Hi All! I am the owner of 3 Ragdolls. Two are half-brothers, & seem to have nice non-matting coats that look neat & tidy with a combing once a week with a greyhound comb. I have posted before about problems with matting with my 3rd ragdoll, who does come from a different line. Maybe this has something to do with it or maybe not - she has a profuse, billowing coat that makes her look twice her actual size. Her tail is as big as a racoon's & has a life of its own. The greyhound comb & zoom groom do not help. Although I do use a furminator on my 3 pugs with great success, I have read very negative reviews on the ragdoll sites pertaining to using a furminator on a ragdoll. But, I used one today on my hairstyle-challenged raggie girl, & I removed enough undercoat fluff to fill a small pillow! She seemed to like the grooming for the most part, & looks 100% better! I have never bathed her because I figured I would end up with a matted up mess, but I think I will try to bathe her today. She is a pretty agreeable little girl, so I am hoping she will at least tolerate her bath. I have furminator deshedding shampoo & creme rinse that I use on my pugs - it is also safe for cats. I can't wait to see how it goes! I haven't seen very many ragdolls besides my own, but she sure does have some big hair!
What you describe is not a Ragdoll type coat (which is not to say Ragdolls do not have non-Ragdoll coats, because they do). You are describing a Persian type coat with undercoat that should be absent in what is wanted for a Ragdoll. Cats like that will need the grooming approaches for Persians and not Ragdolls.
I see. Do you have any pointers on grooming for the Persian type coat? I can look it up as well. All 3 of my Ragdolls are purebred, but the little female's coat is unbelievable! Thank you, Jan, for the insight.
We had a Himalayan and it was a constant battle. Sometimes we just had to shave him down. You have to keep ahead of it and weekly grooming helps a lot. I can see where using a stripper would make a difference and that is less damaging and drastic than a complete shave.
(05-11-2010 03:32 PM)JanH Wrote: [ -> ]We had a Himalayan and it was a constant battle. Sometimes we just had to shave him down. You have to keep ahead of it and weekly grooming helps a lot. I can see where using a stripper would make a difference and that is less damaging and drastic than a complete shave.
Jan- I just looked up some pictures of Persian cats, & you were absolutely right - except for her face, of course, the pictures of the Persian bodies & tails do look remarkably like my ragdoll! If I had not bought her from a reputable breeder on the ragdoll forum sites, I might wonder about her parentage!
