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Discovering the Ragdoll

A gentle, imposing breed without excess

Royaume d’Élégance Bijou, young seal bicolour Ragdoll stretched full length on the sofa — Bijou, at his birth cattery — long rectangular body, heavy bone, silky semi-long coat
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The official breed sheet, published by the LOOF (the French official feline registry).

See the sheet on the LOOF website

LOOF Ragdoll breed sheet, page 1

LOOF Ragdoll breed sheet, page 2

The Ragdoll standard according to the CFA, presented as a seminar for its judges: it details every point of the standard — head, eyes, ears, profile, body, coat — and the faults to rule out.

See the document on the CFA website

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 1

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 2

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 3

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 4

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 5

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 6

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 7

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 8

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 9

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 10

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 11

Ragdoll Revisited (CFA), slide 12

Recognising a beautiful Ragdoll

The standard’s key markers, in pictures

Blue bicolour Ragdoll with blue eyes

Blue mid-high-white Ragdoll with blue eyes

The ideal Ragdoll is a balanced cat, all gentleness, with no extreme trait. Open each criterion to see the illustration.

Four Ragdoll head shapes compared — The head forms a triangle with rounded contours (the “wedge”). Shape no. 1 is the one sought; a round, triangular or overly broad head departs from it.

Six Ragdoll profiles compared — Correct profile (no. 1): a gentle curve continues into a straight nose of medium length and a firm chin. To avoid: lack of relief, a receding chin, a Roman nose, an over-marked or extreme profile.

Evolution of a Ragdoll kitten’s eye colour, stages 1 to 6 — Large oval eyes, well set apart, of the most intense blue possible. The blue deepens gradually with age (here from stage 1 to stage 6).

Comparison between a silky coat and a woolly coat — A semi-long, silky, flowing coat with very little undercoat. It is no longer “silky” once it turns thick, woolly or cottony.

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