Originally the Ragdoll came in only four color variations: seal, blue, chocolate and lilac - seal being a dark brown almost black, blue a silver grey, chocolate a much lighter shade of seal almost a coffee with cream coloration and lilac or frost which can be likened to a mushroom color. Today there are, in certain of the cat federations, other colors accepted which include flame, cream, tortie and lynx.

These colors are then combined with the three patterns of the Ragdoll those being Colorpoint, Mitted and Bicolor.

These three patterns of the Ragdoll are described as follows:

Colorpoint Ragdolls have no white, their ears, nose, mask, paws and tail are in one of the colors listed above. The body of the colorpoint is a lighter shade of the predominant color.

Mitted are as the colorpoint except that they have white mittens on their front paws and white boots on the back, a white chin, chest and underbody.

The Bicolor is the most unusual pattern of the Ragdoll and varies in the amount of white showing on the cat depending on the true genetics of each animal. The hallmark of the Bicolor is the inverted white 'V' on the face which progresses down the ruff to the underbelly. The legs are also white. The body color or 'saddle' should be a shade lighter than the point color and there may also be white patches on the back, but the tail is the same color as the points.