Ragamuffin breeders lean hard on the phrase 'hybrid vigor' from outcrossing to domestic longhairs, but the breed's own official CFA page still lists the two most serious diseases of the Ragdoll family — hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and polycystic kidney disease — as real risks, so a Ragamuffin kitten needs the same cardiac and kidney health testing in its parents that a Ragdoll does.
Health tests to ask the breeder for
There is no CHIC program for cats. These are the DNA and screening tests that the testing laboratories and cat health bodies name for the Ragamuffin. A breeder who tests will show the certificates; a DNA result of "clear" for one variant is not a guarantee against the disease.
- Ragdoll HCM (MYBPC3 R820W) DNA test (UC Davis VGL / Langford Vets) screens for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy risk variant
- PKD1 DNA test (UC Davis VGL / Langford Vets) screens for autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (low prevalence)
When to spay or neuter: by five months, whatever the breed. That is the one answer the AVMA, the feline practitioners and AAHA all give, and the spay and neuter page has why, and the two weeks after.
Sources: vgl.ucdavis.edu · vgl.ucdavis.edu · langfordvets.co.uk. Checked September 2026. Check a breeder has the questions.
Adopt a Ragamuffin near you
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Living with a Ragamuffin
Ragamuffins are famously docile — floppy, easygoing, and content to be carried around or handled — but that gentle temperament comes in a large, slow-maturing body (up to four years to reach full size) with a dense, tangle-prone undercoat that needs real, regular brushing to avoid matting.
Health you should know about
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) — a serious heritable heart disease documented as a risk in the breed via its Ragdoll-family ancestry.
- Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) — also flagged by CFA as a possible risk despite the breed's outcrossing history.
- No disease is confirmed as unique to the Ragamuffin itself, per CFA, but the two conditions above mean 'diverse ancestry' isn't a substitute for actually health-testing the parents.
Read the full Cat Care Guide first — costs, daily time, and everything a cat needs before you choose a breed.
Sources — 2 references
Last reviewed October 2026. 2 sources listed below. Written and maintained by Petdeals.io. General care information, not veterinary advice — for a sick animal, call a vet.