27.05.2022

Facts about Ragdoll cats—get the lowdown before your life gets taken over!

Ragdoll cats are the friendliest of creatures and make perfect long-term family members.

If you’re looking for a cat that will be sociable, fun to have around, and a true companion, this breed may be the perfect choice for you.

There are a few things you should know before you allow a Ragdoll into your life. If you aren’t clued up about what—and how much—your Ragdoll eats, the breed’s behavioural foibles, the size your Ragdoll is going to grow to, and potential health issues you can expect, you may be in for a few surprises.

Read on to get all the facts about Ragdoll cats you need to be the perfect Raggie parent!

Ragdoll cat facts regarding temperament

Ragdolls were originally bred to be brilliant companion cats.

Originating in the 1960s, they were a mix of Sacred Birman, Angora, and various Persian elements, all combined to give cats that are friendly, fun-loving, and highly intelligent.

The most important personality traits you will encounter with a Ragdoll are that they:

1. Are clever enough to be trained
2. Love human companionship
3. Play hardball
4. Favour the great indoors

Ragdolls are clever enough to be trained

With their highly intelligent minds, Ragdolls are capable of learning tricks, fetching and retrieving objects thrown for them, and playing games like hide and seek.

With a bit of effort, you can train your Ragdoll to play the same kind of games you would expect from a puppy.

Human contact is the ultimate

There is nothing a Ragdoll likes more than human contact. This may mean that your Ragdoll will seek out any opportunity to lie on you—whether or not you are stationary at the time.

Stalking is also a common occurrence, with Ragdolls being prone to following you around the house, particularly when you’re carrying something large upstairs and there’s an opportunity to get under your feet.

The downside to their love of company is that they hate being left alone. If your lifestyle entails absences of 8 hours or more, you should be prepared to find devastation born out of frustration and anxiety when you return.

Games can be vicious

Ragdolls play hardball. Their games can often escalate from harmless batting a toy mouse around to wanton destruction of furniture, ornaments, and carpets.

Ragdolls love being inside

Although they will happily spend hours watching the birds in your garden, they will rarely put any hunting plans into action.

Although they are large cats, they share none of the wild hunting spirit of Maine Coons, Bengals, Norwegian Forest cats, Savannah cats, or Siberians.

As hunters, Ragdolls have a reputation for being slightly inept, and they are definitely not street savvy when it comes to activities like navigating traffic or orienteering.

“You do know I like to cuddle, right?”

Source: Pixabay

Vital facts about Ragdoll kittens 

There is nothing quite as loveable as a Ragdoll kitten. With their intelligence and vast capacity for cuddles and play, Ragdoll kittens are a joy to have around. This is fortunate as kittenhood lasts longer in Ragdolls than in most other breeds.

While a Siamese, British Shorthair, or Sphynx is considered an adult at 12 months, Ragdolls continue growing both physically and emotionally up to the age of 4 years.

While most height and body length has been achieved by 12–18 months, Ragdolls continue to build body mass long after that point. The typical weight chart for a Ragdoll kitten is as follows:

The final dimensions you can expect a Ragdoll to reach and their comparative values for normal cat breeds are:

“I’m not deaf, I’m just not listening.”

Source: Pixabay

“Are Ragdoll cats deaf?” and other myths

Numerous myths surround the Ragdoll breed, few of which are based on facts.

The most common fallacies and half-truths are:

1. Ragdolls are deaf
2. All Ragdolls are prone to allergies
3. Pain doesn’t affect Ragdolls

Ragdolls can hear perfectly well

There is an oft-quoted myth that cats with blue eyes are hereditarily deaf. This is a slight over-simplification in that many pure white cats with blue eyes suffer from a genetic defect that renders them hard of hearing.

Coming in a variety of colours, this is not true of Ragdolls—they have perfectly normal hearing. This takes no account of the highly effective selective hearing many cats perfect, though.

All Ragdolls are prone to allergies

There is no breed-specific genetic reason to claim that all Ragdolls are overly prone to allergic reactions.

While the breed is known to be sensitive and susceptible to food allergies and stomach upsets, this is no more pronounced in Ragdolls than in other breeds.

As long as you don’t let your Ragdoll eat anything toxic, you shouldn’t experience any more allergy problems than with any other breed.

Ragdolls feel pain

Many Ragdolls are quiet and don’t voice displeasure or discomfort readily.

This doesn’t mean they don’t get sick or feel pain—it simply means you have to be slightly more observant to pick up on signs that your Raggie isn’t feeling well.

Whether it’s tummy trouble, dental problems, a urinary tract infection (UTI)—such as cystitis or bladder stones—an injury sustained during play, or something more serious, your Ragdoll will probably let you know there’s a problem by hiding away and sleeping more than normal.

Your powers of observation need to be acute to spot signs of distress in your Raggie.

“Bring. Food. Now.”

Source: Pixabay

Interesting facts about Ragdoll cats’ health and nutrition

Many of the most common Ragdoll health issues are related to nutrition.

Being a large breed with long hair and an indoor lifestyle, Ragdolls can be susceptible to:

1. Gastrointestinal disorders
2. Hair loss and hairball issues
3. Weight control problems

Gastrointestinal disorders

Ragdolls are known to be slightly fussy eaters. They are also prone to occasional stomach problems, normally caused by the food they have eaten.

The symptoms of a tummy upset can include:

• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting or nausea
• Reluctance to eat

Any of these issues is serious if it persists for longer than 24 hours. After this point, your Ragdoll may start to generate energy by freeing up stored fat—if this is allowed to happen, the liver can become flooded with fatty cells that it will struggle to cope with. These cells will then be deposited around the surface of the organ, impairing liver function. The syndrome—known as hepatic lipidosis—requires lengthy medication and a special diet to restore full liver efficiency.

Hair loss and hairball issues

Ragdolls tend to be fairly proud of their appearance and may over-groom themselves.

The result is that they may shed vast amounts of hair and swallow enough to cause frequent hairballs to be regurgitated.

This is unpleasant for your kitty, you, and your carpets but can be reduced with the right nutrition.

Weight control problems

Since Ragdolls are indoor cats, there’s an ever-present danger that they will carry on expanding sideways long after their normal growth phase has been completed. While much of the excess poundage can be kept under control through exercise and play, diet is the most crucial factor in keeping your Raggie slim and trim.

The amount you feed and your choice of diet—wet, dry, semi-moist, or raw—are the main determining factors in whether your Ragdoll is able to stay cat-shaped.

How nutrition can help with these health concerns

Choosing the best possible food can address all these nutritional concerns in Ragdolls.

The right choice of food should be based on what cats would naturally eat in the wild.

A cat’s natural diet involves frequent hunting forays for:

• Small birds
• Mice and other rodents
• Lizards and reptiles
• Insects, including moths and grasshoppers
• Snails, slugs, and even frogs

The common elements of all of these meals are:

1. Animal protein
2. Animal fat
3. Vitamins and minerals

Animal protein

Ragdolls need meat to provide them with the amino acids—like taurine—required to:

• Get the necessary energy
• Build muscle
• Keep skin and coat healthy
• Maintain organ function

When choosing cat food, you should check the ingredients list to make sure one of the following is in pole position:

• Chicken (raw or cooked)
• Beef
• Salmon
• Prawns
• Mackerel
• Tuna
• Liver

Any product you’re considering that contains vegetables, grains, or cereals should be avoided, so look out for:

• Soya
• Corn or sweetcorn
• Wheat
• Peas
• Carrots
• Rice

High levels of animal protein ensure that Ragdolls can:

• Get enough healthy calories to maintain energy levels
• Keep their coat healthy and avoid excess shedding
• Avoid stomach problems, UTIs, diabetes, and other common health issues

Animal fat

As well as providing a secondary source of energy, animal fat delivers essential fatty acids and gives cat food an irresistible taste.

Taste is crucial for choosy Ragdolls, who can randomly turn their nose up at any food, whether wet or dry. Healthy levels of animal fat are essential to make sure your cat eats healthy food with relish.

Vitamins and minerals

All the vitamins and minerals Ragdolls need are contained in meat sources, most notably liver.

Any food that features a long list of vitamin supplements and mineral additives may not be of the highest quality or may have had many of the essential micronutrients destroyed through aggressive cooking.

High-quality, gently-cooked cat food retains all the goodness and doesn’t require long lists of supplementary ingredients.

Is Untamed the right choice for Ragdolls?

When it comes to healthy and tasty food for your Ragdoll, Untamed is the only choice to make! Each Untamed recipe features:

• Twice the animal protein than you normally find in cat food—Untamed products are packed with the best cuts of real meat or fish, with no need for additives, flavour enhancers, or colourants
• Vet-designed formulas—Every Untamed product has been tailor-made to deliver the best a cat can get, alleviating common health issues and ensuring your Raggie stays as fit and healthy as possible. Untamed contains no known allergens and is 100% natural

Untamed is also committed to ethical cat food, so we:

• Only source from sustainable, cruelty-free suppliers
• Ensure our packaging is 100% recyclable
• Maintain carbon-neutral processes throughout our supply chain

Want the best for your Ragdoll? Untamed has a wealth of great varieties, like Chocka Chicken, Tuck-in Tuna, or Full-on Fishy, each enriched with cat jelly or gravy.

Try Untamed and see the difference!

Health and happiness in a box from Untamed!

Image (c) Untamed

Get Untamed delivered to your door!

Getting Untamed for your Ragdoll couldn’t be easier! All you have to do to get the ball rolling is:

1. Tell us all about your Raggie’s preferences, sensitivities, and life stage
2. Choose the meals 
3. Order a trial pack for your feline friend

Once your trial pack arrives, your journey of discovery can begin—we will make sure your Ragdoll doesn’t go hungry with our tailored cat food subscription!

We’ve gotten feedback from happy cat parents telling us that you should expect to see the following after ordering our cat food online: