Ragdoll Cat Forums

Hello!

I was owned by a Ragdoll for 17 years until last October when CRF finally won out. I really miss my baby, but have progressed through mourning to the point where I feel I am ready to look for a new furbaby (or two!). We have always, ever since I was a child, looked to adopt at shelters, rescues, humane society, etc. so I have been looking at the various shelters in my area. I am certainly no expert on Ragdolls except to know that I adore them. I have been researching and checking out various websites, but have several questions that I hope you can help me with.

1. It seems that any cat with blue eyes at the shelters gets labeled as either "Ragdoll" or "Snowshoe" or "Siamese". If a cat looks identical to some of the Ragdolls shown elsewhere in this forum, would that help me determine if it is more Ragdoll than Snowshoe?

2. Are Ragdolls and Snowshoes very similar? A particular foster site lists a cat as a Ragdoll Mix but in an email she calls it a Snowshoe that goes limp like rag when you pick him up.

3. Are Ragdolls always long-haired?

Thank you for your guidance.

Chances are that any cat in a shelter, unless advertised as coming with papers, or possibly offered by a Ragdoll Rescue, is truly not a ragdoll, but a cat that looks like a ragdoll. That doesn't mean that they won't have characteristics of a ragdoll, but just that they are not "real" ragdolls. My first cat, Simon, looked exactly like a Seal point ragdoll, acted like a Ragdoll, but sadly, was not a ragdoll. But when he died, I bought two ragdolls because I wanted cats with the same characteristics he had.

There is truly no way to know the cat's breed without papers, so it would be impossible to tell if any cat was a ragdoll or snowshoe by looking at it since any cat can look like either of them.

Fortunately, few Ragdolls need rescue and those that do seem to find homes very quickly. I think you are going to have to choose between getting a cat at a shelter and getting a Ragdoll. If you want two cats, perhaps get one Ragdoll and one shelter Ragdoll type cat. It is good to have at least two cats, particularly if one is a Ragdoll.

Thanks, TeresaK & JanH, for your replies.

There are so many cats (and other animals) in shelters, I guess I was hoping to have the best of both worlds - giving a forever home to a cat in a shelter yet hoping it could be as close to a Ragdoll as possible.

JanH, I like your suggestion of getting one known Ragdoll and one shelter Ragdoll type cat. Maybe that would be the best of both worlds!

Valerie