enjoyment.
Other home-made toys your Ragdoll might enjoy include the plastic rings from milk jugs, plastic bottle caps, drinking straws, a ball of yarn, even a sock sprinkled with catnip. Popular toys from the pet shop include catnip mice, the fishing pole with a feather lure, and other wad type toys. Keep things like plastic bags, paperclips, your curling iron, and any small items that could choke your cat out of reach.
Should You Let Your Ragdoll Play Outdoors?
In a word, no. Ragdoll cats are exclusively indoor cats and should not be allowed outdoors unless you are there to keep an eye out. One of the traits Ragdoll cats posses is they are non-aggressive to the point that they will not defend themselves when provoked. This could lead to serious injury if your Ragdoll is ever attacked by another animal or an evil child.
Keeping Your Cat Indoors Will Keep Them Safe
In addition to the risk of attack by another animal there is the possibility that your Ragdoll will be run over by a car, shot, stolen, poisoned, or lost. There is also the danger of disease such as rabies, infestation by fleas, ear mites, fungus, ringworm, parasites, or any number of diseases. If your Ragdoll cat is bitten by another animal he or she could form a fatal abscess. The best way to keep your Ragdoll safe and out of trouble is to keep him or her indoors at all times.
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My Ragdoll is surrounded by 4 dogs and she thinks she is one of them. When they get a treat, she wants a treat. When I say “who wants to go outside?”, she is usually first in line. I put a gate on my porch, and she stays on the deck. She likes the summer and the bugs.
She got out a few days ago when I didn’t notice, and she got down onto the lawn… and there was still snow. I told her to get back and she looked at me, came a little closer, looked around, saw there were still dogs out, and stayed where she was.
I kept an eye on her, and when the dogs wanted in, she sauntered back to the porch, but it was cold so I closed the door. When she had climbed the stairs and come to the door, she started banging in it, like let me in now! I let her in the yard during the summer, on a harness and leash, but she doesn’t really like grass.
In case anyone is worried… my yard is fenced with a solid wood fence all around my half acre, and it’s secure.
As for playing, her favourite toy is a piece of bra strap I cut off and she found in my sewing room. She has been playing with that piece of fabric for a year and she now shares it with a puppy.
And I know she thinks she is a dog because when I do my daily obedience practice with the dogs, heeling and doing recalls, when I am done the dogs, Diva is sitting at the end of the hall, waiting for her recall exercise.
During the winter, I have a tunnel in the house, and she loves it. If I tell her to “tunnel”, she runs through it, and then back to me and sits right in front of me.
Every night, we do her obedience… she will sit, sit up, give one paw then the other, gimme 5, down, stay on command, and her stay will last over 5 minutes with a treat within easy reach and will only take it when I say “take it” or “ok” or the go of “on your mark, get set, go”, purring the whole time.