Ragdoll Cat Forums

Hey guys,

Im a new user here. I have an 18 month old ragdoll male. I've been told hes a blue, but after looking at photos he seems to ressemble a lilac??

I've noticed blue raggies are quite dark, where as he is very light and has sort of light brown markings rather than the blue/grey.

If he is a lilac, Im guna be annoyed because we got him de-sexed at 6 months and are now looking into buying a chocolate tortie queen, aged 2 years old.

When we bought him from the pet shop, Alaska (our beautiful raggie) was pure white, and slowly grew into his colours. His markings are still quite light and his mask, i think, has stopped growing, as he has now got body markings too.


Is it possible he is a lilac or just a very light blue?? And btw hes a bi-colour xD!

Will attach photos. Let me know what you think =)









Photos were taken when he was about 15months

Ragdolls get darker with age, and I think that most lilacs would be even lighter than he is. I believe he is Blue, but I am no expert

He sure is handsome!

Looks blue to me.
This is my 17 month old Lilac Bicolour JAZ, as you can see he is much lighter


Glad to hear you have neutered Alaska (I love his name). If you are going to breed please make sure you get your entire cats from a registered and reputable breeder, not from a pet store like Alaska. You also cannot breed just any Ragdoll, you will need to wait for a breeding quality Ragdoll from your chosen breeder and mentor. You should be breeding to better the standard of Ragdolls. Please research more into breeding before going off and buying any old Ragdoll just because it is a chocolate or lilac. I wouldn't recommend starting with an O gene cat either as that will only make it more difficult for you.

With that out of the way, Welcome to the forum!

I've been researching animals in general for many many years. They have been my passion all my life. I am looking into studying Veterinary Nursing via distance education with a TAFE in my states capital city.

The raggie girl im looking into buying is a 2 year old Chocolate mitted tortie queen, who has been DNA tested to prove she is a chocolate carrier.

We are not sure if we will find a stud to breed her with (seeing as my Alaska is de-sexed) or not. I would love to breed her a few times then de-sex her, simply for the experience.

My grandmother breeds, and I have been there to experience and help for the birth half of the times.

We havent got her yet, and aren't going to take the decision lightly.

She has previously been used to breed.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Definitely looks like Alaska is a blue bicolor and not a lilac. As Cloe says, if he was a lilac he would be much lighter.

If you truly plan to breed then stay around the forum and use the experience of many of the breeders here to answer some of your questions before taking it on. It's not for the faint of heart or for those who think they can make money from it (it usually costs more to breed than you can make from selling the kittens - at best, it's a break even proposition if done properly for ragdolls)

Alaska is a beautiful boy and remember that ex-breeders (like the one you're considering) do make wonderful pets. I have two ex-breeders myself.

Do not get a cat from a pet store.

Chocolate and lilac are difficult to identify and the only reliable method is DNA testing.

If you want to breed, then go about it seriously. Do not choose cats based on convenience, but rather on whether the pair are compatible and further the interests of the breed, not merely fulfill your desire to have kittens. Being in Alaska, it will be a challenge. However, people in the far corners of the world have gotten breeding quality Ragdolls and established reputable catteries. You need to reset, because considering starting with a pet shop cat would be a false start.

(05-06-2010 07:34 AM)Shazzy Wrote: [ -> ]I would love to breed her a few times then de-sex her, simply for the experience.

I'm sorry but I don't think that is an adequate reason to breed. And as you have said, you have had the experience with your grandmother.

If you want to go about breeding seriously then like Jan said you need to reset and think about this:

Who is your mentor going to be? Is it someone you can count on? Will they be there in the middle of the night when you have an emergency? Can you trust them? Are they an experienced, reputable breeder? Are they respected by other breeders? Have you done your homework on them? Is this person mentoring anyone else? How much time can they devote to you? Do they live close to you? Now, where are you going to keep all these cats? Do you have to renovate your home or a room in your home? Where will you keep the males if they spray? Where will you keep the females when they spray and are in heat and need isolated? YES FEMALES SPRAY!!!!! Where will you keep the pregnant queens prior to and after delivery? Where will you keep the babies once they are born? Some breeders might add an enclosed porch ($5000 - $20,000+). Some might renovate their garage - ($500 and up). Some might use a spare bedroom. Everyone has a different set up in their home. The males and females when adults MUST BE IN SEPARATE LIVING QUARTERS!!! Do you have a veterinarian you trust? Are they familiar with cats (ragdolls) and their special needs? Do they do early spay/neuter? Do they have extended hours of operation? Can you phone your vet and ask for medicine and advice over the phone? Will your vet trust you to know your animals and their needs? Does your vet take payment plans - because sooner or later something devastating will occur and you won't have the funds to cover it. Are they "breeder friendly"? When your vet's office is closed, where is the nearest emergency clinic located? If you think your regular vet bills are expensive, hold on to your hat because the prices these emergency clinics charge are absolutely astronomical and I have found they average AT LEAST TRIPLE a normal vet office during normal hours!!! A normal well cat checkup at my vet costs a minimum of $35 FOR EACH KITTEN. Shots cost an average of $40.00 FOR EACH KITTEN. Then comes the testing for FELV, FIP, bloodwork/blood typing, fecal tests on EACH CAT that runs around $100 per cat. HCM Testing ($40 EACH cat/kitten), HCM echocardiograms ($100 - $500 EACH cat/kitten), etc., etc. Costs for spays and neuters vary by doctors and regional areas. A neuter can run anywhere from $50 - $150 EACH. A spay can cost $100 - $200 (females must spend at least one night at the vet office afterwards) EACH. These costs are only if there are NO complications or medications required. Let's say you have a pregnant queen and she's having some issues prior to birth and you might need to know how many kittens she is carrying. An ultrasound will run anywhere from $150 - $300 or more! (Credit to Mapleleaf Ragdolls)

These are only a few of the many costs, if you click on the link you will see many more. Breeding is certainly not cheap, and should not be done just for the experience or for fun.

I'm sorry if you take this harshly, this forum is a really friendly place where you will make lots of friends and learn lots too, I don't mean it to be harsh only that the message gets across. I think it is great you are going to study to be a veterinary nurse, I wish you all the best

JanH - Im sorry but I think you've mistaken me. My raggies NAME is Alaska, we do not live there =) We live in Australia. The chocolate queen we are looking into purchasing HAS been DNA tested and proven.

I won't be breeding for money. I want to breed for the experience and for the love of animals.

I have previously been using another forum, but it keeps giving me an error when I try to open the website lol.

Currently we have a domestic shorthair cat. 3 year old de-sexed female. We have only had for for about 3 weeks or so. Unfortunately, she is not settling. She and Alaska are constantly fighting very viciously, leaving scratches on eachother and everything. She is trying to kill our bird, Poppy, who does not spend all day in his cage. Rather, we let him spend some hours with his door open and let him fly free and stretch his wings and socialise. Abby (the domestic cat) has made many very close attempts to catch and kill Poppy. I believe this to be because she used to be an outdoor cat. We kept her inside when we bought her, but we have a small courtyard with 10ft pure concrete walls so the cats cant climb out.

We are finding her a good free home, preferably local so we can keep in contact and make sure she is doing OK in her new home. We have someone who may be interested =)

Since you are in Australia, you can easily find reputable breeders from whom to learn if you should be breeding. You also may want to consider starting by getting a show alter and showing him to learn the breed and meet breeders. That may help protect you from false starts and problems as well.