Ragzndreams Ragdolls

 Ragdoll  Cats

 

The Ragdoll cat is a hybrid breed. Hybrid means it did not occur spontaneously in nature and was developed through human intervention. It takes years of selectively breeding certain types of cats until you reach the desired product. The Ragdolls exact origins remain a mystery and many breeders surmise that it was achieved by crossbreeding Perisan, Birman and Burmese. In fact the earliest matings took place among mostly feral cats of unknown ancestry. There are some fairy-tale stories which have been embellished over time and makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction.

 

One thing about the Ragdolls history we do know for sure is that the late Ann baker originated the breed in Riverside, California in the early 1960's. Ragdolls today can be traced back to the original bloodlines she developed.

 

All Ragdolls are pointed cats, which means they have colour on their ears, face, legs and tail, with a much lighter contrasting body colour. Along with the pointed gene comes those beautiful blue eyes, which vary from pale blue to deep blue. They are a large muscular breed with a long body and beautiful long bushy tail to balance this. Their coats are bunny soft and semi-longhair which does require regular grooming (weekly)  but not as often as Persians. Some say a Ragdolls coat is non-mating, and they do not shed, this is not true, although all ragdolls have a lovely soft coat they do still vary slightly in texture. 

Ragdolls are striking cats and certainly get more beautiful with age. They have a sweet temperament that captivates you, many owners can not stop at owning just one!!

Please remember that your Ragdoll will only be as good as the breeder, the Ragdolls temperament is largely down to how well your kitten has been socialised. Choose your breeder wisely. You can find cheaper supposedly purebred 'ragdolls' but this sadly is often not the case and as with all pedigrees there are many back yard breeders that just see pound signs!!