The ragdoll cat personality is often what attracts cat owners to the breed. On the outside the ragdoll is large, medium haired, beautifully coloured, blue eyed breed of cat. Inwardly, they exhibit strange personality traits that set them aside from many other breeds of cat. While there are many myths and generalizations surrounding the good nature of this exotic breed, more often than not the myths are founded in truths.
The ragdoll cat personality is one generalized as being a cautious mix of intelligence and a gentle, trusting nature. While many ragdoll cats can be attributed to these personality traits, there are many more who deviate from the norm. It would be too general to say that all ragdoll cats are intelligent, just as in any breed there is diversity, and there is obviously the force of nurture to take into consideration.
Certainly the standard ragdoll cat is a gentle, kindly creature, which would much rather spend time with you and those in your family, then go roaming out and about. Then again, ragdoll’s are rarely given the opportunity to be roamers – they are frequently and rightly kept as indoor cats, being far too trusting and lacking the street smarts of other outdoor cat breeds.They tend to be laid back and far too passive for the outside world, their lack of violent tendencies often mean they are unlikely to fight back, even if threatened, causing no end of scrapes and problems in the outside world.
The myths tell us the ragdoll was named as such Ragdoll Kat to their tendency to flop while being held in your arms, but they are not alone in this, many other cats if they trust you will go limp when you hold them. Perhaps then the ragdoll is simply more trusting and flops when they barely know you at all; this trusting nature is often seen as a very attractive quality in the ragdolls.
Ragdolls love people, they love other cats, they love other pets and stranger even, they appear to love water. A ragdoll will happily play in running water for hours, apparently fascinated by the wetness of it! They have even been known to attempt to join their owners in the bath or shower, setting them aside from most other cat breeds, traditionally known as water haters. For this reason, outside the ragdoll can easily end up drowning, they must be kept away from ponds, swimming pools and other large bodies of water, even if supervised.
Ragdoll cats will happily spend days curled up on you lap, purring, meowing to you, they are not known for their independence, unlike many other breeds, you will find the ragdoll to exhibit co-dependence, a good thing for some owners, a markedly annoying trait for others, but however you view being followed around all day, be prepared to step on a few tails several times a day, you might not even realize they are stood right behind you.But despite all the hype regarding their ‘laid back’ nature, and the ability to adapt to living with almost any animal, remember, just like us, each cat is different, and will exhibit different traits, don’t just assume that the ragdoll cats personality will be the ‘typical’ or standardized one, prepare for individual differences and you wont be disappointed.