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Breed guide · Cats
He goes limp the second I pick him up. I've learnt to watch his tail.
Last updated 13 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Lifted up, they melt into your arms and hang loose, completely relaxed.
What's going onMany Ragdolls relax completely when they are held, and nobody has shown exactly why. It does not always mean they want to be there. If the tail flicks or the ears turn, put them down.
At home
Still eating, still purring, still happy to be picked up. Just sleeping a little more.
What's going onThe old story that Ragdolls cannot feel pain was never true. They feel it and show very little. Narrowed eyes, a lowered head and less jumping may be all you see.
At home
From the kitchen to the sofa to the bathroom door, and waiting there when you come home.
What's going onRagdolls are bred for company, and many of them want to be in whichever room you are in. A long day alone is harder on them than on a more independent cat.
At home
Asleep through the afternoon, and bored of a toy within a minute.
What's going onThey are big and happy to sleep, so weight goes on quietly under the coat. Weigh their food, and feel for their ribs once a week. Sleeping more than their usual is different: that can be pain, so call your vet.
At home
A ball rolls past and they ignore it. A feather behind the cushion, and they are crouched and ready.
What's going onA fast toy bores them. A feather dragged slowly behind a cushion is prey. Five minutes before their meals, ending with food, is enough to get them moving.
At home
Fast asleep in the afternoon, their side rising and falling.
What's going onRagdolls are prone to HCM, a thickened heart muscle, at every stage. Fast or shallow breathing while resting should be discussed with your vet immediately, within the same day.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their nature
Built for: Bred to put up with things.
In Dubai: Carried round the flat, and limp when you lift them.
Their pain
Built for: Hidden, as every cat hides it.
In Dubai: On top of that, bred not to protest, so they can be unwell for a while before you notice.
Their day
Built for: A cat who wants company.
In Dubai: A flat, where they do best with company close by.
Easy to live with, and hard to read.
You do not need to worry about them. You need to watch a little more closely than you would with a noisier cat, starting with their face and their breathing while they sleep. The ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around what a Ragdoll is prone to at every age, starting with their heart, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
They may never struggle or cry, so the signs are in their face.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
They may never struggle or cry, so the signs are in their face.
What to do
Learn their relaxed face first, while everything is normal. Then watch for narrowed eyes, flattened ears, a tight muzzle, whiskers pulled back and a low head. If you see them and cannot find a reason, call your vet.
They will rarely struggle, so you have to stop before they need to.
Every age
Why
They will rarely struggle, so you have to stop before they need to.
What to do
One hand under the chest, one under the back legs. Keep holds short, and put them down when the tail flicks, not when they wriggle. Ask children to sit on the floor and let them come over. From 11 years, lift less and let them climb onto your lap instead.
A slow, heavy cat still has the hunter in them, and a hunt is how you get them moving.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 2 years
Why
A slow, heavy cat still has the hunter in them, and a hunt is how you get them moving.
What to do
Drag a wand toy slowly along the floor and behind a cushion, five minutes twice a day before meals. Let them catch it, then feed them. Keep your hands out of the game, so they learn hands are not for catching.
Ragdolls are prone to putting on weight from the junior years, and their size and coat hide it.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Ragdolls are prone to putting on weight from the junior years, and their size and coat hide it.
What to do
Weigh their daily food and split it into small meals, some in a puzzle feeder. Treats come out of the day's amount. Ask for their portion to be reset from the day they are neutered.
Hairballs are a known risk in the junior and prime years, and a tangle can hurt without them showing it.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Hairballs are a known risk in the junior and prime years, and a tangle can hurt without them showing it.
What to do
Two or three times a week, with a wide-toothed comb, then a soft brush: behind the ears, under the front legs, the belly and the back of the thighs. Work a knot out gently, never pull. Note any lump you find.
The heart condition Ragdolls are prone to can be silent, and faster breathing at rest may be the first sign you see.
Every age
Why
The heart condition Ragdolls are prone to can be silent, and faster breathing at rest may be the first sign you see.
What to do
Fast or shallow breathing while resting should be discussed with your vet immediately, within the same day. If they breathe with their mouth open at rest, contact your vet now. Cardiac auscultation (listening to the chest) is in your plan from kittenhood, and echocardiography (an ultrasound scan of the heart) from 2 years.
Ragdolls are prone to bladder problems and bladder stones, and a calm cat may show them only in the tray.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Ragdolls are prone to bladder problems and bladder stones, and a calm cat may show them only in the tray.
What to do
Scoop daily and notice the number and size of the clumps. Give some wet food every day, and set out a few wide, shallow water bowls or a fountain, away from their food and tray. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day. A urinalysis (a urine test) is in your plan from their junior years.
They will sit still for anything, so stillness does not tell you they are relaxed.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
They will sit still for anything, so stillness does not tell you they are relaxed.
What to do
Leave the carrier out, door open, with a blanket inside. Once a week, touch their paws, ears and mouth for a second, then give a treat. Watch their face, and stop before they stiffen.
Ragdolls are prone to dental disease, and they will keep eating with a sore mouth.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Ragdolls are prone to dental disease, and they will keep eating with a sore mouth.
What to do
Lift their lip and look at the teeth and gums. Brush a few seconds at a time with cat toothpaste. Notice if they drop food, chew on one side or leave their dry food.
In a cat who never complains, a written record is how you spot a slow change.
Every age
Why
In a cat who never complains, a written record is how you spot a slow change.
What to do
Stand on the scales holding them, then without them, and write down the difference. Note where they sleep, whether they still jump up and how much they groom. Call your vet about any steady loss or gain.
Two of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Ragdoll cats
All Ragdolls have the same blue eyes and a pale body with darker ears, face, legs and tail. What changes is the white: none on a colourpoint, little white mittens on a mitted, and more white again on a bi-colour.
Colours
Their points can be seal, blue, chocolate, lilac, red or cream, some with tortie or tabby markings, so no two Ragdolls look quite the same.
The first six months
Their vaccinations, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, and the vet listens to their chest from the very first visit. Start the carrier, the comb and short, gentle holds now, while it is all new.
Kitten health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Ragdolls belong indoors, kept cool. Leave them a cool tiled spot, a few wide water bowls away from their food, and the carrier out with a blanket in it. Plan their days so they are not alone for long.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is the first risk for a Ragdoll, from kittenhood. Ask the breeder about the parents' hearts and whether they were tested, and keep the answer for your kitten's first vet visit.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
He'll still go limp in your arms. If he stops asking to be picked up, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
About 10,000 years ago
Every Ragdoll descends from the African wildcat, which began living around the first farming villages of the Near East.
What they still carryThe whole hunter, including the habit of hiding pain.
The 1960s
A breeder, Ann Baker, bred from Josephine, a white longhaired cat with no pedigree, and kept the kittens who were large, colourpointed and calm in her arms.
What they still carryThat founding calm, from a very small group of cats.
From the 1970s
Baker ran her own registry and claimed her cats could not feel pain. No evidence ever supported it. They feel pain like any cat, and show it less.
What they still carryA reputation that tempts people to watch less closely.
2000
Breeders left Baker's registry, and by 2000 the Ragdoll was recognised as a full breed by the Cat Fanciers' Association.
What they still carryThe blue eyes, the size, the calm, and a risk of HCM.
Today
The Ragdoll is a very common pedigree in the UAE, and many live indoors for life.
What they still carryA big, sociable, low-energy cat who does best with company close by.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Ragdoll suits you, so might these.
RagamuffinThe same kind of cat: bred from the Ragdoll, just as likely to go limp in your arms, in many more colours
BirmanThe same kind of cat: another calm, blue-eyed colourpoint who is happy to be held, a little smaller, with white paws
SiberianThe same love of company and a soft voice, in a big forest cat with more play in them
Norwegian Forest CatA similar size, the same coat care and the same need for a cool home, in a more independent cat who would rather climb than be held
