Ragdoll

The Ragdoll ranks among the largest of the domestic cat breeds. It carries a semi-long coat, deep blue eyes and a pointed colour pattern where the face, ears, legs and tail sit darker than the body. The name comes from the habit many of these cats have of going soft and limp the moment you lift them.

Ragdolls take their time growing up. Most will not reach their full frame and settled coat colour until they are three or four years old. Grown cats are muscular and weighty without looking cobby, and the toms run noticeably bigger than the queens.

This is a cat that wants company. Ragdolls will trail after the household from room to room. They keep quiet, speak in soft voices and are rarely the sort of cat to tear about the place.

Who the breed suits

The Ragdoll works best in a home that wants an indoor companion and can spare it attention every day. It settles well with families that have children, with multi-pet households and with owners who are about the house a good deal. The semi-long coat asks for routine brushing, so anyone hoping for a cat that needs no grooming should look elsewhere. Its weak prey drive and trusting way with strangers make it a poor match for a cat left to roam outdoors.

The Ragdoll story starts in Riverside, California, in the 1960s. The breeder Ann Baker founded the line on a white, semi-longhaired free-roaming queen called Josephine, together with a number of her kittens. Nobody documented the full ancestry of these foundation cats, but breeds along the lines of the Birman, Persian and Burmese are the ones usually put forward as likely contributors.

Baker bred for a calm nature, plenty of size and the colourpoint coat. She named the breed, registered the Ragdoll trademark and then founded her own registry, the International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA), so she could govern the breeding on her own terms.

Other breeders had no wish to work inside Baker's restrictions. In the early 1970s a group headed by Denny and Laura Dayton parted ways to bring the Ragdoll into the mainstream cat registries and to standardise it. Their lines sit behind most of the pedigreed Ragdolls you will meet now.

The main registries took the breed on over the decades that followed. It later reached full championship standing through the major cat fancy bodies, and today it is one of the best-loved pedigreed cats across North America and Europe. In Ireland breeders register their cats through the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy of Ireland (GCCFI) and its FIFe connections.

The Ragdoll has a long, broad body on a solid frame with a full chest. The head is a broad modified wedge with rounded lines, medium ears set well apart and large oval eyes in blue. The coat is semi-long, soft and plush, with a fuller ruff about the neck and longer fur over the hindquarters. The tail runs long and carries a good plume.

Full size and the adult coat take three to four years to come in. Every genuine Ragdoll shows the pointed pattern, the colour deepening on the face, ears, legs and tail against a paler body.

Coat and colours

The coat turns up in several point colours, most often seal and blue, with chocolate, lilac, red and cream recognised as well. These show in four patterns: colourpoint (no white), mitted (white feet and chin), bicolour (an inverted white V on the face along with white legs and underside), and the changeable lynx (tabby striping) and tortie variants. Kittens arrive white and bring in their points over the first weeks and months.

The Ragdoll is an even-tempered, affectionate cat that grows close to its household. Plenty will pad after their owners about the house, meet them at the door and curl up on a lap when allowed. The breed is famous for going limp in your arms, though not every cat does it.

With children Ragdolls are usually patient and put up with handling well, which is a big part of why families take to them. They stay relaxed around callers rather than bolting for cover. Most rub along with other cats and with dogs of a quiet sort, and they often do grand in a multi-pet home.

Ragdolls keep quiet and speak softly. They are not the strong jumpers or climbers that many breeds are, and they are happy at floor and furniture level. Because they trust readily and fret little about strange situations, they cope badly outdoors, so they are kept as indoor cats or given safe, enclosed access.

Grooming

The semi-long coat holds little undercoat, so it mats less than some longhaired breeds, yet it still asks for regular care.

• Brush two to three times a week with a stainless steel comb to lift out loose hair and head off tangles
• Check behind the ears, in the armpits and around the britches, where mats set in first
• Clip the nails every two to three weeks
• Brush the teeth regularly and book dental checks in with the routine vet visits
• Wipe the corners of the eyes if any tear staining shows

Exercise

Ragdolls sit low to moderate on energy, but they still need activity to hold their condition and keep the weight off.

• Give two short play sessions a day with wand toys or balls
• Set out puzzle feeders to add a bit of thinking at mealtimes
• Swap the toys around to hold their interest
• Keep the play at floor and low-furniture level, since this is no great jumper

Environment

Ragdolls do best as indoor cats. Provide scratching posts, a few spots to rest and at least one litter tray per cat plus one spare. Because the breed trusts easily and has next to no prey drive, letting it roam outdoors carries real risk; a secure garden enclosure, or a harness with someone keeping an eye, is a safer way to give it time outside.

Cats are obligate carnivores and need a diet built on animal protein. Pick a complete and balanced cat food that suits the life stage. Because Ragdolls are big and not the busiest of cats, the weight goes on easily, so portions want measuring rather than leaving food down all day. Fresh water should always be there, and a mix of wet and dry food can help with hydration. Growing kittens need meals more often and a kitten formula until roughly a year old, though large-breed Ragdolls carry on filling out well past that.

Treats and supplements

Hold treats to about 10 percent of the daily calories and take that off the meal portions. A cat on a complete shop-bought diet usually needs no supplements; only add them on the say-so of your vet. Hairball or joint supplements may suit the odd individual cat, but the breed as a whole has no need of them.

Ragdolls are a fairly hardy breed and commonly reach 12 to 17 years with good care. Being a pedigreed cat, it carries a handful of inherited risks. The one that matters most is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a thickening of the heart muscle. A particular gene variant tied to HCM in Ragdolls can be tested for, and a sound breeder will screen their breeding cats. Keeping the weight in check matters, because the breed's size and its placid streak make obesity a common problem.

Preventive care

• Yearly vet exams, with a check twice a year for the older cats
• Core vaccinations and parasite control kept up to date
• A yearly dental assessment along with tooth brushing at home
• Weight watched at every visit
• Buy from breeders who DNA test for HCM and PKD

As cats go, the Ragdoll is trainable. Its calm, attentive way and its interest in its owners leave it open to reward-based methods. It can learn to come when called, walk on a harness, use a scratching post and manage simple tricks like a sit or a fetch. Training goes best in short sessions with a treat or a bit of play as the reward. Punishment does the opposite of what you want and chips away at the very trust the breed is known for.

Basics

1. Start litter training early; set the trays in quiet, easy-to-reach spots and keep them clean
2. Bring in a scratching post and reward its use to spare the furniture
3. Teach name recognition by rewarding the cat each time it answers to its name
4. Build up harness tolerance indoors first, letting the cat wear it for short spells before heading outside
5. Add simple cues like a sit, using a treat lure and one steady word
6. Keep every session to a couple of minutes and finish while the cat is still keen

Queen Ragdolls usually reach sexual maturity somewhere between 8 and 12 months, though plenty of breeders hold off until the queen is older and fully grown before a first litter. Toms mature at a broadly similar age. Gestation runs to roughly 63 to 67 days. Litters most often hold three to five kittens.

Ragdoll kittens are born white and bring in their point colour and pattern over the weeks and months that follow. They open their eyes at about one to two weeks and start weaning around four to five weeks. A responsible breeder keeps the kittens with their mother until at least 12 weeks, by which stage they are weaned, socialised, litter trained and have started their vaccinations. Breeding cats should be DNA tested for HCM and PKD before any mating.

Registering a Ragdoll in Ireland

The whole of cat registration is a form: her name, her colouring, a photo, your phone number, save. Free for life with United Pet Club, chip or no chip, indoors or out.

The fifteen digits on your Ragdoll's vet paperwork want a registry. United Pet Club lodges them free, keeps them current through every move, and leaves the record findable whenever a scanner asks. Microchip registration plus a free account: both sorted in one cup of tea.