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.

Ragdol Cat 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: >12 lbs.
Female: large: >12 lbs.

Eye color:

Blue

Expectations:

Longevity Range: 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: Bicolor, 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. She is heavily boned with a long tail and a plush coat.

The Ragdoll appears even bigger than she is.

The Ragdoll has a medium-sized head, but the fur makes her 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 color patterns. A Ragdoll with a colorpoint pattern has a light body color with contrasting, darker color on the extremities, mask, and ears. The Bicolor 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 color 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 her. She is even tempered and gets along well with all family members. Changes in routine generally do not upset her. She is an ideal companion for those in apartments.

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 her get overweight or out of condition. The nutrition of the ragdoll should be carefully controlled.

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

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 colorful 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 color placement and the breed is not allowed any outcross in breeding. However, new colors are being introduced in this breed, so the Ragdolls seen now are even more colorful than in the past.