06/21/2021
Ragdoll (English Ragdoll cat) is a large, semi-longhaired breed of domestic cats, with blue eyes. The color of this breed is color-point, which means that their body color is lighter than points (dark spots on the paws, tail, ears, and a mask on the muzzle). The name of the breed comes from the English word Ragdoll and translates as a ragdoll.
History of the breed
These cats, with their blue eyes, silky, long fur, and color-point color, have fans all over the world, whose breeders were impressed by both the beauty and the affectionate nature of the cats.
Despite the hazy past, Ragdolls were able to get out of obscurity and become one of the most popular breeds among long-haired cats, in some countries second only to Persian and Maine Coons.
The history of the breed is in fact both confusing and full of contradictions. Instead of facts, it contains hypotheses, theories, rumors, and fiction.
This story began in 1960, in California, by the breeder of Persian cats, Ann Baker. In fact, only she knew exactly how, from whom, why, and why the breed developed.
But she left this world, and apparently, we will no longer know the truth.
She was friends with a neighboring family who fed a colony of yard cats, among them Josephine, an Angora or Persian cat.
Once she had an accident, after which she recovered, but all the kittens in the litter were distinguished by a friendly and affectionate character.
Moreover, this was common property for all kittens, in all litters. This can be explained by the fact that all kittens had different fathers and a fortunate coincidence, but Ann explained this by the fact that Josephine had an accident and was rescued by people.
This is a very vague theory, but it is still quite popular among fans of these cats.
However, Anne herself also said that the cat had become the object of secret experiments by the military, and the evidence of these experiments was destroyed.
Despite the criticism, and the fact that at that time the very possibility of such experiments was questionable, Ann insisted on her own.
And over time, she said an even stranger thing, they say, these cats are crossed with skunks, to enhance the color and get a fluffier tail.
Collecting as many kittens born to Josephine as possible, Anne began work on creating and consolidating the breed, and especially character traits. She named the new breed with the angelic name Cherubim or Cherubim in English.
As the creator and ideologist of the breed, Baker set rules and standards for anyone who also wanted to practice it.
She was the only one who knew the history of each animal and made decisions for other breeders. In 1967, a group broke away from her, wanting to develop their breed, which they called the Ragdoll.
Further, years of confused disputes, courts and intrigues followed, as a result of which two officially registered, similar, but different breeds appeared - the ragdoll and ragamuffin . In fact, these are very similar cats, the difference between which is only in the variety of colors.
This group, led by husband and wife, Denny and Laura Dayton, set out to popularize the breed.
Coming from the IRCA organization (Baker's brainchild, now in decline), they developed and implemented the Ragdoll breed standard, now relevant and recognized by such organizations as CFA and FIFe.
Once established in America, the pair were imported to the UK and registered with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy.
Since Baker owned the rights to the ragdoll trademark, no one could sell cats under that name without her permission until 2005, when the ownership was renewed.
Currently the world's largest amateur association is Ragdoll Fanciers' Club International (RFCI).
Description
These cats are medium to large in size, with a long, wide body and strong bones, leaving an impression of grace and hidden strength when moving. The body is large and long, wide and strong, muscular, with a wide bone.
Its shape resembles a triangle, where a wide chest flows into a narrower pelvis. They are not fat cats, but a fatty bag on the belly is acceptable.
Feet are of medium length, with the front feet slightly longer than the hind feet. The head is proportional, wedge-shaped, with medium-sized ears, set wide enough, visually continuing the line of the head.
The ears are broad at the base, with rounded tips tilted forward. The eyes are large, oval and blue in color.
Ragdoll cats are big in every sense but without extreme. Cats weigh from 5.4 to 9.1 kg, while cats are smaller in size and weigh from 3.6 to 6.8 kg. Neutered cats are more likely to reach their maximum weight, sometimes in excess of 9 kg.
The coat is semi-long and is characterized by abundant guard hair, with a minimal undercoat. Such wool sheds little, which is even recognized by the Cat Fanciers' Association. The coat is shorter on the face and head, longer on the belly and tail.
On the front legs it is short and medium, and on the hind legs of medium length it turns into long. The tail is long with a magnificent plume.
All ragdolls are color points, but in some colors the points can be replaced by white. They come in 6 colors: red, seal, chocolate, blue and purple, cream. Tortoiseshell is also allowed.
Traditional kittens are born white, they begin to recolor at 8-10 weeks of age, and are completely colored by 3-4 years.
The main four point types include:
- Color point : dark nose, ears, tail and feet.
- Mitted : Same as color points, but with white patches on paws and belly. They can be either with a white spot on the face or without it, but a white stripe extending from the jaw to the genitals and a white chin are required.
- Bicolor : white feet, white inverted V on the muzzle, white belly and sometimes white spots on the sides.
- Lynx (Lynx) - similar to bicolors, but with a tabby color (dark spots and stripes of various shapes and types on the body).
Character
Obedient, cute, neat, this is how the owners speak about this large and beautiful breed. Justifying its name (ragdoll), ragdolls will hang loosely in their hands, calmly enduring any poses.
Playful and responsive, they are ideal house cats that easily adapt to any environment.
They find a common language with adults, children, cats and adequate dogs, and are just as easy to train (as for cats). They are sweet, easygoing, love people, and generally well-behaved. Silent, they will not annoy you with screams, but if there is something important that needs to be told, they will do it in a soft, polite voice.
They are average in activity, love to play and find a common language with children, as they are soft and practically do not scratch. However, very young children need to be taught that this is still a cat, and it can be painful, despite being patient.
As mentioned, they get along with other cats and friendly dogs, provided they are given time to get to know and adapt.
And while many can be trained to walk on a leash, they remain kittens for life and love to play.
They love people, meet them at the door, and follow them around the house. Some will climb on your lap, while others will prefer to just sit next to you while you watch TV.
Maintenance and care
How ragdoll kittens will grow is difficult to predict. Some of them grow slowly and steadily, but this is rare; for most of them, a growth spurt alternates with periods of calm. Basically, there are several periods of rapid growth, with pauses in between.
Some grow instantly, reach their full size by the year of life, and then stop. Such peaks are possible with a kitten in the first four years of life, since the breed is large enough and they mature slowly.
Due to their explosive and unpredictable growth, ragdolls need special nutrition. Most manufacturers of dry and canned cat food offer their own food consumption rate, depending on the kitten's weight. And in the case of this breed, this very norm can be a disaster.
The fact is that during the growth period, they can gain up to 1.5 kg per month, and insufficient feeding will lead to starvation and growth retardation.
Naturally, at this moment they need much more food than other breeds that grow more evenly.
What's more, their belly fat pouches can trick owners (and veterinarians) into thinking they are fat. But, this bag is genetically predisposed, and not the result of abundant feeding.
Even if the cat is thin, skin and bones, such a bag will still be present. A healthy kitten should be muscular and firm, it is a fighter, not a marathon runner.
Therefore, in order to avoid sudden hunger and associated growth problems, ragdoll kittens should have unlimited access to dry food, in a very large bowl. Canned food should be given a little more that the kitten can eat at one time. A clean, shiny bowl is a sure sign that the kitten is hungry, add a few more pieces until he stops eating.
Will such a kitten overeat and lead to obesity? No. Knowing that food is always available, he will eat when hungry, because when there are no restrictions, there is no need to overeat. These kittens are always well-fed, but not fat.
Remember that they have a genetically built fat bag on their belly. By the way, such feeding can last up to 4 years of life, because these cats grow up to this age.
Adult cats require a minimum of grooming, and require little or no effort or expense. They have by nature wool that does not fall off, semi-long, tight-fitting to the body. The guard hair is rich, and the undercoat is not thick and does not get tangled.
If it happens, then, as a rule, in the collar area or in the armpits. However, it is enough to regularly comb it, and there will be no tangles, especially since in the case of ragdolls this is not a problem.
Ragdoll grooming for show preparation is fairly simple compared to other breeds. All you need is cat shampoo and warm water. For cats, especially large ones, it is advisable to first treat with dry shampoo for oily wool, then rinse several times with a regular one.
Due to its weight, when handling cats, you need to use two hands, avoiding the usual gestures with one hand.
Health
Studies in Sweden have shown that ragdolls, along with Siamese cats , have one of the lowest survival rates after 10 years of life among other domestic cat breeds.
So, for Siamese cats, this percentage is 68%, and for Ragdolls, 63%. These studies showed that a large number of animals suffered from urological problems, mainly with the kidneys or ureters.
It is not clear whether the data are relevant for other countries (Denmark, Sweden, Finland took part in the study), and whether the influence of the genes of the Persian cat (with its tendency to PCD) took place.
The fact is that due to the very limited number of cats, serious inbreeding occurs in the breed, and you have to add the blood of other breeds.