Bubbles the Ragdoll Cat Who Looks Like a Dog

Bubbles lives in South Africa

When people first meet Bubbles they think he is a dog. Why would anyone confuse a large fluffy cat as a dog you may ask? At the time of the mistake in identity, Bubbles is generally hanging his head out of the window of the car, eyes wide, fur around his neck blowing in the wind, or sitting on the center console inside the car having a feed out of my hand.

No one can and does believe that a cat drives in a car like he does, loves watching the scenery out of the window, sleeps like a baby on the back seat, comes for snacks during the drive and sometimes stretches out on the dashboard like a fluffy dash cover (although for safety reasons we try to avoid this).

That’s what makes Bubbles unique, but it is his amazing personality that makes him special.

Bubbles has always been a travelling cat. We waited patiently for 13 weeks to be allowed to take him home from the breeder. The second he realized that the world was bigger than 1 room he was so excited and wanted to see more and more. At the time, we were building a house outside of the city. Each weekend we were required to take the 2 hour drive to go and check on the building. Bubbles was still really small so we would pop him in the car and bring him along. The car was packed with Bubbles food, a small litter box and a bowl of water, the air conditioner would be put on full so he didn’t get too warm and we would begin the journey. I never knew a cat could be so relaxed in the car; in fact the car is still the only place where I can get away with brushing Bubbles without getting bitten or meowed at.

When we arrived at the building site, Bubbles would help us “inspect” the work that had been done. He would walk around; look under, over and on top of everything. But he was always right by our side. He loved these outings, his little eyes would light up, he would play hide and seek around the walls and when he was tired he would find a patch of shade to lie in and we would sit down and have a picnic sitting on a blanket in the middle of a building site.

When we drove slowly out of the estate, the security team would simply shake their heads at us as they say Bubbles hanging out the window and it wasn’t long before they recognized him more often than they recognized us.

These trips took place weekly for the better portion of a year. Bubbles however, having realized that the world was MUCH bigger than the 4 walls of his apartment, was never happy with just staying at home. We both worked during the day and Bubbles craved attention so the only solution that we could come up with was to take turns taking Bubbles to work. Luckily for both of us, we had bosses that loved animals!

The building is now done and we try to go down to the country atleast twice a month. We called the house Bubble heaven because it really is. Bubbles loves the freedom of being able to go outdoors even though it is always under supervision. The place is pretty wild so we often have some zebra, pigs and mongoose running around the garden. This is the best gift we could give Bubbles as he lies in the grass, tail going mad, and likes to pretend that he can hunt just as well as his ancestors. In the evenings we all take walks together. When we get tired we sit at the top of the driveway and watch the sun going down. Bubbles will come and lie between my husband and I, looking very content and get a nice face scratch.

I try to find a way of spoiling Bubbles at every opportunity. This isn’t as easy as it sounds because he is extremely fussy, large and strong. Bubbles is such a huge part of our lives, I can’t imagine not sharing my days with him. He has never been a snuggly cat but he loves being with us. If we are inside then so is he. If we are outside then so is he. He loves to have his head scratched but touching anywhere lower that his neck will get you a beating. We adore his adventurous spirit and his sense of humor.

Earlier this year, we decided that Bubbles would be the perfect quality inspector for pet products so we decided to start making our own functional pet products. Our company is called Pannolino Pets which means pamper in Italian. Our very first product is a stunning litter tray that looks like a car and is appropriate because Bubbles drives a lot. If you would like to take a look, please go to our website www.pannolinopets.com. Bubbles has also started writing a blog called Bubbles view of the world http://www.tumblr.com/blog/bubblesviewoftheworld if you would like to hear more about his adventures.

With love,
Tanya and Bubbles