THE RAGDOLL
The description
The ragdoll cat is quiet, gentle and affectionate. Many people value the breed's long, soft fur. The Ragdoll's calm personality makes its popular with people who want a gentle companion.
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SUMMARY |
| Appearance | |
| Colors and patterns | |
| Ragdoll temperament | |
| Grooming |
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APPARENCE |
Ragdolls are large-sized cats. They can weight 20 pounds or more. (The male weight between 14 and 18 pounds and the female 8 and 12 pounds).
Ragdolls have wide, sturdy, and muscular bodies. It may take up to four years for Ragdolls to reach their full size.
The Ragdoll fur is fairly long. It is silky, soft and dense ; they have big, blue oval - shaped eyes and a large, rounded head.
Its ears should be wide at the base and rounde at the top. A Ragdoll neck is short its body is long and heavy.
The Ragdoll tail is fairly long and bushy, but not early as bushy as a squirrel's tail.
A Ragdoll has a large, round paws and medium length legs.
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For more informations about the Ragdoll standard : L.O.O.F. |
All the Ragdolls are « pointed » cats, as are Birman and Siamese cats ; they have darker fur on the face, feet, tail, and ears than on the rest of their body. The points may be overlaid with white, in the bicolour or mitted patterns.
Ragdolls kittens are born white, the points begin to appear when the kittens are a few days old. Ragdolls cat's permanent coat color pattern and point develop by the time they are 4 years old. The color gets darker as the cats older.
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COLORS AND PATTERNS |
The Ragdoll communly comes in four traditional pointed colors : seal, blue, chocolate and lilac. In addition to the four standard colors, the Ragdoll also communly comes in three basic patterns : colourpoint, mitted, and bicolour.
The colourpoint has no white, whereas the mitted and bicolor pattern overly the darker point markings with white.
Mitted ragdoll have points on the face, ears, and legs with white « mittens » on the feet and white « boots » on the hind legs. A mitted Ragdoll also has a white stripe on its stomach, a white chin and a white chest.
Bicolours bear points on the ears and tail, but they sport even more white with an inverted « V » extending on the face, plus white on the legs, feet, ruff (chin and chest area), and belly.
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RAGDOLL TEMPERAMENT |
Ragdolls are playful and friendly cats. They seem to enjoy being around people and other animals.
Ragdoll often follow people around and want to share in their activities.
Ragdolls seem to enjoy being held. When picked up, some Ragdolls go limp. This behavior resembles picking up a rag doll toy. Ragdolls received their name because his behavior.
Ragdoll make ideal house or appartement companions because they are gentle, quiet, and serene.
They are calm, yet moderatly active and playful, they prefer interactive play with their favorite human. They do not meow much.
Because Ragdolls have had some of the wilder feline aggressive tendancies and fighting instincts breed out of them, they should be kept strictly indoors and out of harm's way.
Despite their feral beginnings, their docile, passive nature make them unsuitable for life outdoors.
Although their quiet, passive nature makes Ragdoll well suited to being house or appartement cats, they still need opportunities for play and exercise to stay in shape and to keep from becoming fat. Being highly people-oriented cats, they take special delight in spending time with and being near their owners.
Also, when you acquire a Ragdoll, consider investing in several cat toys and a carpeted cat tree to encourage climbing and playing. Better still, why not get two cats, so they can romp and play with each other !
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GROOMING |
A ragdoll's fur is easy to groom. It does not mat or tangle as easly as the fur of other longhaired cat breeds. Owners need to brush their Ragdoll coat once each week. They should brush Ragdolls more often during spring. Ragdolls shed their winter coats at this time. Frequent brushing will help the cats get rid of loose hair.
Ragdoll kittens should be brushed daily so they will become accustomed to the grooming routine.
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