Appearance of the Ragdolls : A large cat with semi-long hair
This massive cat is distinguished by its very soft coat relatively hypoallergenic. Its mid-length coat, which has few undercoats, has an extremely silky touch, which gives the animal a fluffy appearance. In addition, this impression is amplified by the presence of a collar around the Ragdoll's neck.
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Its head is medium and its ears are rounded, fairly wide apart. Its hind legs are a little longer, which slants its back slightly. His big, bright blue eyes make him an amazing cat.
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The Ragdoll is one of the big pedigree cats. Females weigh up to 6.5kg while males can weigh up to 9.5kg. They can measure up to 1.20 meters in length (from the nose to the tip of the tail) and 40 cm in height.
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How big is an adult Ragdoll? It takes a while for a Ragdoll to reach its full size. They are not fully grown until they are 3 or 4 years old.
Origin of the Ragdoll (wikipedia reference)
The ragdoll is a breed of cats originating in UNITED STATES. The name of this large cat comes from an amazing peculiarity: when carried, it becomes as soft as a rag doll, “ragdoll” in English.
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The breed is from UNITED STATES,more precisely from Riverside in California. It was created in 1963 by Ann Baker, breeder of persians.
Ann Baker mated a white cat to fur mid-lengths named Josephine with a male of unknown origin named Blackie.
In the United States, the Ragdoll is recognized from 1965. In 1969, a couple ofbreeders, Laura and Denny Dayton, buy from Ann Baker four ragdolls and establish a breeding under the name of Blossom Time.
Ann Baker creates in 1971 the International Ragdoll Cat Association (I.R.C.A) It keeps control over the descendants of Josephine and imposes many constraints on other ragdoll breeders, so much so that 1994, a group of breeders decides to cut ties with the ragdoll world and creates from this breed a new one, named ragamuffin.
In Europe, the first ragdolls, direct descendants of Josephine, are imported to the Britain in nineteen eighty one. They are two friends English who, intrigued by what they hear from the American media, decide to breed each other. They each get a couple of the cattery 'Blossom Time'. These four cats were instrumental in establishing the breed in Europe.
A club of enthusiasts "British ragdoll Club" is founded in 1987 and the breed is recognized by the GCCF in 1991 ; a year later, the FIFe does the same.
Meanwhile, the ragdoll is introduced in Germany (1985) and in France (1986) by Noëlle Vialatte at the “Cattery of Gailande” in Biarritz. This is a couple from one of the first two breedings of English friends: "Patriarca Ragabarfield", a male colourpoint blue, and “Patriarca Rag Blossom”, a bicolor female Seal. The breed is recognized that same year by the ANCFF. The first litter was born in France at Noëlle Vialatte in 1988.
The First Ragdolls in France 1986
The first French club The Ragdoll Club France [archive] is created in 1993.
The founder of the breed, Ann Baker, dies in January 1997.
The different coat colors and paterns of the Ragdolls
The Ragdoll is one of the "point" type cats (like the Siamese or the Sacred Birman for example). The colors are visible only at the extremities, that is to say at the level of the ears, the legs and the tail. The rest of the coat is lighter.
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In the Ragdoll, different colors are possible: seal, blue (dilution of the seal), chocolate, lilac (dilution of the chocolate), red, cream (dilution of the red) are the most common.
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Ragdoll Seal mitted
Aquarinedolls Muffin Blue bicolor
Fantasia Born to be Mine Seal Tortie Mitted
The main patterns are Colourpoint, Mitted and Bicolor.
- Colourpoint: the base colour is white or light, with a darker shade on the mask, tail, ears and legs. The basic body colour does not have to be uniform: shading and lighter areas, particularly on the chest, are permitted.
- Mitted : He has a white edge on the front legs and entirely white hind legs. The chest is white down to the chin. Apart from these particularities, the Mitted ragdoll is like the colorpoint: light base, ears, mask and tail with dark patches. Some may have a white patch on the nose, known as a flame. This is a mark of elegance.
- Bicolor: Ragdolls designated as "bicolor" also have a light spotted pattern and wear an upside-down "V" mask on the cat's face as symmetrically as possible (the nose is always pink). The legs are white.
Also, like point type cats, Ragdoll kittens are born white and only develop their full colors by the third or even fourth year! ​
La Belleza Cherry Lilac Tabby Mitted
lilac point
Tanao Sweetcute LP Blue Tabby Mitted
Ragdoll Red bicolor
Travis Maszkotka *PL Blue Mitted
Ragdoll Seal Bicolor Tabby
The character of the Ragdoll
Ragdolls are very social cats. They are gentle, calm, whose meow is quite gentle but above all playful and cuddly and love to track their human like little dogs. Many breeders often call them "dogs in cats' bodies".
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The Ragdoll often fully integrates into its family. However, for his well-being and development, we recommend that you ensure that he has a cat or dog playmate.
The Ragdoll's Way of Life: An Indoor Cat
Ragdolls are indoor cats, although they also enjoy a balcony or garden.
They are not really adapted to outdoor dangers such as cat fights, dog attacks or traffic hazards.
As it's advisable not to let them outside, you need to keep them mentally and physically stimulated. We recommend that you don't leave your pet alone for too long.
Before adopting a Ragdoll, ask yourself if your home is big enough for it not to feel cramped. Cat trees, scratching posts and hammocks can help your Ragdoll exercise or observe what's going on outside. These accessories can be used for playing, observing or napping.
What's more, you can adopt a Ragdoll if you have small children or other pets. Their calm, collected temperament makes them very sociable.
Ragdoll care
The breed's medium length coat is low maintenance due to the lack of undercoat. Our cats love to be brushed but it is recommended to do it from time to time so that they stay used to it. Some of our cats like Lili and Tanao do not require any brushing except a knot once a year, others like Laly, Tango, Travis and Topaze are brushed once a week or so.
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However, during moulting in spring and autumn, it may be advisable to carry out a brushing daily. Particular attention should be paid to the hair on the belly and between the legs, which can get tangled more easily.
The health of the Ragdoll
They don't have any particular health issues. However, some of them have a predisposition to certain hereditary diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or polycystic kidney disease (PKD).
It is very important to make sure that the parents of your future kitten are not carriers. For this reason, all our breeders are DNA tested negative for these diseases.
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If your Ragdoll is not affected by these diseases, he can easily live between 12 and 15 years, sometimes more.