Feel free to check out our available kittens page for more information about our kittens. Pictured below is our King Pierce along with the titles he has earned showing in Tica. Keep scrolling and you’ll find general information about the Ragdoll cat breed. Head over to the About us page to learn more about us and our cattery. You can also navigate our website by using the menu button above.
The Ragdoll Cat
The Ragdoll is a cat breed with a color point coat and blue eyes. They are large and muscular semi-longhair cats with a soft and silky coat. Developed by American breeder Ann Baker in the 1960s, they are best known for their docile and placid temperament and affectionate nature. The name “Ragdoll” is derived from the tendency of individuals from the original breeding stock to go limp and relaxed when picked up.[1]
Particularly popular in both the United Kingdom and the breed’s native United States, ragdoll cats are often known as “dog-like cats” or “puppy-like cats” due to such behaviors as their tendency to follow people around, their ease when physically handled, and their relative lack of aggression toward other pets.[2]
Temperament
The Ragdoll cat has a docile, calm and floppy nature. The extreme docility of some individuals has led to the myth that Ragdolls are pain-resistant.
Breed standard marketing and publicity material describes the Ragdoll as affectionate, intelligent, relaxed in temperament, gentle, and an easy-to-handle lap cat.[14][15] The animals are often known as “puppy cats“, “dog-like cats”, “cat-dogs”, etc., because of their placid nature and affectionate behavior, with the cats often following owners from room to room as well as seeking physical affection akin to certain dog breeds. Ragdolls can be trained to retrieve toys and enjoy doing so.[2]
Physical characteristics
The Ragdoll is one of the largest domesticated cat breeds, with a sturdy body, large frame, and proportionate legs. A fully-grown female weighs from 8 to 15 pounds (3.6 to 6.8 kg). Males are substantially larger, ranging from 12 to 20 pounds (5.4 to 9.1 kg) or more.[3] The genes for point coloration are responsible for the distinctive blue eyes of the Ragdoll. More intense shades of blue are favored in cat shows. Although the breed has a plush coat, it consists mainly of long guard hairs, while the lack of a dense undercoat results, according to the Cat Fanciers’ Association, in “reduced shedding and matting”.[16]
Ragdolls come in six different colors: red, seal, chocolate and the corresponding “dilutes”, including blue, lilac, and cream. This also includes the lynx and tortoiseshell variations[17] in all colors and the three patterns. Ragdoll kittens are born white; they have good color at 8–10 weeks and full color and coat at 3–4 years. The three different patterns are:
- Colorpoint – One color darkening at the extremities (nose, ears, tail, and paws).
- Mitted – Same as pointed, but with white paws and abdomen. With or without a blaze (a white line or spot on the face), but must have a “belly stripe” (white stripe that runs from the chin to the genitals) and a white chin.
- Bicolor – White legs, white inverted V on the face, white abdomen and sometimes white patches on the back. (Excessive amounts of white, or “high white”, on a bicolor are known as the Van pattern, although this does not occur nearly as often as the other patterns.)
Variations:
- Lynx – A variant of the above type having tabby markings.[19]
- Tortoiseshell or “tortie”- A variant noted for mottled or parti-colored[20] markings in the above patterns.
- Mink- comes in the traditional pointed colors, but appear richer in color. There is very minimal contrast between the point colors and the warmer areas of the body. The eye color of the mink Ragdoll is aqua, which is a greenish-blue like turquoise waters. Mink kittens are not born white like traditional Ragdolls. The minks are born with color at birth, and it darkens some with age.
- Sepia- are born with color that deepens over time to an incredibly dark and rich colored coat. Sepia’s coats are pointed so they have variations to the shades of color throughout their bodies and the darker coloring on the ears, center of face, tail, and legs. Sepia Ragdolls can have any color eye! Ranging from blue to green or gold.
- Pictured below is a seal mink mitted and a lilac lynx point bicolor Ragdoll.
