Ragdoll colours

White Ragdoll Cat: Why Ragdoll Kittens Are Born White

By Shannon, Regal Ragdoll Kittens, Bowral NSW. Updated 13 October 2026.

Every Ragdoll kitten is born white, so a white Ragdoll kitten is completely normal. The colour on the ears, face, legs and tail develops over the following weeks and keeps deepening for two or three years. Pale colours like lilac and blue bicolour can look almost white for months. But an adult Ragdoll with no points at all is not a pedigree Ragdoll, and a solid white cat sold as one deserves a closer look.

Here is why Ragdolls start out white, which ones stay the palest, and what to check if you are offered a white Ragdoll cat.

Why Ragdoll kittens are born white

Ragdolls carry the colourpoint gene. It makes the enzyme that produces pigment work only where the body is cooler. Inside the mother everything is warm, so a newborn Ragdoll has no colour at all. Within a week or two the coolest parts, the ear edges, nose, paws and tail tip, begin to darken. By go-home at twelve weeks the points are clear but still pale, and they keep darkening until about three years old.

Temperature keeps playing a part for life. A Ragdoll living somewhere cold, like our Southern Highlands winters, usually ends up darker than its littermate in a warmer climate.

Ragdolls that look white

This season we have a good example: Mabel, a lilac bicolour, still looks nearly white with just a hint of pink-grey on her ears. You can see her and the rest of this season's kittens on our Ragdoll kittens for sale page.

Solid white cats sold as Ragdolls

A solid white adult cat with no points is not a pedigree Ragdoll. Its white comes from a different gene, called dominant white, which simply covers whatever colour the cat would otherwise be. Dominant white is linked to deafness, especially in white cats with blue eyes or one blue eye, so it is worth knowing which gene you are looking at.

If you are offered a white Ragdoll, check these:

• Ask to see both parents. Pointed, blue-eyed Ragdoll parents have kittens that develop points.
• Ask for a recent photo or video of the kitten's ears and tail. A Ragdoll kitten over about three weeks old shows at least faint colour there.
• Ask which council the kitten will be registered with, and what colour it will be registered as.
• Ask for HCM and PKD DNA results for both parents.

Which Ragdoll colour should you choose?

If you love a pale cat, look at lilac and blue, especially in the bicolour pattern. If you would rather have contrast, a seal is the darkest Ragdoll colour, covered in our seal point Ragdoll guide. Every colour and pattern is compared in our Ragdoll colours guide, and the other colours people ask about are in black Ragdoll cats and flame point Ragdolls.