Ragdolls, as their name implies, are very laid back cats. If you want a large cat which is very placid and loves to be with people the Ragdoll may be ideal.
Ragdolls were developed in California in the early 1960’s and were created by mating a white female Persian to a male Birman, and later the Burmese was also introduced into the breeding program. Today Ragdolls are bred only to Ragdolls and no other breeds can be introduced into the breeding program. Not only did this breeding produce a most attractive cat but it also produced a characteristic which gave the breed its unusual name. When picked up these cats have a tendency to completely relax -like a floppy ragdoll.
Ragdolls are large cats with broad chests and large hindquarters. They are very slow maturing and do not reach full maturity until approximately 3 years of age.
Ragdolls have a very sweet face with large, oval, blue eyes and large, rounded ears.
Unlike Persians, whose long and profuse coat requires constant grooming, the
Ragdoll’s coat is easier managed. The medium-long coat is non-matting with a soft texture like rabbit fur. The tail is bushy and there is generally a “ruff” around the neck and longer hair (“britches”) on the hindquarters. A regular combing will keep the Ragdoll comfortable.
Ragdolls are among the prettiest of the cat breeds with distinctive markings known as “colourpoint”, “mitted” or “bicolour”.
A “colourpoint” has dark points (ears, tail, face and feet) with a lighter coloured body.
A “mitted” is marked similarly to a “colourpoint” with the addition of white socks on all four feet, a white chin, a white stripe on the stomach and a white ruff.
A “bi-colour” has the dark points but there is a white blaze on the face. The body colour forms a saddle on the cat’s back and the remainder of the cat is white.
The Ragdoll comes in the following coat colours -“seal” -dark seal brown points with a light tan body colour; “chocolate” -milk chocolate points with an ivory body colour; “blue” -dark grey points with a pale grey body and “lilac” -pinkish grey points with a frosty white body.
All Ragdolls are born white and slowly develop the colour on the ears, tail, face and feet.
Ragdolls are intelligent and like to please their owners. This is a very people oriented breed and they often follow owners like a puppy. They are very placid but love to play with toys and be involved in the day to day life of the household. Ragdolls are very gentle and lack the instinct to defend themselves and it is essential that they be kept as indoor pets.