Ragdoll

Ragdoll

Ragdoll Cats Slide Show. See the best photographs of the best cats in a slide show run by Google..wait 2-5 seconds for the show to load...

These are some the adjectives used to describe the various elements of this cat:

broad - large - medium sized - heavy and strong - large and long - heavily boned - proportionately large

Photo: © Tom Poes

When you simply pull out the adjectives you instantly get a clear "feeling" for the kind of cat that the CFA thinks the Ragdoll should be.

All Ragdolls are pointed. In the slide show Myst is a blue tabby point, Ophelia is a seal point and Lestyn is a red lynx point.

As usual I go over the Ragdoll Breed Standard (CFA) with some stunning cats to check the standard against at the same time. I am not saying by the way that these cats demonstrate the standard or are connected to the CFA. They are for illustration purposes only. In fact the CFA do not list "blue tabby point" (Myst) as an acceptable color. Red lynx point (Lestyn) and seal point (Ophelia) are CFA accepted colors, however. Some of the cats that Helmi photographed in the slide show are "mitted" (white extremeties - see below).

The show is manually operated giving you the chance to stop and look. The photographs are by Helmi Flick and Dani Rozeboom.

Photo of Tinkerbell: © Tom Poes

Briefly not referring to the breed standard my impression of this cat is that she is quite large, very attractive (perhaps "pretty" is the better word), "normal" looking and laid back (placid). The CFA breed standard general comments endorse that view but in more technical language. The Ragdoll should be "well balanced" meaning the overall impression is of a cat that has no elements of the body that stand out; all elements in harmony. She is long haired but not as long as some Persians. The point markings may be overlaid with white patches (sometimes symmetrical) reminiscent of the Snowshoe cat breed (caused by the piebald or spotting gene). The CFA says she is "stiking" in appearance.

Couldn't resist showing these. Nothing to do with studying the breed standard though - Photo: © Tom Poes

The head should be equilateral meaning that the three sides of an imaginary triangle framing the head would have equal length sides. This is the same as the Japanese Bobtail. You can see an equilateral triangle overlaid on the Japanese Bobtail cat's head ( smiley

)by clicking on this link.

The eyes should be large, wide set and moderately slanted (see Tom Peas's photograph top right). The ears are medium-sized and wide set (for a layperson you wold probably think of these as standard shaped ears).

The body should be large and long but not cobby (this would lead to disqualification in competition). This can be seen nicely in the pictures of Myst and Lestyn in the slide show. This cat has heavy boning. The legs should be heavily boned too. This is a solid powerful cat.

The paws should be large and tufted (hair between the toes). The tail long with a full "plume". Myst has a superbly plumed tail.

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