Ragdoll Cats: An Interview with Fancy Cat

Interviewing is an art, and our resident cat, Fancy, is truly an artist. She has a knack for fishing out interesting details when she's interviewing members of America's most popular cat breeds. In fact, she's great at fishing in general; you should see her go after her kitty lure caster!

Today, Fancy put on her journalist cap and met with Ruby the ragdoll cat to get some information about that breed for us.

Fancy: Good morning, Ruby! How are you today?

Ruby: Well, hello, Fancy; I'm fine, thank you! How are you? You're looking lovely today.

Fancy: Why Ruby, aren't you sweet? Can you tell me about how the ragdoll cat breed came about?

Ruby: My breed is quite young; only a bit over 50 years old. In California, in the '60's, an Angora-type cat was taken in and bred to Birman males, producing several litters of kittens with sweet dispositions and long, soft fur. These kittens were further bred to eventually produce the ragdoll.

Fancy: A young breed; how interesting! So ragdoll cats are sweet and submissive?

Ruby: Yes, in fact, our name comes from the tendency of many of us to go limp when held or handled. Ragdolls tend to be quite laid-back, docile, and humans can usually handle us easily for things like claw trimming.

Fancy: Do the humans have to do a lot of maintenance to keep ragdolls groomed and healthy?

Ruby: We need the same veterinary care as all cats do, and we need routine tooth-brushing and claw clipping. Brushing our long fur once a week is usually sufficient because it doesn't mat easily. There are a couple of medical conditions that ragdolls are more prone to, so people need to be aware of that and watch for the signs. One is a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and the other is bladder stones. One thing to keep in mind is that we tend to be large cats, even up to 20 pounds for some boys. So people need to have good, sturdy scratching posts and large litter boxes for us.

Fancy: How to ragdolls do with housemates like other cats, dogs, and kids?

Ruby: Our demure personalities mean we usually get along well with others, regardless of their species. It is important for humans to be sure we aren't being taken advantage of, though. We're so easy-going that we will sometimes let other cats, dogs, or kids treat us roughly without really fighting back. So it's up to the humans to monitor that and make sure we're OK.

Fancy: Ruby, I've enjoyed talking with you and learning more about ragdoll cats. Thanks for visiting; what are your plans for the rest of the day?

Ruby: I thought I'd take a stroll around my house, see what everyone is up to, watch my human make dinner, cuddle up next to her feet while she reads this evening, and maybe do some purring while she pets me. Should be a great evening.

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