Ragdolls

About the Ragdoll (the condensed version)

Ragdolls are a relatively new breed of cat. They were developed in the 1960s by some chick named Anne Baker. She was a tad crazy I believe. According to some reports I read while doing my own research on the breed, she made some strange assertions about the Ragdoll being impervious to pain (among other things).

Apparently, there were some disputes among the breeders of the Ragdolls. Some wanted to get out from under Anne Baker’s thumb and do their own thing. Eventually, some of those breeders broke off and started breeding Ragamuffins. The rest stuck with it and eschewed Anne Baker’s crazier claims and got the breed recognized by the more established cat fancier organizations.

Personality

Ragdolls tend to be friendly cats. They’re named for their tendency to go limp in your arms. Still…notice how I said they tend to do these things. It’s important to remember that they are still cats and individuals. They’re going to have their idiosyncrasies. They’re going to have their differences. Some Ragdolls might like to be held more than others, for example.

Still, there is that tendency, which is what drew me to them in the first place. The cool thing about getting a specific breed of cat is that you have some idea of what the cat will be like as an adult. It’s less of a crap shoot really. At least that’s how I look at it.

Health

HCM, or Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is a disease that can effect your  Ragdoll. It’s imperative that if you are purchasing a ragdoll from a breeder that you ask if the kings and queens are tested for this disease. According to UC Davis Veterinary Medicine, “the condition is inherited due to breed specific mutations in the cardiac myosin binding protein C gene (MYBPC3).”

Shedding

In my research, I read on a couple of breeder websites that Ragdolls don’t shed. Or they don’t shed that much.

All I can say to that point is that just about all animals will shed at least a little. So if you’re trying to get a cat that doesn’t shed, you might be disappointed with a Ragdoll.

Luckily I called bullshit on those claims and went into it expecting to see cat hair on my stuff.