RAGAMUFFIN

The origin of the breed

 

 

In the 1960s, a regular non-pedigreed white domestic long haired cat named Josephine, who had produced several litters of typical kittens, was injured in a car accident and taken to a laboratory at the University of California. After she recovered, her next litter produced exceptionally friendly kittens. When the subsequent litter produced more of the same, Mrs. Ann Baker (an established persian cats breeder) purchased several kittens from the owner and set out to create what is now known as the (original) Ragdoll.

 

In the mid 1970s, after many of the original Ragdoll breeders left, Ann Baker decided to spurn traditional cat breeding associations. She trademarked the name "Ragdoll" for a new line of cats unrelated to the original Ragdoll and set up her own registry—International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA)—and imposed stringent standards on anyone who wanted to breed or sell cats under that name. The IRCA Ragdolls were also not allowed to be registered in other breed associations.

 

In 1994, a group of IRCA breeders decided to leave and form their own group because of increasingly strict breeding restrictions. Owing to Ann Baker's trademark on the name "Ragdoll", the group renamed its stock of IRCA Ragdoll cats, RagaMuffins. 

 

In the spirit of bettering the breed's genetic health, personality and temperament, the group out-crossed to Persians, Siberians, and domestic long haired cats. The group also allowed some out-crossing to original Ragdolls (which ended in 2010 for ACFA-recognized Ragamuffins). Only cats with at least one Ragamuffin parent and an ACFA-accepted out-cross currently qualify to be called Ragamuffins. The CFA allowed marriages of which both parents were Ragamuffins until very recently in 2015 were the outcross with the Selkirk Straight long hair was accepted to bring new blood to their genetic background.

 

The first cat association to accept the breed at full show champion status was the United Feline Organization (UFO). Finally, the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) accepted them to Championship Class in February, 2011 and in 2012 for the Canadian Cat Association (CCA).