Every time a new litter is born I am on house arrest. I do not leave the house until the kittens are strong and thriving. There are so many risks for neonates, as the first two weeks are the most risky moments. The mother can get exhausted and maybe accidentally lay on a kitten. This is the reality of breeding. I often lack the amount of sleep because staying up everyday only sleep 2-3 hours. The most least work is when the mother gives birth to 3-4 kittens. The risk is very low, the bigger the number kittens the more work and constant monitoring and extra feedings. The mothers of my kittens never get stressed having their kittens because I am there and breeding will always be full time for me. During the first 4 days I am next to their nest 24/7. Sometimes longer depending on the health of the kittens.

​

Before breeding another litter we always check if their muscles have recovered, that is the sign a mother can have another litter of kittens. Sometimes it will take 8 months or less. It really depends so even waiting a long time to breeding a litter is also not the right way. Have to check if they have recovered their muscle tissue, because nursing depletes them of muscles reserves. The most clear sign is their butt sides. If that area hasn't gained enough muscle like before having kittens cannot have them have another litter, because it will ruin the mothers health and shorten her lifespan. Usually what speeds the recovery process is stopping the kittens from nursing after 3 months and letting the mom eat whatever she wants to have a bigger appetite for recovery. Queens start to be very experience and love being mothers after the 3rd litter. So stopping at this point is not really necessary and could cause the Queen depression. With ethical breeding it depends the age and the amount of litters in her lifetime. Since Ragdolls shouldn't be bred until 2 years old, the oldest age to stop breeding is 7 years old. Starting too soon ruins the mothers health and causes her stress. Since Ragdolls are a bigger breed it takes longer for them reproductive ability and mentality to mature. Before two years old they are still like a teen. I have always felt the most amount of time to breed a Ragdoll is 5 years any more than that risks later generations of defects. If you look through Pawpeds the previous breeders and the founder bred her queen way more than 7 years old. Which I believe is the cause of the later genetic defects of the later generations. Many breeders in China, because the lack of being able to do DNA testing retired their Queens very early to avoid the genetic defects. Now there is DNA testing available now, that they retire them later. To be an ethical breeder there is much to consider, but the main things to consider is the health of Queen and Males. Only breed healthy Queens and Males.