WillowTreeRags
Pet Quality Waiting List
We take a limited number of deposits each season to be placed on our waiting list (3 deposits for each litter planned). We have two waiting lists per year based on our kitten “seasons” (Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter). Kittens are typically born March through May, and then August through October. Our kittens join their families typically around 13-14 weeks of age, once they’ve been spayed/neutered.
In order to be considered for a spot on our waiting list, please email us a bio about yourself. We would love your introduction email to include: your location, housing situation, information about each member of the family, if there are any children, if you have any current animals (which species/breeds, ages, how many), any past experience with cats or kittens in general, as well as past Ragdoll experience, etc. Please also include the trait(s) that draw you most to the Ragdoll breed, opposed to other breeds of cats. As well as what color, pattern, gender you are interested in if any in particular. If you are open to considering show quality kittens please also note this in your email.
Once we’ve had the chance to speak via email and if we believe you can provide a suitable, forever home for one of our kittens, we require a $1500 deposit to join our waiting list. The total amount for our pet kittens is $3500, which means you would owe $2000 at the time of reserving a specific pet quality kitten (or cash at pick-up). Our show quality kittens are $4500, which would leave $3000 remaining at the time of reservation. If show quality kittens are being placed as spayed/neutered pets due to one of our waiting list families wishing to reserve them- we do require these kittens are paid in full at the time of reservation. This is due to the fact that most of these kittens will also be available as potential Show/Breeders (for breeding) and we would be spaying/neutering them for you to reserve which is obviously not a reversible procedure.
Once you’ve officially been added to our waiting list, this is the process to expect in terms of how choosing a specific kitten and receiving updates will work going forward:
Birth: Once our litters begin to arrive, you will receive a birth announcement via email within the first week of birth. The announcement will include: kitten genders, potential color/pattern, date of birth, parents registered names, an update on our beloved Queen and how motherhood is going for her, any additional information to share. We will include at least a few photos of the litter in a group, and/or a video. Since Ragdolls are born all white and don’t develop any shading of color until 10-14 days of age, there isn’t much to share on the individual babies at this stage.
1-4 weeks of age: We have two or three updates during this stage. At around the 3 week mark, things begin to get exciting! We should know what we have for color/pattern and gender combination. In some kittens who may exhibit non-show quality mismarkings, we may be able to mark some kittens who will definitely be available as pet quality kittens to our waiting list. Others exhibiting perfect markings we will keep our eye on over the following weeks to decide whether to make them available as pets or potential show quality kittens. By the time 4 weeks hits, the kittens begin to test solid foods and that’s when litter training/weaning starts. During these updates we include both photos and/or videos of the kittens as a group as well, via email.
5-6 weeks of age: This is the age we finally take individual photos/videos of each of the kittens. At this point, I will have made a decision as to who is available as a pet quality kitten, show quality kitten OR kittens who are still under evaluation for potential show quality but who could be made available as pets in the coming weeks. At this time, those on our waiting list ARE able to officially reserve any of the specific kittens that are available. In our first individual updates we will try and get a video that helps accentuate your kitten’s personality and character best at this age. We will also include as much description as we can- please be patient as this is still a very young age to determine the more particular personality traits that you may be looking for and if we can’t “see” something yet, we will be honest and upfront with you. There is a perfect home for every kitten and we are believers in the fact that you should feel as though the kitten your bringing home has everything you wanted in a new family member.
PLEASE NOTE: Choosing is done in order of where you are on our waiting list- and your place on our waiting list is determined by when your deposit is received. If you are unsure at any point as to where you stand on our waiting list, please don’t hesitate to ask! If you have a kitten you want to reserve- all of the families above you MUST pass on that specific kitten before you are able to.
7-8 weeks of age: Between this stage and the 5-6 week stage, by 8 weeks you should have 3 individual updates for your kitten complete with photos/videos and personality/character descriptions. We feel as though our families should have a good idea about each kitten at this point where everyone is able to either pass on specific kittens or choose to reserve one. We require that our families on our list make a decision by 8 weeks of age so that it’s fair to those further down on our waiting list. If you are towards the top of our list and choose to skip an entire litter (or more) of the season, you keep your placement on our list for the next available kittens/litter and as those above you reserve kittens you will move up, naturally.
PLEASE NOTE: The families on our waiting list choose their kittens based upon our updates (typically every 7-14 days depending on their life stage) by 8 weeks old. We believe you should have an accurate set of information, photos, videos showcasing the available kitties to make as informed a decision on your new family member as possible. We don’t allow visitors for various reasons but most importantly for the health of our kittens who are not yet fully vaccinated at this age and we want to keep their exposure to an absolute minimum. You are more than welcome to pick your kitten up at our home in person when he/she is ready at an agreed upon date. When you have a kitten you want to officially reserve we will email you a copy of our contract to sign and return to make it “official”.
9-13 weeks of age: At this stage, you’ve reserved your kitty! We will aim to take photos and videos of your kitty approximately every 10 days until he/she is ready to join their forever home! Typically photos/video updates cease about a week prior to your kitten’s scheduled pick-up time, this is because of how busy we are during this time period preparing your kitten to join their forever home and with their final vet appointment, spay/neuter and recovery.
When our kittens join their forever homes, they generally only need their 3rd FVRCP (distemper) vaccine at/after 16 weeks of age and then they are set for their first year as far as vet care goes. We do include 30 days of free, full coverage pet insurance courtesy of Trupanion with all of our kittens, which must be activated by you within 24 hours of their arrival home. We highly recommend taking advantage of Trupanion’s offer specifically for our Ragdoll kittens, as an extra safety blanket for when your new kitten arrives home!
In addition, please visit the page about what our kittens include as well.
Deposits to be added to our waiting list are NON-REFUNDABLE, but are transferable to future seasons/kittens.
We look forward to helping you find your perfect, Ragdoll family member!