Ragdoll Cats: Ideal Gentle Companions for Children

I was raised with Ragdoll cats.  Of course, I didn’t get my first one until I was 8 years old, but when we got Rags, when I was 10, my sister, Amy, was not yet born.  So she was truly raised with my Rags.  My cousins (children of my mom’s twin sister and my mom’s older sister) were also raised with Ragdolls.  So in our family Ragdoll cats and children were hand in hand.  However, I know a lot of people looking to get a cat, are interested in knowing if it’s true that Ragdoll cats are good with young children.  And while in general, I think they are, there are so many factors that go into whether or not they will be good with children.  Such as:

• Your respect level for animals and how you introduce them to the children
• What you allow your children to do and not do and what you teach them about respecting an animal
• Your respect level for children and their desire to learn

Of course, I am not the expert in this area – so I want to hear your experiences with Ragdolls and young children too!

You’ll see in the videos below, my nephew’s experience with my parents’ Ragdoll cats, Caymus and Murphy.  They were 5 when he was born and they are now 8 and Marshall is now 3.  Remember these are my PARENTS’ CATS – they are not cats that Marshall lives with – so their tolerance of him is unbelievable to me.  Furthermore, Caymus and Murphy were not raised with young children.  When they can to live with us in 2004, my sister was 14 years old – way past the baby and young child stage.  So, it’s more impressive to me that they are OK to eat in front of him, etc.

Marshall as a baby:

Marshall now with Murphy and Caymus:

My niece and nephew with my parents’ Ragdoll, Caymus:

My niece and nephew with my parents’ Ragdoll, Caymus, again, but they are much older here:

My cousin’s Molly with her Huck:

We have also had discussions on our social media about Ragdoll cats and kids:

Photos Submitted by Readers:

Lynn writes, “This little guy could put Dinky to sleep brushing him. Have a series of pictures where Johnny is dusting off Dinky’s tail with a feather duster. Dinky just sat and let him. To funny. Going through so many pictures to find some of these gems.  Also have my grand-daughter making Fisher Price ice cream cones for Dinky the week before he passed away. The best thing is …my cats have never hissed or scratched me or any of my kids.” Hugs, Lynn

Do you have Ragdolls and children?  Tell me your experience by leaving a comment below!