Personality:
- Quiet, placid, and relaxed.
- Affectionate and loving.
- Slow to mature, the Ragdoll can take up to four years to reach full size.
History:
One of the largest breeds of cat, the Ragdoll was developed in California during the 1960′s by Ann Baker who used Persians, Birmans and Burmese-type cats. No pedigreed cats were used to create the breed. The combination resulted in kittens with the colorpoint gene as well as a white spotting factor. Named for the characteristic of going limp like a ragdoll when held. Although accepted as a breed by most cat associations, the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) does not recognize the Ragdoll for championship status.
Body Type:
- Large, well-balanced and muscular.
- Head is a modified wedge with medium-sized ears.
- Blue eyes are wide set, large and oval.
- Characteristic fatty pad on lower abdomen is called the Greater Omentum.
Coat:
- Medium-long, plush coat is longest around the neck and outer edges of the face.
- Basically a pointed cat, the Ragdoll has a lighter base coat with complementing darker colored points (blue, seal, chocolate and lilac) on ears, face, legs, and tail.
- Long coat does not mat.
- Three coat patterns include: bicolor (pointed but with various markings of white and colored patches), mitted (pointed but with evenly matched white feet), and colorpoint (paler body color with points—no white markings).
Health and Wellness:
- No particular concerns.
What you should know:
- Having been bred to have a docile nature, Ragdolls are strictly indoor cats.
- They do not have street cat survival instincts and their beauty and sweetness provide an irresistible temptation for catnappers.
- The Ragdoll should not be confused with an experimental breed known as RagaMuffin, which was founded by using Ragdoll stock.
