What is the breed standard for ragdolls?

What do all these terms mean?

Ragdoll Colors

Seal- Basically a rich brown color (kind of like a seal in my opinion).

Blue- It says blue, but it looks silvery grey to me. It is a result of the dilute gene. Dilution is reducing the dominant color; in the case of blues, it is a diluted seal.

Chocolate- A soft, light brown color, similar to milk chocolate.

Lilac- Very light grey with the slightest hue of pink.

Flame- Appearing orange or “red”. Flames are not as common but in high demand with some as they are known for their docile natures. Interesting tid bit the flame has the “O” gene which is masking the real color.

Cream- This is the diluted version of the Flame. It is as it sounds a pale creamy color.

More Terms

Pointed- Ragdolls are a pointed breed. We say point to indicate blue eyes. Traditional ragdolls only have blue eyes. No other color is acceptable.

Colorpoint Restriction-This is a fascinating feature as it is induced by temperature. The color is more pronounced in cooler areas of the body. Temperature sensitive pigmentation- like little thermometers!

Ragdoll Patterns

Bicolor Pattern - This is a distinctive pattern with a large amount of white, typically featuring an inverted V marking on the face, white legs and a white underbelly while the ears. tail and mask are colored. I like to refer to the V as the arrow ^.

Mitted Pattern- It is just like it sounds; they have white mittens on their front paws and white boots on their back legs. They also have a white chin, a white belly stripe running from chin to tail. Mitteds may or may not have a white blaze on their face.

Colorpoint Pattern- They have a distinctive coat pattern characterized by a pale body with darker extremities like the face, ears, paws, and tail. They do not have any white.

Lynx Pattern- This is a result of the agouti gene. It is a dominant gene, so you only need one copy, and the results are tabby stripes that appear on the color points.

Tortie Pattern- This is a term for tortoiseshell. This is a beautiful collision of color in my opinion. The pattern is a mottled mix of orange or cream mixed with other colors like seal or blue.

Torbie Pattern- There is a lot going on in this pattern. It is as above but mixed with the agouti gene. You have yourself a tortoiseshell tabby….a torbie.

Recap- Name that cat! In breeder terms we identify our ragdolls like this….

Color/Point/Pattern

i.e.. Charlotte is a Blue Point Bicolor or Jack is a Flame Point Bicolor. Our upcoming queen is a Seal Point Lynx Mitted (not featured yet)

Some of Jacks daughters will be Blue Point Tortie Bicolor.

See how fun this is! Now you try.

This is a beautiful Queen from Vegasragdolls.

How long do ragdolls live?

Ragdolls usually enjoy long and healthy lives. The average lifespan is reported to be 13- 18 years. With appropriate care and nutrition you should get many happy years with your ragdoll.

Should I let my ragdoll go outside?

In our personal opinion you should never let your ragdoll outside unsupervised. We only allow ours to enjoy the outdoors from an indoor catio! They do not have outstanding survival skills. They are not naturally cautious. They are very loving, with a trusting nature and this makes them vulnerable to predators, traffic and other dangers. Some owners do enjoy the outdoors with their ragdolls supervised on a harness. We recommend harness training indoors until you both get the hang of it. Just remember the outdoors is also a host to many parasites, diseases, and toxins which could lead to diminished health and life expectancy.

How do you come up with the pricing?

We spare no expense when is comes to raising healthy cats. We factor in the quality of what we are doing. We spend a lot of time raising these cats. Our queens do not even begin the breeding program until they are 14 months old. Our kings enter at 12 months. Our initial investment for our queens and kings averages out to be about $4,000 a piece. Daily maintenance on an average cat in our home is around $3. If you multiply that by 425 days (14 months for our queens) that comes to $1,275—that’s before she even enters the program. These babies are very important to us. Every kitten is seen by a vet no less than two times before they go home. They receive two vaccinations and dewormings. They are spayed or neutered before they leave our home. Countless hours are spent monitoring, socializing, and training each one. We strive to provide you a high quality companion to bring you joy for the next 13 to 18 years. If your baby lives to 13 that is a mere $138 per year (plus your own daily maintenance). You aren’t just buying an animal, you are entering into a long term rewarding relationship with your very own furry friend.

What should I feed my ragdoll?

At 4 Shiloh we feed a combination of wet and dry food. Always available is a 50/50 mixture of Life’s Abundance Grain Free and Orijen Original dry kibble. Once a day (and they know the time) they get their wet food. Some brands they like are Orijen, Weruva, Koha, and Acana to name a few. The important thing is to make sure it has high quality ingredients with high quality protein. Cats usually don’t drink enough water so it is important to offer wet food to help with hydration. I try to choose brands that have all meat in the first 5 ingredients. Check out this website all about cat food. I find it helpful. Cat Food Reviews and Ratings | Cat Food Advisor

What are the bare necessities to bringing home your kitten?

At home you will need:

Food bowls-I recommend stainless steel. Why you ask? Cats get chin acne easily with non stainless steel.

Food- you will be given a small baggie of the food your kitten has been fed to help you transition to your preference. Switching their food too quickly can lead to digestive issues. Typical transition should take at least 7 days.

Water - Cats prefer moving water. A fountain encourages water consumption (the fountain is not mandatory, just a suggestion).

Litter Box- We recommend a low sided open box to start with. We eventually graduate ours to a larger stainless steel one. We start the kittens off with pine pellet litter because it is the safest for them but you can transition them to your preference. My adult cats use Crystal litter. Dr. Elsey’s Litter Attract is popular. Many owners use scoopable.

Safe Space- We recommend a safe enclosure to bring your kitten home to. We will provide a travel carrier for the ride home. But once they are there they need a safe room. It provides security for the kitten. They may try to hide if you just let them roam free instantly. I have read a few stories of kittens finding their way into the most obscure hiding places. One was so hidden the family had to call the breeder for help after losing their kitten for 36 hours. Luckily the kitten recognized the breeders voice and she located the kitten behind the dishwasher. Yikes! You do not want that to happen.

You want to introduce other pets slowly. You do this by “sharing space”. Let’s say you set up a safe space in your bathroom where you kitten has access to their food, water, and litter box. You would keep them in there and spend ample time with them throughout the day while your resident pet has their normal run of the house. You then put the resident pet in another room and bring your kitten into the common area, like the living room, to explore under supervision, all the while smelling the resident and leaving behind their scent for your resident pet to smell when they return. This allows your animals to get to know each other through scent. Do this everyday and pretty soon they will already know each other before they actually meet.

The not so bare necessities…

Suggestions:

Plug in pheromone warmers- These emit pheromones that simulate a mothers calming presence, It can aid in introducing cats.

Toys- Kittens love all sorts of toys have fun shopping!

We do not allow our cats to ever be unsupervised with feather toys. They can ingest them and choke on them or suffer injury from sharp quills.

We also do not encourage laser play. Cats like to feel victorious in their play time. They are hunters. They can never catch the laser. We recommend toys that can be caught. Try to end every play sessions on a victorious catch. It will boost your cats confidence.

Cat Tower- Cats love to climb and a tower is the perfect perch for your kitty to play on. When they are small we have low to the ground towers but when they are older we transition them to multi tier towers.

Scratching Element- Save the furniture and give them something to scratch. There are several different types choose one that works for you.

Grooming Supplies- a metal tooth comb, nail clippers, lint roller for everything (the Chom Chom is pricey but SUPERIOR!)

Photos below of what each of these recommendations look like. All can be found on Amazon or Chewy.

What’s up with your Blog?

It is a work in progress. I love to talk about many different topics regarding animal husbandry. I need a place to develop that aspect as we move forward. So for right now it is under construction.

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