The Ragdoll cat is one of the cat breeds that have become considerably more popular in recent years, and if you’ve ever seen a cat that appears to go completely limp and dangle in the air the moment they get picked up, then it was likely at least partially a ragdoll – yes, this means that Quagmire’s cat in Family Guy is probably a ragdoll even though very few places have pointed this out.
This isn’t the only thing most people don’t know about the ragdoll breed, and until recently most people didn’t know about this breed at all – partially, this is just because the breed has only starting booming in more recent years since other associations were legally allowed to add the name “ragdoll” to their listing when the trademark for the name finally expired – but only in the year 2012.
Here are 15 fascinating facts about the ragdoll cat.
1. The ragdoll breed was first developed by Ann Baker.
The ragdoll breed of cat was first discovered, developed and named by a cat breeder named Ann Baker. While living on her own farm, she had seen that the cat for the first time on another farm behind hers – and her interest was grabbed immediately. She made one of these unique cats her own, and then started to breed some of their unique traits, which eventually led us to the cat we know today as the ragdoll.
Once this had been done, she set up the first association for ragdoll breeding and registered the name as a trademark – and the breed officially took off in many parts of the world, including the UK.
Marilyn Monroe said that if she ever came back she’d return as a white cat – maybe she spotted one of these cats herself and loved it so much that she decided that she’d like to come back as a completely carefree ragdoll cat.
2. They love other cats.
When you look at a ragdoll share a room with another cat – or sometimes even dog – you’ll wonder where the myth came from that cats can be antisocial at all. In the right environment, ragdoll cats are one of the most lovable ones you’ll ever see, and they happen to love other cats – in fact, they will cope best when you put them in a family of cats that manage to get along well.
They share their affinity for both cats and people, and ragdolls will usually stick close to their owners or go into hiding when their owners aren’t around: But when united with their owner again like after the end of a day’s work, they’ll be all over their owners at the drop of a hat.
But If they’ve picked a member of the family to hate, there’s not much you can do except for a slow re-introduction to the person or animal with time and a lot of catnip.
3. They’re true to the name.
The ragdoll cat gets their name from the fact that they go completely limp when they are picked up, which is the single characteristic trait that all ragdolls worldwide will share – and the one single characteristic that you can immediately use to find out if you’re looking at a ragdoll cat.
All ragdoll cats do this: You don’t have to worry that there’s something wrong with your cat when this happens, and you don’t have to run off to the vet to ask them why your cat is doing this if they appear to be otherwise fine – no, your cat isn’t sick, this is literally just what the breed is known to do.
These cats love being carried around, and they prefer spending most of the day in close proximity to their owners – especially if their owners actually do. Ragdolls are lovable, friendly and cope in most types of different environments.