"You're never too old for a Ragdoll..."
Friendly, sweet, loving, docile, gentle, serene.....that's
Ragdolls.
One of the most popular breeds of indoor cat, ragdolls
owe their name to their tendency to relax their muscles and go limp in
your arms, like a child’s toy ragdoll. The tendency is more pronounced
in mature ragdolls than in kittens. The breed is known to be calm yet
moderately active. With this easy-going attitude they get along well
with other pets and children, and rarely use their claws when
playing.
Ragdolls are very quiet cats, with a soft mee-ow. They are highly
domesticated and think they're humans, attaching strongly to their
owners. As they are the social type, you might consider acquiring two if
you're away from home a lot.
The ragdoll breed is renowned for the large size of its mature males
and females. Females weigh about 4kg on average although some are up to
8 kg. Males can reach 10kg but average about 7kg. Their full size is not
reached until they are at least four years old. They live for up to 16
years.
Ragdolls are definitely indoor cats and adapt well to life
in a small apartment so long as some entertainment is provided. In fact
ragdolls shouldn’t go outside unsupervised as they are very trusting and
tend to think of everyone as a friend which can result, sadly, in theft.
They also tend not to defend themselves properly against other cats or
dogs, nor do they have much road sense. Some owners therefore install an
outdoor run for their ragdoll so that they are able to enjoy some of
those outdoor benefits such as fresh air, sunshine and grass. Grass is
very important for their diet, it provides extra vitamins and helps to
clear the system of obstructions, such as fur balls. It is natures way
and cats love it! If you cannot manage an outdoor run for your cat
that’s fine, they can receive the sunshine and fresh air they need from
screened doors or windows with heavy backed curtains left opened, for at
least part of the day and the grass can easily be provided by growing
wheat grass in a dirt free container insuring no
mess!
Eyes and Coat
A distinctive feature
of ragdolls is their large, oval, rich blue eyes. Gaze into them and
you'll fall in love.
The semi-longhaired coat of a ragdoll is soft and smooth, like a
rabbit’s. Resistant to matting, it needs a good brush only once a week
to remove any loose fur. They do moult heavily once a year during
spring.
Colours and Patterns
The common ragdoll
colours are: seal (very dark brown),
chocolate (mid-brown),
blue (greyish-blue),
lilac (greyish-mauve), flame (apricot) and cream
(soft apricot).
Several different coat patterns are known:
Pointed or
colour-point means that all "points" (feet,
ears, tail and face) are coloured darker than the rest of the coat.
Mitted describes cats with white front paws
and long white "socks" on the hind legs.
Bi-Coloured means the markings on the face
have an inverted "V".
Lynx and tortie
are overlays of the other patterns.
To see pictures of the various colours and patterns, click here.
To work out colour and pattern
predictions, click here
The kittens are born white and their colours and patterns start to
show at around 10 days, becoming gradually darker. By 8-12 weeks they
have good colour, but it will take 2 years for the coat to be fully
developed.
History of the Breed
Ragdolls
were developed in the 1960’s by Ann Baker, a Persian breeder in
California, some of whose original stock consisted of sturdy,
free-roaming cats. It is thought she created the foundations of the
Ragdoll breed by selecting kittens out of Josephine, a semi-feral
longhaired white female Persian/Angora type, sired by several unknown
male Birman-like or Burmese-like cats, one with Siamese
markings.
Out of those early litters came Blackie, an all black
Burmese-like male and Daddy Warbucks, a Birman-like pointed male. Daddy
Warbucks sired the founding bicolor female Fugianna, and Blackie sired
Buckwheat, a dark brown/black Burmese-like female. Both Fugianna and
Buckwheat were daughters of Josephine. All Ragdoll cats are descended
from Josephine through matings of Daddy Warbucks to Fugianna and
Buckwheat.
By selecting individuals with the look and temperament
she wanted for her breeding program, Anne Baker created the standard
Ragdoll type. Denny and Laura Dayton are credited with bringing the
Ragdoll breed to worldwide recognition by various cat registration
organizations. What is known is that this breed was selectively bred
over many years for desirable traits, such as large size, gentle
demeanor, and a tendency to go limp when picked up.