Chameleons of the feline world, introducing: the Ragdoll and its wonderfully spectacular, multicolor coat! Ragdoll colors and patterns can really blow your mind. This is because they come in such a huge and beautiful variety.
With all these possibilities, it’s no wonder these cuties stand out in the cat world (besides their size). While the blue eyes are a stunning marvel all on their own, Raggie’s unique yet popular coat colors take the cake.
So if you need a detailed guide on what makes them so beautiful, you’ve come to the right place. Sit back, grab your notepad (app), and dive into the world of coats, colors, shapes, and sizes.
Contents
Ragdoll Cat Colors: The Basics of the Coat
Before we head into the meaty stuff, you first need to know the basics of the coat itself. This is a longhaired cat, so investing in a good cat brush is extremely helpful in managing their fluff.
Which Types of Ragdoll Cats Should You Choose?
The silky texture of a Raggie’s coat is one of their best-known characteristics. Soft as bunnies, this luxurious coat of colors is your pride and their joy. They’ll be spending many of their waking hours grooming it meticulously.
But to understand the Ragdoll coat, there are a few things to take into account. Genetics are big at play when it comes to the way their coats can express the colors, while the kittens are like little ghosts.
The Himalayan Gene: Temperature Check
When it comes to a cat’s coloring, their kitty genetics controls all the color variation. This is known as the Himalayan modifier gene. This gene is one of these controlling aspects and is the cause of the varying color and body patterning in Ragdolls.
This gene inhibits pigmentation in certain areas of the cat’s body based on the temperature of the various body parts. To simplify things: if a particular area is too hot, that area blocks it from further developing color. Then, the color can be expressed again when it returns to a regular cat body temperature of 100.4°F– 102.5°F (38 – 39.2°C).
Incidentally, this means that if you live in a cooler climate, your Ragdoll’s color will adapt to that climate. Thus, your cat can have strikingly different coloring in winter versus the summer.
They are a slow-maturing breed with growth spurts here and there. This means predicting a Ragdoll’s final look is a complicated (but fun) task.
Their coats keep changing and maturing up to three years of age. So, be prepared for Mr. Flufflebutt to change as he grows into the majestic fluff he is meant to be.
Ragdoll Kittens: Snow White and Super Fluffy
Something you may not know is that Ragdolls come into this world pure white. Their coats only start developing colors as they grow older. And, since a kitten’s body temp is very high initially (Himalayan gene at play).
Once they start “cooling down,” their colors and patterns start expressing themselves, leading to a multi-colored batch of kittens from this cute cat breed.
Fun Fact: This color is mostly expressed in their extremities, like the ears, paws, tail, and face. These will be the darkest parts of your Raggie and are primarily responsible for identifying their color-pattern combination.
Ragdoll Cat: Colors fur Everybody
Ragdolls are very popular show cats due to their stunning looks. Another interesting fact about Raggie coloring is that their noses and paw pads are often linked with the same color.
This “matchy” look is probably nature’s way of helping them steal the crown as the cutest cats on Earth.
This said Ragdolls have a range of “officially recognized” colors commonly known and accepted as “classic Ragdoll.” These colorings vary significantly in intensity, as well as with seasonal changes (as mentioned earlier).
Many of these colors are variants or shades of each other, so it can be tough to tell them apart. Below you can find an in-depth look at the wonderful world of Ragdoll colors.
1. I Seal You
First up, we have the seal coloring. This is one of the most iconic looks: Dark brown, almost black in some cases, with dark shading happening in the non-pointed areas. Pointed areas refer to the extremities, where the Himalayan gene does not inhibit their color pigmentation.
Incidentally, seal coloring is also the most popular in Siamese cats, an ancestor or common breed of the Raggie. These seal kitties often end up being the darkest of all the Rags when their coat and color reach maturity (3 years of age).
As seen quite often, these cats may have little to no white left when they mature. With all this dark majesty, a cute pink harness can be a perfect pop of color for your kitty.
2. Death by Chocolate
Ivory Delight best describes this Raggie coat color. A lovely ale ivory color covers most of their bodies, including their stomachs and chests. Their main standout color is warm, milky chocolate. Tones of brown can also be found scattered across their bodies.
Chocolate Rags are not seen too often, but when they are, they surely melt hearts. Their cinnamon-pink paw pads are just about the cutest thing.
3. Blue Monday
When it comes to Ragdolls, ‘blue’ means ‘gray.’ As confusing as that sounds for gray cat breeds like this one, blue Raggies are blessed with a stunning, light gray color as their main feature.
According to this Ragdoll color chart, their bodies have lots of cool whites, while their pointed areas are graced with a deep gray (almost blue, hence the name).
Blue Raggies are also one of the most recognized colorings, and they are the sweeter, more angelic-looking Ragdolls often seen in print and media. Blue Rags always have cool colorings, which is their trademark.
4. A Frosty (Lilac) Reception
With a cute and cuddly cat that can be gray, you can bet they can be purple/pink as well. A lilac Rag is known for its frosty grey appearance, tinged with a lovely pink hue.
Their cute little noses and paw pads are lavender-pink in color, rounding out their adorable cherub complexion. Their bodies are also mostly white, making it easy to distinguish them from blue Rags, who have a lighter grey body color.
5. Fire and Flame
Astonishing as it may seem, Ragdolls are also able to come in a range of reds. Apricot is quite popular, but it can go all the way to a beautiful deep red. The deeper the red, the better when it comes to their “show” classifications.
These fiery orange felines are a striking example of how different the variations in a breed can be. Red Ragdolls or Maine Coon Ragdolls (sometimes also referred to as flame) also have primarily white bodies, with lighter shading of their primary color scattered all over.
6. Cream of the Crop
As lilac is to blue, so is cream to flame. Cream Raggies are again on the lighter scale of things, with a subtle cream coloring with buff undertones. Also resembling a lightly toasted marshmallow, these cute kitties, with beautiful white bodies, are stunning in their own right.
Cream coat colors are not very popular or widely seen types of Ragdolls, as they can be tough to distinguish between them and flame. Nonetheless, it is a soft coloring and can give your Raggie an ethereal quality.
The Shape of You (Coat and Markings)
Now that we have the colors sorted, it’s time to look at the other primary aspect that determines this breed’s coat: Ragdoll patterns and markings.
These can vary widely, so combining this with the number of colorings gives you various variations. Their fluff-filled majesties can’t be contained to one mere pattern, so they have four.
Note: As one of the fluffiest cat breeds, their patterned coats can be very satisfying to pet. But, it may have you wondering if you may wonder if Raggies are hypoallergenic. There are quite a few things allergy sufferers should be aware of, but to put it simply: no. They are not fully hypoallergenic.
1. Color-Point the Way
Where the seal is the main or most well-known color for Ragdolls, the color point is the best-known patterning. Colorpoint refers to their extremities, or “pointed areas,” like the tail, ears, paws, head, and muzzle.
In a color point Rag, these areas are usually a solid shade of color, with little to no variations or deviations from their primary color. A seal color point is the most popular Ragdoll color combo of the two, with dark brown faces spreading out from their pointed noses.
Their bodies are also usually off-white, even cream, and taper gradually to a lighter color towards their tummies and chests. Colorpoint Rags are striking in their looks and typically have the most contrast between their main and body colors.
Fun Fact: All Ragdolls are actually pointed, but these areas can be partially covered or overlaid with white. This white is what causes their interesting patterning and “color blocking.”
2. Tortie-lly Cute
Tortie Raggies are a variant of the pointed pattern. They are similar to calico patterns, as seen in domestic shorthair cats. Tortie cats are often blessed with various colors, giving them a unique breed appearance.
Now, we don’t know if this is true, but apparently, all tortie cats are unique, as each one has a different marking pattern. Another cool thing about Torties is that they are usually females because of how the genetics are expressed to result in a tortie pattern.
3. Lynx Marks the Spot
Lynx Rags can fright you the first time you see them. No, they are not wild cats (they only look like that). Lynx patterning refers to the ‘stripes’ that can be seen covering their faces and sometimes other parts of the body.
This is a very cool pattern, as these Raggies have a striking, more feral look but are still the same cuddly fluffs you know and love. Their paws and tails often have these striped markings as well.
To achieve this iconic look, Lynx Raggies have their main color accented with stripes of white or a lighter shading. Their “fierce tiger” features are an adorable contrast to their fun-loving personalities.
4. Nice Mittens
Mitted Ragdolls closely resemble the color point pattern, except for one significant difference: mittens! As funny as it may sound, mitted Raggies are real. Their paws are pure white in color. It is adorable to see a cat look like it’s wearing mittens, so prepare for swooning.
Their front paws are generally white, only up to the “wrist” joint. The back paws have white spreading all the way up, stopping mid-thigh. A white stripe also runs from their backsides through the belly up to their white chins.
This is a unique look for a Ragdoll, so if you have one, you are very blessed. And if you were worried, keeping their “socks” clean is no issue, as cats lick each other and themselves quite thoroughly.
5. Bi-Color Beauties
Another day, another cat with a split personality. All jokes aside, bi-color Ragdolls have quite interesting mugs. Instead of a color-pointed face, they have an upside-down “V” pattern as a mask (the facial area in cats).
This “V” is accentuated by contrasting their main color, like flame, with white. This creates a super cool look on these stunning fur babies, contrasting their already gorgeous faces.
Normally part of the outside edges of their faces, the “V” slashes over the corners of the eyes and ends with their cheeks. This leaves the central part of their face white, with a border of color around it. The ears are also colored, as is the back of their heads.
As for the rest of their bodies, their paws and legs are usually also white, with some color spots here and there. When taking show qualities into account, the “V” has to be as symmetrical as possible, and it may not extend beyond the outer edges of their eyes.
Who knew showing off your kitty’s stunning looks could be this complicated?
6. Van-tastic to Meet You
Almost resembling a pointed cat that got a haircut, the van patterning leaves a Ragdoll with a very particular appearance. Their color mask is restricted to the upper parts of their face and the ears; it almost looks like they are wearing a hat.
As mentioned, the ears have a very strong color representation, as well as the tail. Some gradual fading or white spots can also be prevalent, with their bodies, as well as their legs and feet, staying true white.
Van Ragdolls probably have the most white in their bodies compared to all the other patterns. Therefore you should be on the lookout for the issues like deafness prominent in white cats.
7. A Blaze of Glory
Blazing a trail past all the haters, here comes the Ragdoll with a blaze. While this is not necessarily an entire pattern scheme on its own, the blaze is still worth mentioning. Now, this blaze we are referring to is a distinct, white shape located on the nose of a Ragdoll.
This white shape can be a diamond, star, or hourglass and is quite remarkable, especially in photos. It gives their cute little noses a little drop of awesome, adding to the already stunning beauty of this breed.
Fun fact: The blaze does not have to be symmetrical. It can be broken up or even shaped haphazardly. As long as there is a white speck, your Raggie is a blazing beauty.
Ragdoll: Color me Impressed
Wowzer! Did you know Ragdolls could be such chameleons? It is one of their many alluring aspects and helps make them the unique kitties we know and love. All these Ragdoll colors and patterns just amp their cuteness to a new level.
It is good to keep in mind that no matter the color, pattern, or markings on your cat, they are all adorable. Each and every one of them is stunning, with unique personalities and aspects.
Remember, Ragdolls don’t shed excessively, so you won’t be chasing those tumbleweed furs all over the house. All should be well as long as you keep up a regular brushing and grooming schedule. Here kitty kitty!