The Ragdoll Cat

The Ragdoll Cat

Breed: The Ragdoll Cat

Description: The Ragdoll is a large muscular cat with silky soft hair that comes in two different lengths – short and medium. They can be found in six different colours – seal, chocolate, flame, blue, lilac and cream and 4 different patterns – tortoiseshell, pointed, mitted and Bi-colour. Females of this breed weigh between 8-15 pounds, where males weigh a hefty 12-20 pounds.

Characteristics: The Ragdoll is a very easy going, relaxed, placid cat. They are affectionate, love to cuddle and enjoys being with people – they will follow you around every where you go. This is a very intelligent breed who likes to please and takes well to training. Many Ragdolls have been taught to walk on lead, play fetch and do simply tricks. They’re playful and fun loving, but not one to be destructive or mischievous.

The Ragdoll is very social and fits well into a family with both children and other cats and dogs. This is a very gentle and sweet nature cat, making it a fantastic pet for children.

Origins: The Ragdoll Cat is a very new breed. Created in California, USA by Ann Barker in the 1960s.

Special needs: The Ragdoll is a very easy cat to care for and really has no special needs, other than lots of love of course. In comparison to other cats with similar length coats, they need less brushing and shed less due to the lack of the dense undercoat commonly seen on most cats. Brushing once a week should keep them neat and tidy.

Highlights:

The Ragdoll is a very healthy breed of cats and is not given to a lot of health problems.

- The Ragdolls name comes from the fact they become limp and relaxed like a Ragdoll when picked up.

- Usual life span is about 15 years, but with proper care some can reach 20, or even 25 years.

- Ragdolls are born white and do not get their full colour until at least their second year of life. They are slow to reach maturity, taking around 3 years.

The Ragdoll is best suited as an indoor cat.