Everything you need to know about the amazing Ragdoll breed! Learn facts about Ragdoll history, colors, patterns, and more!
Table of Contents
Colors*
Ragdolls come in 6 different colors. There is Seal which is a dark, almost black, brown color. Blue, which is the recessive of Seal, is a soft grey. Chocolate is the color of a milk chocolate Hershey’s bar, and its recessive, Lilac, is a creamy off-white color. Finally, there are Reds and Creams which are a striking orange and light peachy color, respectively.
The only spots you will see the pure form of these colors are on your Ragdoll’s points. “Points” are located on their tail, feet, ears, and nose unless one of these points is covered by white. In Bicolors, you will also sometimes see the pure color on their saddle (the top of their back).
There are some factors that can affect how the colors show up on different cats. One is lynx markings, which will be explained below, and the other is whether your Ragdoll is a mink or a traditional. Mink Ragdolls come in the same colors as traditional Ragdolls, but the color is spread throughout the whole body. The points will still be noticeably darker, but there will be less contrast throughout the body.
Mink Ragdolls cannot be shown at cat shows because they are relatively new to the breed. They are also somewhat rare because not all breeders choose to produce them, but we think they are super unique and beautiful. If you want to learn more about showing, and more cat facts, visit the TICA (The International Cat Association) website.
*Color examples may display differently on different monitors
Markings
Ragdolls come in 3 basic patterns, but their markings can vary greatly. The patterns are Colorpoint, Mitted, and Bicolor. No two Ragdolls look exactly the same, even if they are the same color and pattern. They can have more or less white than the pattern calls for or, in the case of lynx points, they can have stripes.
Torties (short for tortoiseshell) are often the most unique, but they are all less common since they have Red in them. Most Torties have an array of randomly placed spots and blots, but some can have a split face, meaning half of their face is one color and the other side is their other color (ex: a Seal Point Tortie could have half of their face Red and the other half Seal). If a Ragdoll is both a Lynx and a Tortie, they are called a Torbie (Tortie+Tabby).
The diagrams show the basic patterns, but most Ragdolls don’t perfectly fit these cookie-cutter standards, and that’s okay! Each Ragdoll is a unique individual, it would be pretty boring if they all looked exactly the same.
Click to enlarge pictures
Here are some pictures of real Ragdolls so you can get an idea of how the markings can vary.
Honi and her mom, Coco, are both Seal Point Bicolors. Even though they are related, and have the same markings they look very different.
Here are two kittens from previous litters, they are both Seal Colorpoints, but the one on the left is a Mink.
Temperament
Activity Level
Kid Friendly
Pet Friendly
Vocalization
Intelligence
Handling Tolerance
Just like in people, Ragdolls‘ personalities can vary. They are all sweet, but some show their love differently than others. For example, most Ragdolls are generally quite unless they need something, but some of them are more talkative. Some do better with dogs than others, our kittens are all raised with our Golden Retriever, Juno, so most of them do well with dogs. Some can be more outgoing and will do better with kids. We think that temperament is the most important part of picking a kitten so that they can be successful in their forever home.
History
Ragdolls were invented in Riverside, California by a woman named Ann Baker. In the early 1960s, Baker had a cat named Josephine, a white angora cat. Josephine had many litters of kittens prior to her car accident. After being hit by a car, Baker insisted that Josephine’s genes had been permanently altered. Litters born after the accident had a very unique personality, the Ragdoll personality. The kittens had the tendency to go limp in peoples’ arms, hence their name. Josephine was bred to Daddy Warbucks, a seal mitted male, and Blackie an all-black cat with Burmese-like features. From Daddy Warbucks came FugiBakera, a bicolor. From Blackie came Buckwheat, a Burmese-like black/brown female. Of the five original cats, only Daddy Warbucks and FugiBakera were actually registered as Ragdolls. They were first recognized by the National Cat Fanciers Association (NCFA) in 1966.
Later, Baker bred Daddy Warbucks to FugiBakera. They had four kittens, Gueber, Mitts, Kyoto, and Tiki. The latter two were pointed and later became the third and fourth registered Ragdolls. Kyoto was a Seal Mitted and Tiki was a Seal Colorpoint. Over the next three years, Baker worked on increasing her breeding stock. In 1969, the first Ragdolls were sold to Laura and Denny Dayton. The Daytons bought a breeding pair, Buddy and Rosie. They tried to work with Baker to promote and expand the breed, but Baker wasn’t willing to give up complete control.
In 1971, Baker created the International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA). That September the IRCA was registered as a business so that Baker could create franchised catteries that bought breeders from her. In 1975, Baker patented the breed and registered with the state of California.
Some of the early breeders, such as the Daytons, who had purchased Ragdolls prior to the creation of the franchises, refused to be part of the agreement. They chose to distance themselves from Baker and continue their breeding programs. Baker didn’t want Ragdolls to be a part of any of the traditional breeding associations, but the Daytons worked hard to gain mainstream recognition.
In 1994, more breeders decided to break ranks with the IRCA. They called their cats Ragamuffins because Baker owned the rights to the name Ragdoll. Luckily, in 2005 the trademark was not renewed, making it possible for the breed to keep its original name.