Believe it or not, Ragdoll cats are in the middle tier of cats in terms of how long their coats are. So while many people call them long-haired, that’s not entirely accurate.
Ragdolls start off in almost the same league as standard, short-haired cats, with their coats growing and filling out with age or just over time. So yes, Ragdolls do get fluffier with age, but it takes some time for their coats to reach their full potential.
The age range for your Ragdoll to start really fluffing up is around three to four years.
Which also coincides with the age of maturity for your Ragdoll cat. It will be considered an adult within this time frame, even though the male can take up to five years to reach maturity.
Do Ragdoll Coats Get Fluffier with Age or More?
After Ragdolls reach the age of four or five years, you can expect them to reach their full, fluffy material every single winter.
Ragdolls don’t have undercoats, and they certainly aren’t in the same league as Siberian cats and domestic breeds that are tailored for winter.
Ragdolls get fluffier to combat the winter cold, even though Ragdolls are decidedly indoor cats and rarely venture outside for any reason. They don’t have an innate desire to go outside because that’s just not in their personality unless you happen to be outside with them.
It’s a game of patience. Unfortunately, you will have to wait several years before their coat reaches its full potential.
You could always search out a Ragamuffin if you want to have a cat with a lot of fluff right off the bat.
You can also spend this multi-year wait by practicing your grooming applications and getting used to the daily grind of properly grooming your Ragdoll. As far as their coat is concerned—regardless of how fluffy it is—a Ragdoll should be brushed once a day for at least five minutes.
The older your Ragdoll gets, the more it will take on a fluffy appearance.
This is especially true when they pass the age of five. Then, naturally, they become more stately in their stature, size, and poise, with plenty of fluff to go around for everyone to admire and pet.
Ragdolls certainly aren’t proud, but they love the attention their bright, soft, and fluffy coats bring them and will luxuriate in all of it.
Since they will spend a lot of time being as close to their family members as they can possibly be, everyone will get a healthy dose of Ragdoll fur.
Ragdoll Coat
The Ragdoll has a luxuriant coat that is silky and smooth, so long as it’s well taken care of. Unfortunately, any cat, especially Ragdolls, will have their coats negatively affected by lack of care and poor diet.
Ragdolls are a large breed of a domestic cat and their size, combined with their fur, makes for a large, soft, fluffy cat. When they are first born, Ragdolls are almost always pure white, with subtle, faded marking appearing over time.
While all Ragdolls will look a little different from one another, they are often very similar in patterning and white or faded white colors of their coats. In addition, they are often highly praised for their smooth, soft coats, which makes them excellent show cats.
Although they lack an undercoat, they maintain the feel of one with all the extra fluff around their neck, where their skin and coats are much thicker than on other parts of their bodies.
Ragdolls are generally pretty good at grooming themselves, but their coats require a quick brushing daily.
If it gets matted anywhere along their body, it’s usually a pretty simple process of cutting the matted area out and allowing it to regrow.
It’s also a good idea to take them to the groomers and have their coats shaved down.
You can even get the “lion’s mane” look if that sort of thing appeals to you. Fortunately, Ragdolls are very low maintenance, at least in terms of the grooming department.
Do Ragdolls Shed A Lot?
If you’re looking for a cat that doesn’t shed very often, you should stay away from Ragdolls, especially during the summer, when their shedding reaches an inordinately insane level.
Ragdolls are medium-haired cats and particularly fluffy in their later years. Like any cat, they will shed more often in the summer than in the winter, but they will still shed plenty even when it’s cooler outside.
It’s a circular thing with Ragdolls since they don’t spend much time outside.
So even though they won’t typically experience ice-cold weather, their bodies are attuned to the seasons as well as yours and probably better.
Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to cut down on the amount of shedding, regardless of what time of year it is.
- Proper, premium diet
- Fish oil/Omega 3s
- Proper and routine grooming schedule
- Use a static brush or mitten
The better the cat food, the less shedding you can expect.
Cheap cat food is full of additives and preservatives and hard-baked for so long that it deletes most of the nutritional value.
You want to stick with premium cat food that isn’t packed with tons of synthetic nonsense, artificial coloring, and preservatives.
Cats are omnivores—primarily carnivores, and their diet requires natural and wholesome foods for their hair to remain strong and the coats healthy with plenty of fluff.
Adding fish oil or another form of Omega 3 is a good idea to incorporate into their diets.
Omega 3s are excellent for healthy skin and coats, so they should be a part of their diet.
You also want to establish a proper grooming schedule. For example, you should sit down with your Ragdoll once daily and brush it for three to five minutes, paying close attention to problem areas, such as tangles and mats.
Your Ragdoll will be in heaven whenever you groom them because they love the attention and instinctively understand that you are doing something good for them.
You won’t have any problems scooping your Ragdoll up and sitting it down for proper grooming.
You also want to routinely go over your Ragdoll with a static brush or a hand mitten. These are designed to attract loose hairs in your Ragdoll’s coat, compiling them all in the palm of your hand or on the brush, where you can easily clean them off in the trash.
It’s good to stick to this routine because you will find that your furniture and floors are far cleaner and not covered in white hairs.
Even so, give your house a once-over daily with the broom. You’ll find that if you practice plenty of grooming and sweeping, the shed hair won’t be too much of a problem.
Final Thoughts
Ragdolls are renowned for their fluffy, long-haired appearance. As your cat reaches adulthood, it will
The older they get, the fluffier they will become. So be patient and wait until they are 3 or 4 years old; from then on, the fluffiness will only increase with age.
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