Ragdoll Cat Information and Personality Traits

 

A large, long-bodied cat, the Ragdoll gets along well with people and can be an ideal pet for those living in an apartment setting.

 

Ragdoll At a glance
The Ragdoll Cat Breed

The Ragdoll’s soft, silky coat can vary in length from semi-long to long.

Weight range:

Male: large: >5 kg.
Female: large: >5 kg.

Eye colour:

Blue

Expectations:

Life Expectancy: 7-12 yrs.
Social/Attention Needs: Moderate
Tendency to Shed: High

Coat:

Length: Long
Characteristics: Silky
Colors: Frost, Blue, Chocolate, Seal, Red, Lilac, Bluecream, Cream
Pattern: Bicolour, Points, Mitted
Less Allergenic: No
Overall Grooming Needs: Moderate, High

Club recognition:

Cat Association Recognition:
CFA, ACFA , FIFe, TICA
Prevalence: So-so

The Ragdoll is a large, long-bodied cat, heavily boned with a long tail and a plush coat.

The Ragdoll appears even bigger than they are.

The Ragdoll has a medium-sized head, but the fur makes the face appear large. The ears are also medium sized and are set on the sides of the head to continue the look of the triangular face. The legs are long and strong. The chin should be well developed, and the oval eyes should be blue.

The Ragdoll comes in colour patterns. A Ragdoll with a colourpoint pattern has a light body colour with contrasting, darker colour on the extremities, mask and ears. The bi-colour Ragdoll also exhibits dark points, but will show an inverted V on the forehead, with the stomach, all four legs and the ruff being white. The mitted Ragdoll also shows points, but in this colour pattern, the feet are white, as is the chin.

The coat can vary in length from semi-long to long. It is soft, plush and silky.

Personality:

The Ragdoll is a placid cat but does not really go limp when you hold them. Even tempered they get along well with all family members. Changes in routine generally do not upset them.

Living With:

The Ragdoll tends to have a fatty pad on the lower abdomen. While this pad is acceptable in the breed, it is not an excuse for letting them get overweight or out of condition. The nutrition of the ragdoll should be carefully controlled to maintain a normal body condition and weight.

The Ragdoll needs interactive exercise in addition to playing room in order to keep in shape. If need be, parents should spend a dedicated period of time each day on playing.

While impressive, the coat is easier to care for than it first appears. The coat should be brushed daily, but this should be all that is needed in order to keep knots and tangles out of the coat.

History:

Despite the colourful and completely impossible legend of the origin of the Ragdoll, this beautiful cat is one of the most popular breeds in the cat fancy. What can be verified is that the breed was started in the 1960s in California. The Ragdoll may well have been a mix of the Burmese, Birman, and the Persian, but the cat credited as the original Ragdoll is a white cat named Josephine. For that reason, Ragdolls are also called the daughters of Josephine.

The creator of the Ragdoll, Ann Baker, felt that she had in Josephine a cat that was so placid that she went limp when held. This characteristic is the origin of the name. This name was copyrighted by Ann Baker and can only be used for this breed of cat.

The Ragdoll has extremely strict standards for colour placement and the breed is not allowed any outcross in breeding. However, new colours are being introduced in this breed, so the Ragdolls seen now are even more colourful than in the past.

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