Traditional vs. Mink Ragdolls

What are Mink Ragdoll cats?

Mink ragdoll cats are an off-shoot of the original (traditional) ragdoll breed.  Somewhere along the line somebody bred a ragdoll with a non-ragdoll and created a variant with many qualities similar to a traditional ragdoll, but with some differences too.

Differences between a Traditional and a Mink Ragdoll

Born with Color vs. Born White

The main difference between a traditional Ragdoll and a mink Ragdoll is that a mink is born with color while a traditional is born all white.  A traditional ragdoll gets her color in her first month of life.

Eye Color

Another distinguishing factor of minks is their eye color, which can range between copper, gold, green, aqua and pink.  Traditional ragdolls only have blue eyes.

Body Structure and Temperament

Both traditional and mink ragdolls have a similar body structure and temperament. They are both fairly easy-going and love to be around people.

Myths about Mink Ragdolls

There are many myths about mink ragdoll cats.  Some of these myths are perpetuated by promoters of the mink variety and other myths come from promoters of the traditional ragdoll breed.  For example:

Some breeders will claim that minks are “rare” and “hard-to-find”. Or they will say that their fur is softer than a traditional Ragdoll. Nonsense… neither of these are true.

Sometimes breeders of traditional ragdolls will preach that Minks are not “real” ragdolls and are only diluting the phenomenal Ragdoll breed that Ann Baker and others worked so hard to create. This might be true, however mink ragdolls are beautiful cats and many people like them.

Are Mink Ragdolls purebred?

Some websites write that Mink Ragdolls are “purebred” Ragdolls dating back to the original cats used by Ann Baker to create the Ragdoll breed. They claim that minks are simply a different blood type or strain of the breed.

We have not found any evidence supporting this claim. We have spent a fair amount of time searching for information about the first registered mink ragdolls and we simply cannot find it. Our belief is that somewhere down the line (and perhaps not very far down the line), a different cat (who was not a traditional ragdoll) was introduced into the Traditional Ragdoll line that Ann Baker had created and the owners of this litter somehow persuaded TICA to register these kittens as “mink” Ragdolls. 

We believe that breed purity altruism is the reason that CFA only registers the original Traditional Ragdolls as opposed to TICA who registers minks.  Since this variant of the bloodline that appeared somewhere down the line, it would probably have been more accurate if TICA had registered the mink ragdoll as a new breed, rather than supporting the claim that the mink is a purebred ragdoll.

If you know of credible documentation about the first registered mink ragdolls and where they came from we would be most appreciative if you would contact us.

Our History

When we first started many years ago the first breeding male we had was a mink ragdoll. We were at that time under the impression that minks were indeed purebred ragdolls, because TICA registers them as a purebred ragdoll. But we later discovered that CFA will not register any mink ragdolls at all. 

Our mink male was a wonderful cat and he fathered some beautiful babies. But when it came time to grow our cattery, we kept running into breeders who refused to sell us a traditional Ragdoll if we continued breeding minks. After looking further into the details of the two varieties, we ultimately decided to retire our mink male with a wonderful family in order to move forward with a traditional ragdoll breeding program. We don’t begrudge those who breed minks but we also don’t breed minks anymore ourselves.

Our specialty is breeding only the best, cutest, softest and healthiest traditional ragdoll kittens to share your love.