Ragdoll Cats Available on Petfinder Right Now Watch Video About Ragdoll Cats Ragdoll Cat Personality Docile, mild-mannered, and congenial, Rag-dolls make ideal indoor companions. One of the nicest features of these cats is their laid-back, sweet personality. They are playful but are not overactive. Known to adapt easily to their environment, Ragdolls get along well with children and adults, as well as cats and dogs. They are easily trained to stay off the counter and are affectionate without being overly demanding. They have soft, polite voices, even at dinnertime, even though they are renowned for their enthusiasm for food. Ragdoll Cat Breed Traits The Ragdoll comes in the four traditional pointed colors: seal, chocolate, blue and lilac; and three divisions: solid or colorpoint, particolor mitted, and particolor bicolor. Solid division Ragdolls have darker, well-defined points. Body color is a shade lighter than point color, and soft shadings of color are allowed on the body.

No white patches are allowed. Mitted Ragdolls possess well-defined points, except on the feet where they have a matched set of white mittens. Labradoodle Puppies For Sale In WyomingHind legs are entirely white, but the white extends no higher than mid-thigh. Ahd BlindsA white blaze can decorate the nose. House For Sale In Loddon NorfolkBicolors boast a white mask like an inverted 'V', plus white on all four legs, feet, stomach, chest, and ruff. Other white patches and markings can appear, except on the points, which are darker and well-defined. Interested in the history of the Ragdoll cat breed? The Ragdoll is a breed whose origins are surrounded by controversy and tall tales. According to various stories, the foundation cat, Josephine, produced unremarkable kittens until she was struck by a car in the early 1960s.

After her recovery, all of her subsequent litters produced kittens that displayed Ragdoll characteristics: large size, non-matting fur, the tendency to relax in a person's arms like a child's rag doll (hence the name), and serene dispositions. Also rumored was the kittens' insensitivity to pain (which, according to breeders, is not true). Another story holds that Josephine was taken to a laboratory after her car accident, where she was genetically altered as part of a secret government experiment, resulting in genetic changes. While these are amusing stories, no scientific evidence exists to support any of these claims, and, in fact, geneticists say that this type of genetic alteration did not exist in the 1960s.Other breeders claim that Josephine was bred to a seal Birman male who in turn was bred to a sable Burmese female. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of this, either. The Ragdoll's white spotting gene is definitely not the same as in the Birman breed, according to TICA's genetics committee chairperson, Dr. Solveig Pflueger, M.D., Ph.D.The Ragdolls of America Group (a group formed to gain acceptance for the Ragdoll in the Cat Fanciers' Association) says that Josephine was a feral white Turkish Angora-type cat that resided on the property of a Mrs. Pennels in Riverside

After her car accident, Josephine mated with a feral black and white mitted long haired tom and produced a solid black male kitten named Daddy Warbucks and a seal pointed bicolor female named Fugianna. Another litter followed, sired by a solid brown long haired tom. This tryst produced a seal point female named Tiki and a black- and white-mitted male named Buckwheat. The breed's founder, the late Ann Baker, came into possession of these cats, and all subsequent generations can be traced back to them. After years of selective breeding, the Ragdoll developed into the breed we know today. This seems to be the most credible story for the breed's creation; however, this lineage cannot be confirmed with certainty, since the trysts between these feral cats were not documented.Ann Baker created her own registry for Ragdolls in 1971 called the International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA). She also franchised and trademarked the Ragdoll name. Although all contemporary Ragdolls are descendants from Baker's original stock, several factions of breeders exist and not all are members of IRCA.

The breeders who wanted to gain recognition for the Ragdoll with the traditional registries split from Baker's group and formed the Ragdoll Fanciers' Club. These breeders, among others, advanced non-IRCA Ragdolls to Championship status with every association except the CFA, who belatedly accepted the Ragdoll for registration in February, 1993. The CFA currently accepts the Ragdoll in the Miscellaneous class. This means the cats can be registered and exhibited but cannot compete for Championship.The RagaMuffin is the newest development on the Ragdoll scene. The RagaMuffin is similar, but not identical, in conformation and temperament to the Ragdoll. While the Ragdoll is accepted in only four colors and three patterns, the RagaMuffin also comes in red point, lynx point, and tortie point, as well as the spectrum of Persian colors and patterns, plus mitted and mitted with blaze. Breeders say that the RagaMuffin is not a new breed. Although all Ragdolls are descendants from the original Ragdoll lines that Ann Baker developed, RagaMuffin breeders split from IRCA much more recently than the RFC breeders, in 1993, in fact.

To avoid breaking their contracts with Baker and violating Baker's trademark on the Ragdoll name, they renamed their breed the RagaMuffin. Currently, the RagaMuffin is only accepted for Championship in the recently formed UFO, although they are accepted for registration in ACFA. Shelters with Ragdoll Cats Shelters that currently have Ragdoll cats ready for adoption:This post was first released on January 28, 2010 and is updated often I get the question, “What are the best canned cat foods?”  or “What is the best canned cat food?” at least 10 times a week. My decision to put my cats on wet food only came from reading this website by a veterinarian – Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition by Lisa A. Pierson, DVM.  If you are looking to transition your kitty, this is where to start.  We had to transition Charlie and Trigg and this post explains how we did it –Transitioning Charlie and Trigg from Dry Food to Wet Food Only. Here is more recent interview with Dr. Pierson – there is audio, so you can listen to her reasoning behind not feeding dry food.

Dr. Jean Hofve, who has done a lot of interviews with us, has written an eBook on, What Cats Should Eat: How to Keep Your Cat Healthy with Good Food.  And is another way to learn about feline nutrition and to find the best canned cat food out there. My favorite wet food is a variety of brands and flavors so that they don’t get hung up on having the same thing.  And, of course, flavors and brands that they will actually eat because at the end of the day, if they aren’t eating, that’s a whole other problem. Whenever switching a kitty to new food, you’ve got to do it slowly, and I also always use probiotics to prevent diarrhea.  I always have Purina Fortiflora Feline Nutritional Supplement Box on hand – the probiotics help with good bacteria in the stomach lining and my cats really like the flavor of the Purina Fortiflora.  In fact, if I can’t get them to eat something, I will usually sprinkle it on top because it just comes in little packets that are easy to rip open and sprinkle on. 

The Conscious Cat also has an article about the importance of Probiotics and the different brands available. I feed Charlie and Trigg: and am subscribed to sites like Pet360 – they sometimes offer promo codes that make buying from them cheaper.  There are other brands that I like, like Nature’s Logic, but they won’t eat it.  My brother’s cat will though – so don’t eliminate it entirely.  You’ve gotta find the brands, flavors, etc. that work for you and for your cat. Check out this post about how Floppycats’ readers get their cat food).  When figuring out flavors, I first buy two of every flavor locally to make sure the cats like it enough to get a full case.  I also sometimes go in on an order with my mom to split cost and number of cans.  I try to keep up-to-date with online pet food deals. I am not a nutritional expert and although I have tried, I am unsuccessful in getting into the details of it.  There are some readers that are very knowledgeable, so I hope they will comment!

Liz Eastwood of the Natural Cat Care Blog keeps a Best Canned Cat Food List Bottom line is that dry food is not healthy for a carnivore, your cat, and should not be the main diet. However, you might want your cat to like dry food in case of emergency purposes, like hurricanes or boarding situations. However, an all dry food diet can lead to chronic issues (as kidney failure, UTIs, struvite crystals, stones, obesity, diabetes, and the need for frequent dental cleanings and possibly tooth extractions) for your kitty and therefore it is best to avoid those. Also since a lot of dry foods have grains and byproducts, your kitty could develop an allergy to one of the foods. If you need to feed your kitty dry food, then consider one that has no by products or grains. If it is necessary to feed dry food, only do so as a snack, not as a full meal. The best canned cat food is that which does not have any byproducts, fillers or toxins. Always be sure to read labels of your kitty’s canned food and choose a food with no by products or grains.

Since cats are carnivores, grains are not their friend. Many Ragdoll breeders and cat aficionados do not recommend food made by Iams, Eukanuba (same company as Iams), Hills (Science Diet), Nutro, Purina etc. You might be interested in the Cat Food CARBOHYDRATE & CALORIE CALCULATOR Certainly, another food route to consider is the raw food diet. There are many companies that make raw food that is pre-packaged so that you do not have to do it yourself. If you decide to go the raw food diet route be sure to avoid feeding dry food and raw food at the same time. Since dry food has many ingredients that aren’t needed, it takes longer for your kitty to digest. However, with raw food, kitties use all the nutrients and therefore they have fewer stools, less volume and no smell! Also, when considering the raw food diet, be sure to never feed your kitty cooked bones. Raw bones are soft and easy to digest, whereas cooked bones will splinter and will cause choking and/or death.