Ragdoll Cat Rescue Guide: Resources & Tips to Find Your New Feline Friend

Ragdoll Cat Rescue

Floppycats is not a Ragdoll Rescue – however, we know many people find this page needing help to locate a Ragdoll cat rescue.  This page is intended to list resources to help people looking for a Ragdoll cat in need of rescue. 

If you know of additional resources, please do add them to the comments on this page. Unfortunately, as with most pets, Ragdoll cats need to be rescued or rehomed. While there is no one Rescue Group for Ragdolls in the United States, there are several Ragdoll Cat Rescue groups (please see the links to them below).

Jump to:

• Ragdoll Cat Rescue
• Retired Ragdolls for Sale
• How to Find Ragdoll Rescues Online
• Pet Rescue and Transportation Groups
• Ad Analysis – How to Avoid Scams
• Caring for a Rescued Cat

Retired Ragdolls for Sale

You can always check with breeders to see if they have any retired breeder Ragdolls that need to find a permanent forever home and sometimes breeders know of adult Ragdoll cats needing to be rehomed for a variety of reasons.

We do list Ragdolls needing rehoming on a regular basis on our Facebook page. Finding a Ragdoll Rescue can be a lot of work, but it will be well worth your effort! Below is a list of resources online that might have Ragdolls listed for adoption. 

Make sure you check out all the Ragdoll cat rescues, because if there is a cat that you are interested in, but it is not in your area, sometimes arrangements can be made to get that feline to you through RESCUE AND TRANSPORTATION GROUPS.

Also, please be aware that most shelters list Ragdolls erroneously under Himalayan and/or Siamese, since Ragdolls are still not a very well-known breed of cat. Another great resource for finding a purebred Ragdoll cat for sale is to do a search on AdoptaPet.com, Rescueme.org, Petfinder.com or Craigslist.com in your home town or surrounding areas.

There are a lot of Ragdolls out there that have been called a Himalayan or Siamese, so be sure to check them all! On Craig’s List, it is very important to be careful with the transaction. 

You want to meet in a public place, exchange cash only and be very careful that you’re not being scammed or robbed.  There are Craig’s List success stories for ragdoll kittens for sale, though!

• AdoptaPet.com
• Rescueme.org
• Purebreds Plus Rescue
• Merlin’s Hope: A Ragdoll and Maine Coon Rescue – Located in Ennis, TX and serving TX and nearby states if you come to them! They also do courtesy posts of Ragdolls in need on their Facebook page.
• Ragdoll Rescue on Rescueme.org – Search for Ragdolls in Need in your state. Phone (rescue emergencies only please): (888) 303-9454 [toll free]
• Ragdoll International Rescue
• Pet Finder
• Craigslist.org – Be sure to read about scams on Craig’s List – you can find Ragdoll cats needing rehoming no here, but there are also a lot scams, so be very careful.
• Overstock.com Pet Rescue

Need help getting your kitty to you?  Or want to help transport a kitty?  Here’s an extensive list of RESCUE AND TRANSPORTATION GROUPSPilots and Paws – They are a 501c3 organization wherein pilots volunteer their time and airplanes to fly animals in need from place to place.

Sometimes it’s to rescue; sometimes it’s to their forever homes. When the hurricane hit Houston a while back, pilots flew in en masse to empty the shelters to shelters further away so that animals displaced by the storm would have somewhere to go.

Anyone can request a rescue flight. Just register on the website and put the need up. Planes have much longer legs than cars, so even cross-country trips can be arranged. Because the time is so much less, the stress on the animals is much less too.

How to Find Ragdoll Rescues Online

Your search for Ragdoll rescue centers will most likely begin online. It is very important that you target your search because this will give you the most relevant results. One element you should always include in your search is your location.

For instance, googling “ragdoll rescue” will lead you to a long list of Ragdoll cat resources, most of which might be far away. Moreover, the ones in your area might be on the 3rd page in search, which you are probably not going to reach.

If you try “ragdoll rescue florida” instead, you will get all the rescue centers in Florida listed first. This will help you get the information you need and it will save you a lot of time sorting through data you do not need.

Ragdoll-Specific Centers Might Be More Difficult to Find

If you are looking for a Ragdoll cat to adopt, then you should absolutely start with Ragdoll-specific rescue centers, but you shouldn’t stop there. Due to the immense popularity of the breed, there are centers dedicated to rescuing Ragdolls alone.

However, these are not the only places where you can find a Ragdoll cat in need of a home. Take your time and look for Ragdolls in cat adoption centers as well because you might find Raggies there as well.

Take Your Time with the Search

There are a lot of Ragdoll cats in need of rescue out there, but adopting one is a long-term commitment. You should feel a connection to the cat, so keep looking until you find that cat with that story that triggers something in you.

You’ll know it when it happens, so take your time. Look at the pictures, read the stories, and, hopefully, you will find your Raggie. Other Ragdoll Reading: Are Cats Nocturnal?How to Get Rid of Hairballs in CatsReader Favorite Products

Pet Rescue and Transportation Groups

Whether you are looking to rescue a kitty from another state or if you are looking to help a kitty get to their new home, you may be curious to know more about Pet Rescue and Transportation Groups. Amanda, a Floppycats’ reader, spoke about two groups the other day on a Facebook post and I wanted to share them here.

Underground Railroad Rescued Kitty Network URRKN  and Imagine Home are both transport groups that utilize a volunteer driver network to move cats from one location to another.  Generally it’s shelter rescued cats, but they have also taken a soldier’s cat to his mother, and will return the kitty to him when he returns to the US.

URRKN has a pretty extensive list of RESCUE AND TRANSPORTATION GROUPS

Amanda commented on her experience with them:

I’ve done a trip for each of them, so they are very efficient and very successful.

The cat’s FELV/FIV status is irrelevant, they are all eligible for transport.  Where the trip would take them over 10 hours travel in a day, they ask for kitty B&Bs for overnight stops before resuming the next day.  This allows the kitties to go eat, potty and settle for the night while not in a moving vehicle.

Very often there are multiple kitties in one transport if they are following the same route, but when the routes diverge the drivers meet in safe spots.

While these two organisations do NOT ever pull kitties from shelters and arrange temporary fostering until transport can be arranged, both of their facebook pages have links to people that do.

Routes between east and west Texas are sparsely tended so if the kitty must pass through this route then the kitty adopter may need to allow more time with a foster family.

Ad Analysis – How to Avoid Scams

Buying a Ragdoll cat is an investment. While this breed is very popular, it is also expensive. Rescuing a Ragdoll cat is possible and there are plenty of success stories out there. However, there are also quite a few scams because some people try to make money in the process. If your search has led you to Craigslist, then you are dealing with individual ads and not shelters.

You have to keep an eye out for scams when you look for Ragdoll cats to rescue on Craigslist or similar platforms. But how can you tell if a rescue ad is a scam or not? While there is no foolproof method, there are a few key elements that might help. Keep in mind that when people put in the effort of fostering a cat or helping it find a home, they become invested in the process.

When they write about the cat, you can almost always tell that they care about the cat. The pictures in the ad must be real. Try doing a Google image search on each of the images in the add. If you find them on other sites or connected to ads about another cat, then you might be dealing with a scam.

If there are several pictures in the ad, look closely to see if all the pictures are of the same cat. If the tone of the article is right, the pictures are unique, and the financial request is reasonable, then you can go to the next step, which is contacting the person who placed the ad.

Talking to a person might reveal more useful information. If everything seems right after this as well, then you should set a meeting. Make sure that this is in a public place, for your safety. If possible, take somebody with you to the meeting.

Keep in mind that going to a meeting to see a cat does not mean that you have an obligation to go through with the adoption. If fact, you should mention this when you talk to the person. If they are truly invested in the cat’s wellbeing, they will understand why you need to see the cat before you can make a decision.

Caring for a Rescued Cat

Once you’ve found the Ragdoll that you were looking for, you might check out a list of names for your kitty, if you don’t think the name she or he was given at the shelter was appropriate for her or his personality. It might take the cat a bit to get used to the new name, but, in a few weeks, it will answer to it. Remember to be persistent with the new name.

Try petting the cat and calling it by its new name. This way, it will associate the name with a pleasant experience. This will be a good way for it to ease into its new identity. Also, a reader once told me about this book – Starting from Scratch – which offers great insight to strange cat behaviors. 

When you don’t know the history of your cat (or even if you do), it’ll help you solve some of the troubling issues you might experience.

Socializing the Cat

If you currently have a resident kitty who you are thinking about finding a friend for, be sure to read our How to Introduce New Cats to Your Household page. The cat will need some time to get used to its new surroundings, so you should expect it to be a bit edgy for the first week or so.

The first day will be the hardest, but then, it will get easier with each day. An important milestone is when the cat finds a spot in the house where it feels safe and comfortable. When this happens, let the cat settle in on its own, and then, gradually, you can start connecting with it in the place of its choice. As for the members of your family, the cat should meet them one by one.

Everybody will be excited to meet the cat, but since this is a stressful situation for it, keep in mind that it is best to take turns in the beginning. If everybody goes to pet the cat at the same time, then it might feel stressed out, which will make the adjustment process more difficult.

Rescued cats can be more difficult to socialize. Depending on where they came from and how they were treated by their previous owners, the cats might be dealing with stress or even traumas. Hopefully, you can get information about this from the person giving the cat up for adoption. Be patient with rescued cats and it will pay off in the long run.

Some of them might need a bit more time to adjust to their new surroundings, but when they do, you are sure to feel their gratitude. Cats are very resilient animals, so with the love and care that you provide, even those coming from a problematic background will thrive.

The Medical Checkup

A rescued cat is most likely not a kitten anymore. When you adopt an adult cat, you should get a clear idea about its health. Some illnesses may not be visible because there could be no symptoms to notice. The very first you should do is take the cat to a veterinarian.

It should get a detailed check-up and a general blood work panel. This will relay if there are any underlying issues you should be aware of. For instance, a cat with kidney problems might not display symptoms, but it does need a special diet and close monitoring.

If you have access to the cat’s medical history, then it is extremely important that you pass this information on to the doctor. If the cat does have any issues, then the doctor will prescribe a treatment. Another important aspect is the cat’s vaccinations. If you have access to the cat’s medical records, then the doctor can check when its last vaccination was.

Based on this, the vet will determine when its next vaccination should be. Together with the doctor, you can also find out what the cat’s diet should be. This must include all the nutrients that the cat needs and it should be adapted to the cat’s breed, age, and medical background.

Long-Term Cat Care

Caring for a Ragdoll cat means spending time with it, giving it affection, and giving it the right diet, but it also means grooming it. Long-haired cats must be groomed regularly to maintain a healthy coat. You have to get the right tools to groom your Ragdoll cat, and you have to put in the time. After a while, grooming will become bonding time between you and your new cat.

Did you rescue a Ragdoll cat? How or where did you find your Ragdoll cat in need? How is your relationship with the cat? Tell us all about your experience in the comments section below.

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Beware of scams though. If you see cheap ragdoll kittens for sale or $500 Ragdolls be sure to read these first.

• How to Know a Reputable Breeder from a Bad One: An Interview with Sharon Shulby
• Should You Buy Ragdoll Kittens For Sale on Craigslist?
• Bad Ragdoll Breeders
• Ragdoll Cat Price