“What color is that ragdoll cat?”
You know the ragdoll look is distinct, but it’s hard to know how to name the ragdoll cat color you dream about. Determining the color of the ragdoll is tricky – even for a breeder sometimes. When you are talking to a cattery or breeder, you’re trying to say what you like — what look you hope to adopt, but aren’t sure how to say it! I’m here to help ya out.
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Wanna see which Ragdoll Colors & Patterns you Already Know?
Ragdoll Kitten Colors & Patterns Defined
Settle in. This is a little like English grammar, but it will all make sense when we work through some examples. A ragdoll cat is classified using 3 words: COLOR, POINT/NON-POINT, & PATTERN.
First, we name the Color.
Then We say Point to indicate it’s a blue-eyed cat.
Or we say mink/sepia/solid, if the cat is a Cherubim Ragdoll.
Then, we say the pattern.
For example, Seal Point Mitted. Blue Point Bicolor. Lilac Point Tortie.
Coat Color
The official color the cat people use when assessing any cat at all!
Eye Color
“Point” = Blue
Mink = Aqua, Sepia = green
Pattern
The way the coat color is displayed (striped, or with white, or masked face).
Color + Pointed | Non-pointed + Pattern
Let’s give it a go! Each cat you see here is Seal Point. The pattern varies.
Mrs. Bennett
Flannery
Seal Point Ragdoll Cat Color w/ Pattern
No. 1 Seal Point Bicolor
Show-stopper, Mrs. Bennett, is seal point in color. The darkest accepted ragdoll color. She is “pointed” because she has the Siamese gene (confirmed by her DNA tests) and we can physically see her blue eyes. Bicolor is her pattern. It’s a gene tells the white how to display itself. Isn’t that so nifty?
No. 3 Seal Point Lynx Mitted
Ragdoll kitten #3 is a seal lynx point. His stripes, i.e. the tabby pattern, shake things up! He has the lynx pattern. Given the white feet, we also say he has another pattern: mitted. His feet and her belly and chin are white. Breeders will sometime drop the word “point” because it’s assumed, because technically all standard-bred ragdolls are pointed. All have the blue eyes. Ponyo is an example of this pattern.
No. 4 Seal Color Point
The last example has fewer descripted words because there is no pattern. She is two things: seal + Point. But the cat fancy calls this Seal ColorPoint, or they might just say something like “I don’t have any colorpoints so I only make mitteds & bicolors.” Colorpoint ragdolls have no white gene.
It’s frustrating for pet-seekers to sift through the jargon.
Mostly, you just know what you like when you see it!
What is ColorPoint in Ragdolls?
Colorpoint, AKA “Colorpoint Restriction” is a genetic phenomenon. It comes from an error in the enzyme production of melanin. A mutation in this enzyme, tyrosinase. It is heat sensitive. It doesn’t work at a normal body temperature. In other words, when the body is warm, it won’t help melanin do its job, which is to manifest color.
At the extreme ends of the cat: the tail, the tips of the ears, the nose, and the feet, color is present. These locations have a cooler body temperature and so the development of color happens only in those spots. The color gradually fades as the body temperature rises closer to the trunk of the cat’s body.
ColorPoint causes the gradual color intensity to increase as it reaches the ears, nose, tail, and feet. The Points are darker than the body.
Ragdoll Cats are Pointed, by definition.
There has been debate over the decades about ragdolls of different color. In 2025, these lovely non-pointed (or Burmese pointed) will have a new name! Cherubim. They will be housed technically under the Ragdoll breed, but will be assessed differently for eye color. They do not have blue eyes.
ColorPoint vs. Pointed
We say “colorpoint” when we are discussing a cat with no white. This is just how the cat fancy refers to a cat without the white spotting factor. We say “pointed” when we are talking about a cat who has blue eyes and an obvious color contrast from body to extremities.
Blue Point Ragdoll Cat Color
The Blue Point Ragdoll cat is obviously not Crayola Blue, but instead, it’s gray. Blue is the result of the dilute gene. “Dilute” as it’s referred to in the cat fancy, reduces or diminishes the dominant color – in this case, seal (or black self) and the result is a cool blue color.
As with any pointed color, the darkest version of the color is most pronounced at the ears, tails and feet, and gradually lighten as it moves inward towards the truck. He will have a dark gray nose leather and paws (toe beans) to match.
When pet seekers say they want a grey ragdoll, they actually want a BLUE POINTED kitten which comes in all patterns.
Blue ColorPoints are less frequently available. Blue point is most often found with white – “mitted” and “bicolors.”
Compare
Ragdoll Cat Colors:
Blue Point
Sometimes photos are misleading .
Patterns or white coloring appears to change the look of a ragdoll kitten.
Pointed ~ Lynx ~ Bicolor ~ Tortie
Chocolate & Lilac Ragdolls
Chocolate is not just another version of seal. It is its own distinct color. Chocolate can be the dominant color or a “carried” (recessive) trait. Chocolate trait can also be “diluted” by another gene causing the popular “lilac.” Chocolate should be a warm, creamy brown If you look closely at the paw pads and nose leather, you will see pink tones unless she is bicolor or mitted. White on the feet make for pink toe beans.
In my experience when a seal or blue ragdoll carries chocolate as a recessive trait, the look of the dominant color is changed, or reduced. If a ragdoll cat color is seal and carries chocolate and/or dilute, AND shows lynx, the look can be stunning. The genes work together to create an impressionist painting!
Photo seen here is from a reputable breeder in SW Michigan, Castle Reign Ragdolls.If you are looking for the very best variant ragdolls (soon to be named Cherubim in TICA), Amanda @ Castle Reign is your first stop. Swoon-worthy.
ColorPoint causes the gradual color intensity to increase as it reaches the ears, nose, tail, and feet.
Ragdoll Cat Color: Lilac
Lilac can appear as silver, or even blue-looking, fawn-ish, and even creamy. Only a DNA test sill satisfy our curiosity.
Less Common Ragdoll Cat Colors
Flame (Red) & Cream (diluted red)
Seen here (Shuggy)
This color comes most often from a tortie female. It is the “o” gene which is a masking gene. It masks the cat’s real color. Only through a DNA test can we see the masked color.
Reds are known for being docile and sweet tempered ragdolls. They are not terribly common, but are sometimes in quite the demand.
Cinnamon & Fawn (the diluted fawn)
Cinnamon Point is fairly difficult to find. It’s often found in variant ragdolls, minks/sepias/solids (non-pointed). Cinnamon sits on the same allele as Chocolate. If a ragdoll has cinnamon, he necessarily has chocolate. Cinnamon, even as a recessive trait can change the look of the chocolate. The two can even be confused.
Ragdoll Colors Genetics Chart
If you’re trying to tell your breeder what kind of ragdoll cat you’re hoping to adopt, you’re hoping to land on the right term to use. This chart translates the ragdoll cat colors to conversational terms. Do keep in mind that pattern and the white spotting factor will influence the over-all look of the cat. Bone structure will too.
| What the cat fanciers call the ragdoll cat | What others call it hypothetically | What the Geneticists labels it |
|---|---|---|
| Seal Point | Almost Black, Dark Brown | BB DD Bb Dd Bb1 Dd |
| Blue Point | Gray | BB dd Bb dd Bb1 dd |
| Chocolate Point | Brown | bb DDbb Ddbb1 DD bb1 Dd |
| Lilac Point | Silver, Reddish Silver | bb dd bb1 dd |
| Flame Point | Orange or Red | o |
| Cream Point | Cream or Peach | oo, dd |
| Cinnamon Point | reddish brown | b^1 b^1 DDb^1 b^1 Dd |
| Fawn Point | Strawberry Blonde | b 1b 1 dd |
Ragdoll Cat Patterning
For all practical purposes, most presumptive adopters know they want
either a dark nose OR the mask.
A word about Bicolor Ragdoll Cats…
There are not many TRUE bicolor ragdoll cats. But that’s not terribly important. We still arrive at what looks like a bicolor by breeding a pair of mitted cats together. Most of what is bred today is a variation of the mitted (white spotting factor) gene. When two mitted ragdoll cats re bred, the result will be some version of mitted, mid high white, or high mitted. Bascially, the breeding just increases the white spotting genes and the display is roughly the same.
The pattern is the same – adorable pink nose, under carriage of the main body mostly white. The colored “points” are the ears, back, and long tail. The paw peds will be pink. We generally just call them “bicolors.” The True Bicolor has a different white gene “S” causing the expression of the patterning.
See the chart below for ragdoll cat colors in scientific and layman’s terms.
Ragdoll Cat Pattern Chart
Colorpoint
Genotype: ss
Due to the cscs allele – same as a Siamese
No white present anywhere on the body
No white spotting factor (WSF)
Least commonly found Ragdoll Cat
True Bicolor
Geneotype: Ss
White extending from feet into legs, lower half of the body
Impossible to tell from high mitted, mid bicolor.
Due to the unique white gene, S,
Cat carries 1vcolorpoint gene & 1 bicolor gene
Mid High White or,Mid Bicolor
Geneotype: Ssm
Due to the WSF inherited from one or both parents
Heterozygous of both WSF from the mitted parent and the S gene from the True Bicolor parent
Mitted
Geneotype: sms
Due to the WSF
White present on feet, underbelly, & chin
Majority of the body is non-white
High Mitted
Geneotype: smsm
Due to the WSF inherited from one or both parents
Indistinguishable from the True Bicolor visually
Identification possible through DNA
Cannot produce colorpoints
High White (Van)
Geneotype: SS
Highest level of white patterning visible
The result of two heterozygous true Bicolor Ragdolls
Not common
Steps to Classifying a
Ragdoll’s Cat Color & Pattern
Look for White Patterning first.
White feet, chin, and belly? She’s a mitted. White inverted V? Long gloves for feet and a white belly, and chin? She’s a bicolor. No white at all? She’s a colorpoint.
Look for stripes in white around the eyes and the ears, and finally on the head and body. See stripes in all three places? He’s a lynx.
Look for splotches, split-face color, red or cream mixed in anywhere on the body. If you see red of any kind with either patches or split patterning, it’s a tortie and it’s a girl. Torties are 99.99% of the time females only. Nature does sometimes make hermaphrodites.
