Ragdoll kittens: a description of the breed, features of nature and reviews

Ragdoll is a breed of cats, which is still rare in our country, as it was bred only in the middle of the last century. The main trump card of the breeders of these animals is the fact that they somehow managed to achieve an extraordinary relaxation of the muscle tone, which is completely unnatural to other breeds. In addition, ragdoll kittens are very soft and complaisant, and adults - complete equanimity.

History of occurrence

The ancestor of the ragdoll breed is the Angora cat named Josephine. She lived with her mistress, Anne Baker, in the 60s of the last century in California. Once the owner of the animal noticed that her pet has interesting features, consisting of unusual muscle relaxation and a fairly low threshold of pain. These facts pushed Anne to the decision to create a new breed.

First of all, she found Joséphine a couple - a beautiful and calm breed of Burma breed. The results of the work surpassed all expectations. According to Anne Baker herself, the first kittens of the ragdoll turned out to be just perfect. In 1965, this breed was officially recognized by the California Cat Fanciers Association. At present, there are American and European branches of regdolls.

Description

It can not be said that these cats were giants, but still they are larger than most breeds in size. Female regdolls weigh from 4 to 6, and males - up to 9 kg. Head shape is wedge-shaped and wide. The eyes are oval, large and have only a blue color of varying intensity. The length of the coat is medium or long, very soft and resembles a rabbit fur coat. It loosely fits to the body of the animal, so even when walking, it moves. On the neck grows the longest coat, thus forming a very beautiful and pronounced collar. On the forelegs, it is noticeably shorter, but on the back - it looks like "panties".

The ears are medium-sized reggolls, slightly rounded, sometimes with small tassels on their tips. As a rule, they are slightly inclined forward, and their inner side is covered with not very long hair.

The body is rather massive with a wide and well developed breast. The body is long and muscular. There may be a slightly saggy abdomen. The limbs are strong and muscular. The paws are large, oval in shape, and between the toes are bundles of wool. The forelimbs in these cats are slightly shorter than the rear, so the back line is markedly elevated to the croup.

Color

There are three main varieties of this breed. The first of these is color-points. This color is very similar to Siamese cats, whose hair on the body is light, and ears, muzzle, tail and paws are dark. A similar species has a Burmese cat. Ragdoll, kittens of which are born monochrome, as they mature, acquire their true color.

The next variety - the so-called mitted - differs from the previous white coat on the paws, forming a kind of "socks". And the last color - two-color. Such a variation differs from cats with dark paws in that they have a characteristic site with white hair in the form of an inverted English letter V. As for the pigmentation, it begins with the cheeks and eyes. Paws in such animals should be only white.

The wool of each ragdoll variety has 4 colors: dark brown (strength), blue, chocolate and lilac. Now only two-colored individuals of this breed can take part in exhibitions, while the rest are still unrecognized.

Character

Not only kittens ragdoll, but also adult animals are very sociable, obedient and affectionate. Loneliness is quite difficult to tolerate, therefore, as soon as such an opportunity arises, they accompany their master everywhere. Ragdolls are often too gullible. These cats are very smart and easy to train, but sometimes allow themselves to shirk from the execution of commands.

Many breeders believe that this breed is not suitable for families with young children, as it is known that kids are very fond of not only stroking, but also cuddling a cute fluffy animal. Given the underestimated pain threshold of these cats, such treatment with them can lead to serious injuries to the animal.

Care

Despite the fact that these animals are calm and quite lazy by nature, not only the kittens of the ragdoll, but also adults sometimes like to frolic, while exhibiting all the agility and speed of movements inherent in other breeds of cats. However, they have one significant drawback - they do not jump well. It is because of this feature that experts recommend very careful about ragdolls - they should never be pushed or thrown from a height. The fact is that unlike other felines, they, because of their physical and genetic characteristics, can not quickly group, so falling can turn into an animal for serious injuries in the form of bruises or fractures. To feel the extraordinary relaxation of the muscles of the ragdolls, you can simply take the cat on your hands - it practically loses its shape, hanging on you like a rag doll.

None of the breeds of cats feel more comfortable in a confined space of small apartments, like a ragdoll. Kittens, and adults, require a lot of attention to themselves during street walks, as their inhibited reaction can lead to injuries and other accidents. In order to avoid undesirable consequences and to protect your pet as much as possible, special leashes are perfectly suitable, to which the randolls get used very quickly.

The wool of this breed does not have an undercoat, so it never goes astray. Proceeding from this, two combing in a week will be enough to remove already dead necks. To bathe a pet is necessary only as it is contaminated.

Almost all representatives of this breed are very fond of eating well, but they never suffer from obesity. Tip: in order to prevent the appearance of hairy lumps in the cat's intestines, which facilitate its clogging, it is necessary from time to time to add to the food products that break down the coat. There is also a special food, which already includes "solvents".

Diseases

Basically, the ragdolls are distinguished by strong health and good endurance, but they have one intra-breed disease - hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, when the animal can suddenly die without any preliminary signs of the disease.

In order to prevent such cases, it is necessary to periodically inspect your pet from a veterinarian with mandatory additional studies, such as a cardiogram, ultrasound, etc. It should be noted that abroad, animals with such a disease are not allowed to breed at all, in order to minimize the occurrence of kittens with cardiac pathology.

Careful, fake!

Not only in our country, but also abroad, two breeds are often confused: Burma and Ragdoll. Kittens of the second of them are born exclusively white, and the colored areas on the wool appear as the animal grows up. These cats really are in many respects similar to Burmese, however, given their physiological and genetic characteristics, they can still be distinguished from representatives of other breeds.

This kind of confusion is often used by scammers, so you need to be very cautious about where the ragdoll kittens will be purchased. The nursery that distributes these animals must also be officially registered in the club of fans of this breed. According to existing rules, the descendants of cat Josephine must necessarily participate in the cultivation of reggae. In addition, the kennel should receive special permission from its club to cross, since only he has at his disposal a true pedigree of the ancestress of this breed.

How much are the ragdoll kittens

As mentioned above, there are very few such animals in our country. Sometimes under their guise they can sell another cat, giving it out for a real ragdoll. Kittens, whose price does not exceed 2 thousand rubles, is a frank deception. The cost of animals of this breed depends on several factors, the main ones of which are pedigree, age, exterior and health.

In order to clarify how much the kitten of the ragdoll breed costs, it is necessary to apply to a kennel with a good reputation, which has an official registration. Now the prices for such pets are pet-class, i.e. The cheapest, fluctuate from 15 to 40 thousand rubles. Cats in the same class higher will cost much more.

Some ragdoll breeders offer to buy animals at lower prices - from 5 thousand rubles, but without documents. At the same time, they assure that their kittens are obtained from thoroughbred parents. In addition, offers can come from private (unregistered) breeders who sell animals at a price of 2.5 thousand rubles. Before you buy such an inexpensive kitten, you should know that in this case the risk of obtaining a substitute for a pedigree animal is very high. Therefore, it is better to purchase ragdolls in officially registered nurseries.

Information and documents

All kittens of the ragdoll breed, which are sold in nurseries, must have a pedigree, a certificate of vaccinations already made and a veterinary passport. It is the breeder's responsibility to inform the buyer about the existing defects in the exterior, the nature, habits, health and other characteristics of your future pet.

The seller should also consult in the most detail about the rules for the care, maintenance and feeding of the animal of this breed, and also, if necessary, all the features related to exhibition activities and transportation.