Independent profile — not affiliated with Ridgeview Ragdolls
Ridgeview Ragdolls
Ridgeview Ragdolls is a small, home-based cattery in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, run by Lori Lambert, offering Ragdoll kittens under the TICA-registered cattery name "Ridgeviewrags" (TICA member since August 18, 2014, with litters still being registered as of August 2026). Kittens currently start around $2,850 and go up depending on pattern and color, with a $250 non-refundable deposit to reserve one; breeding cats are said by the cattery to test negative for HCM and PKD1, though USAComplaints has not independently reviewed the lab reports.
A complaint posted on ComplaintsBoard in April 2021 (updated June 2024) alleges a kitten purchased for $1,800 developed diarrhea on arrival and was later diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), with the buyer reporting roughly $2,500 in veterinary costs; the breeder reportedly required an autopsy report confirming FIP before offering a replacement, which the buyer characterizes as a refusal. A separate 2024 comment on the same complaint describes a reserved kitten being sold to another buyer, though that commenter says their deposit was refunded. At least two other reviewers on Floppycats.com describe positive experiences. This is a small and mixed public record, not large enough to establish an overall complaint rate.
A different, unrelated breeder that has also operated under the name "Ridgeview Ragdolls" (owner Tamie/Tammie Knowles, Clinton, Tennessee) is a distinct business from this Virginia cattery. The Virginia cattery's own website explicitly disclaims any association with that Tennessee operation, and older complaint records (2014) tied to the Tennessee owner do not describe this business.
No Better Business Bureau profile was found for the Virginia cattery, and a Virginia state business-registry check did not complete during this review.
Contacts
- Phone/Text: 276-525-5134
- Email: [email protected]
- Official website: https://ridgeviewragdolls.com/
Locations
| Type | Address |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 482 Simon Dr Big Stone Gap VA 24219 |
About Ridgeview Ragdolls
Ridgeview Ragdolls is a small, home-based ("in-home") cattery operated by Lori Lambert in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. The company's own site says it was previously located in Saint Paul, Virginia. The cattery breeds Ragdoll cats registered with The International Cat Association (TICA) under the cattery name "Ridgeviewrags" — TICA's own cattery listing confirms this directly, showing membership since August 18, 2014, matching phone number and location, and a litter registered as recently as August 1, 2026.
The company's website states kittens are vaccinated, dewormed, vet-checked, litter-trained, and spayed or neutered before placement at 12–16 weeks old, and that breeding cats are tested negative for the genetic conditions HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and PKD1 (polycystic kidney disease); this is the breeder's own claim, and USAComplaints has not independently reviewed the underlying lab reports. A negative HCM DNA test only rules out one known mutation (R820W in the MYBPC3 gene) and does not guarantee a cat will never develop HCM. The site advertises a one-year genetic guarantee backed by a written kitten contract.
Contact is by phone or text at 276-525-5134 or by email at [email protected]; the site states these are the fastest ways to reach the breeder. Accepted payment methods listed on the site include PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay, a mailed personal check, and cash at pickup. The cattery states it does not allow prospective buyers to visit in person, citing disease-prevention concerns, and does not offer stud services.
Kittens currently start around $2,850 and go up depending on color and pattern, per the cattery's own current pricing page; a non-refundable $250 deposit is required to reserve a kitten (verified 2026-08-24 — prices and terms can change).
Is Ridgeview Ragdolls Legitimate?
A complaint posted on ComplaintsBoard.com in April 2021 (last updated June 2024) states the buyer paid $1,800 for a kitten from this cattery that developed diarrhea within about 10 minutes of arrival, was seen by a veterinarian five times, and was ultimately diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). FIP was historically almost routinely fatal, but modern antiviral treatment (GS-441524) has substantially changed outcomes: veterinary guidance from the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD) reports recovery in the large majority of treated cases, and a compounded oral form of the drug has been legally available through US veterinarians since mid-2024 — this was not yet the standard treatment landscape in 2021, when the complaint in question occurred. The complaint states the buyer spent approximately $2,500 on veterinary care. The buyer says the breeder, identified in the complaint as Lori Lambert of ridgeviewragdolls.com, would not provide an immediate replacement and instead asked for an autopsy report confirming the FIP diagnosis before replacing the kitten; the buyer characterizes this as a refusal, while the breeder's own contemporaneous comments (quoted in the complaint) describe having replaced three prior kittens that died of FIP in ten years of breeding. No public response from the breeder specifically on the ComplaintsBoard thread was found. A separate comment posted on the same complaint page in June 2024 by a different user alleges a reserved kitten was sold to another family without notice; that commenter states their deposit was refunded.
Beyond that complaint, at least two other reviewers on the ragdoll-breeder comparison site Floppycats.com describe positive experiences, including healthy kittens and good communication from the breeder. Taken together, the independent review footprint for this cattery is small and mixed — one detailed 2021 complaint, one 2024 comment on that same thread, and at least two positive accounts — which is not a large enough sample to estimate an overall complaint rate in either direction.
Distinct from a same-named Tennessee breeder. A separate cattery that has also done business as "Ridgeview Ragdolls," operated by Tamie (also spelled Tammie) Knowles in Clinton, Tennessee, is a different business from the Virginia cattery described on this page. That Tennessee operation has its own, older complaint record dated 2014 alleging a kitten died of FIP with no compensation offered; USAComplaints was unable to independently confirm the primary Ripoff Report source or the outcome of a referenced Knoxville-area BBB case, so those specific claims are not repeated here as established fact. The Virginia cattery's own website explicitly states it is "not associated with 'Ridgeviews Rags' or 'Tennessee Ragdolls,'" and none of the 2014 Tennessee-linked records are attributed to the Virginia business on this page.
No Better Business Bureau profile could be located for the Virginia cattery, and an attempt to check the Virginia State Corporation Commission's business-entity registry did not complete during this review; legal-entity status is accordingly unverified rather than confirmed as an unregistered sole proprietorship.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the same “Ridgeview Ragdolls” as the one in Clinton, Tennessee?
No. The Virginia cattery covered on this page, run by Lori Lambert in Big Stone Gap, VA, is a different business from a breeder that has also used a similar name, run by Tamie (Tammie) Knowles in Clinton, TN. The Virginia cattery's own website states it is not associated with that Tennessee operation. Complaint records dated 2014 involving the Tennessee owner describe that separate business, not this one.
What was the FIP complaint about?
A buyer who said they paid $1,800 for a kitten filed a complaint on ComplaintsBoard.com in 2021 (updated 2024) stating the kitten developed diarrhea on arrival and was later diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). FIP was historically almost always fatal, though modern antiviral treatment has significantly improved survival odds since this complaint was filed. The buyer says the breeder required an autopsy report confirming FIP before offering a replacement kitten, which the buyer describes as a refusal. This is the main published complaint about this cattery; a June 2024 comment on the same thread adds a separate allegation about a reserved kitten, and at least two other reviewers describe positive experiences elsewhere.
Are Ridgeview Ragdolls kittens TICA registered?
Yes. TICA's own cattery-detail page for “Ridgeviewrags” directly confirms this, showing membership since August 18, 2014, a matching phone number and Big Stone Gap, VA location, and litters still being registered as recently as August 1, 2026. TICA registration and litter-registration activity are not the same as an independent health or business-practices audit of the breeder.