Family

---

Remembering our Ragdoll

October 1990, Marceline, Missouri - Early on a Saturday morning two teenage girls and I were in the church next to our home. We were beginning preparations for the annual Ham and Bean supper. The girls came to me with a puzzled look on their faces. “Sis. Welborn, we hear a kitten crying, but we can’t find it.” I listened carefully, yes, I heard it too. We looked in the church but didn’t find it, so we went outside. The crawl space door was open. I began calling, “Here kitty, kitty”. Out came a beautiful little beige and brown kitten with big blue eyes. It appeared to be a Siamese. I noticed that he had big feet, a long tail and very long whiskers. It was love at first sight.
Since we already had a part-Siamese cat, Abby, and a poodle, Dinky, my son and I sneaked the kitten in the house. We would have to think of some way to convince Daddy to let us keep this kitten. We named him “Ben II” after my first Siamese cat. What an adorable little guy he was - full of fun and love. The older animals in the house learned to tolerate him.
As Ben II began to get older, I realized that he was not a Siamese. I did some research and discovered that he was a “Ragdoll” breed. I found that all Ragdolls have large blue eyes, and rabbit like fur. They are called “Ragdolls” because of their love of lying like a toy rag doll, limp, with their head and legs hanging over an edge. They are listed as being the largest breed of domestic cats, being from 12 to 20 pounds. (Our Ben weighted 18 pounds in his prime). The kittens are very light in color and gradually reach their true color at about two years old.
Ragdolls are available in six colors and three patterns. These include the Seal (Dark Brown), Chocolate (Milk Chocolate), Blue (Slate Grey/ Blue), Lilac Point (Lavender Grey), Red Point (Orange) and Cream (Pale Cream) colors and the patterns are Bicolor, Mitted and Colorpoint.
The Colorpoint pattern is your basic Siamese coat pattern. With color on all the points head, legs and tails and a pale body. The Bicolor is the same with a white inverted V blaze on the face, all white legs and white underbelly (Ben was a Bicolor). The Mitted pattern is the same as the colorpoint with a white chin, white mittens on their feet, white underbelly and a small blaze above the nose can occur. All patterns occur with all four-color patterns and pale body color.
All Ragdolls are very laid-back and loving. They enjoy being held like a baby and often lay on their back with legs in the air. However, they are also playful and mischievous. They are very adaptable and offer wonderful companionship.
Ben started out being our son’s cat, but in time, he attached himself to my husband. Whatever room Wayne was in, there was Ben at his feet. And when Wayne sat in his recliner, Ben would be on his lap. I couldn’t help but be a little jealous, but that’s just the way it was. Ben even saved Wayne’s life many times by waking him during an attack of low-blood sugar.
After 17 years of loving companionship, our Ragdoll has left us. He was ill for several weeks. It has been difficult to let him go, but he brought us so much joy.

I feel sorry for people who don’t have pets. They do not know what they are missing. Yes, an animal can be a bit of a bother, and a nuisance at times. But the good they offer far outweighs the bad. They fill your home with love and companionship. I have had quite a few pets over the years. I even had a red-bellied turtle for a while (after a couple years, I took him back to the lake - turtles are rather difficult little creatures). Our Ben II was the best of all. We are thankful for the time that he spent with our family. Will we ever bring another cat into our home? It seems unlikely at this time, the pain of losing Ben is too fresh - but I won’t say “never”.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE