Grandma Ragdoll Cat's Habit Of 'Stealing' Her Grand-Kittens Is Pure Love
Pearl Downing's home is filled with babies of both the human and feline varieties. The mother of two has been in love with cats ever since she was a little girl, and now she owns Pearl's Ragdolls, a small cattery in Texas. Her TikTok and Instagram accounts feature countless videos of the adorable antics of fluffy ragdoll cats and kittens.
@pearlsragdolls The lore behind Grandma Summer
One TikTok video that's been viewed more than 1.5 million times shows three generations of Downing's ragdolls. In the video, grandma cat Summer keeps "stealing" the babies of mama cat Heidi and carrying her grand-kittens around the house. "I have noticed that Summer doesn't seem to interact with any of my other cats' babies," Downing says in the voiceover. "She really only interacts now with her daughter's babies, so a part of me believes that Summer really does know that these are her grand-kittens."
One viewer wrote, "I understand, Grandma Summer. I wanna steal the kittens too." Another explained the benefits of sharing cat-parenting responsibilities: "In feral cat colonies, it's actually pretty common for grandmas and daughters to help raise each other's kittens and even sync cycles so they have them around similar times. This way, one can watch the kittens while the other hunts."
What are the typical characteristics of a ragdoll cat?
If you're ready to adopt a cat and are considering taking home a ragdoll like Summer and Heidi, it's useful to know some of the common characteristics of the ragdoll cat breed. Ragdolls are one of the fluffiest cat breeds around, so brushing once or twice a week is recommended to keep all that fur soft and free of tangles. Since most ragdolls lack the thick, insulating undercoat commonly found on Maine coons and Norwegian forest cats, ragdolls don't tend to shed as much or get as many mats as many other fluffy felines.
When it comes to personality, ragdolls are aptly named. These cats tend to be calm and cuddly, becoming contentedly floppy whenever they're petted and snuggled. Most of them get along well with dogs, other cats, and children. Laid-back but social creatures, these friendly felines are so loving and adaptable that they frequently get compared to dogs, especially since many ragdolls enjoy playing fetch and respond well to clicker training. After watching Grandma Summer skedaddle with her sweet little grand-kittens, it's easy to see why ragdolls have rapidly become one of the most popular cat breeds in the world.