This
cat's
history is fundamental to the
reason for the existence of
this breed of purebred cat. I have set out the history in a chart (an
overview). This purebred cat is
intricately bound up with the Ragdoll cat and was formed from a group
of Ragdoll cat breeders as per the chart below. The history is a little
confusing and hazy. If this is not right please tell me.
Charting
the history of the
RagaMuffin Cat
Update
April 2010: I have received an email from Jane in respect of the
1967 date
above: "1967 is well before anybody
bought Ragdolls (for breeding) so it's not really possible that anybody
split away from Ann Baker's 'strict and unworkable policies for the
Ragdoll'. The rest is a bit of an unusual view but that first date is
the most difficult to understand." I am investigating this. In
the meantime if anyone has good clean information that I can use please
email
me or post it. The answer is hard to come by.
Update
Nov. 2010:
Gloria Stephens in Legacy of the Cat says that a group of IRCA
(International Ragdoll Cat Association, started by Ann Baker) breeders
broke away from the group in the late 1980s. The cats they bred were
"descended from the original Ragdolls". They were bred to moggie
domestic cats, Ragdolls, Persians and Himalayans (pointed Persians).
This brought in the non-pointed colours.
The
RagaMuffin cat in the photo above
is, LuvNMuffins
St Nick of Cortez Cats. He is a blue or blue/brown mackerel tabby
and white cat (new window).
He lives with Jean Colson of Bradenton, FL, who says this
about
this handsome boy:
"....We
own
two
of them (and are fostering two others) and find them to be wonderful
cats -- big, furry (nice, pretty-much non-matting fur) and friendly
cats. We happen to show our two boys -- and I'll brag that one of them,
LuvNMuffins St Nick of Cortez Cats (I know, quite a name) won three
awards in ACFA (American Cat Fancier's Assoc.) in the SouthEast Region
(of the U.S.): he was 7th Best Kitten, 18th Best Cat (meaning whole,
non-neutered) and 5th Best Alter during the past show year!! Quite an
accomplishment -- he also won a 10th Best Household Pet in TICA's SE
Region. RagaMuffins are not accepted for championship in TICA thus that
is why he was shown as a Household Pet instead. Still he had QUITE a
year..."
Photo
above by Saiphfire
-
this photograph is published published under a
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs creative commons License
--
this site is for charitable purposes in funding cat rescue. Please
comply with the terms of the license if you use the image and please:
no hotlinks.
Detail
on the Origin of the RagaMuffin cat
As the RagaMuffin has the same early history as the Ragdoll cat there
is a huge connection with that breed and one expects that there is a
great similarity
in them.
The reason, as mentioned in the chart, for the existence of this breed
is the
intransigence of the founder of the Ragdoll cat (Ann Baker). She was
asked to
retire as head of the Ragdoll breeding organization by a group of loyal
Ragdoll cat breeders due to her perceived increasingly unreasonable
behavior.
When
she refused the group spit from her organization.
Due to Ann Baker
patenting the name "Ragdoll", they were not allowed to breed Ragdoll
cats. They called their cat a RagaMuffin instead. So began this breed
of
purebred cat. Please read the memories of a person with first hand
experience about the Ragdoll
myth and origins.
Photo:
reproduced under creative commons.
Photographer unknown. This is a Champagne
Mink
McTabby & White Female. Breeder: Kimberlee J. Clark
Brief
History in a Table
Date
Event
1960s
Beginning
of development of the Ragdoll Cat
1993
Group
of Ragdoll breeders split from the
"Ann Baker" organization and form a group of RagaMuffin cat breeders
2001
The
first
acceptance for full (championship)
status
2008
Full
Status in AACE, ACFA, and
CFF. Accepted in Miscellaneous Class in CFA (2003).
2011
Championship
status in Cat Fanciers Association (CFA).
Appearance
and Character
As the breed commenced its career path as a Ragdoll, the question
is, how does this breed differ from the Ragdoll? Like the Ragdoll this
cat is a large, muscular and heavy cat. It might be called "substantial"
in cat fancy terms. The body is "long with a solid feel"1.
The coat is medium long.
Photo:
reproduced under creative commons. Brown tabby and white coat.
Also, as is the case for the Ragdoll, this breed has a docile nature
and tends to go
limp when picked up. So far they appear to be the same.
However, the major difference is in
the coat
color/pattern range. While Ragdolls are pointed, this breed has no
limit on coat color and pattern.
There is also a slight difference in the head shape.
Apparently the top
of the head between the ears is flat for the Ragdoll and is
slightly domed for
this breed. The RagaMuffin cat's head is a broad modified wedge with
rounded contours.
Also the Ragdoll has a longer nose (hardly earth shatteringly
different). The objective, probably, is to make the
difference between
these two breeds more distinct. It is probably the RagaMuffin breeders
who will have to
achieve that over time through selective
breeding.
Their personality is probably the best part of this cat although they
are very handsome too. Important, too, is that there are no outstanding
genetically
linked health issues (new window) to report, it seems.
I would have liked to compare the breed standards of the Ragdoll and
this
breed but the wording is different for both making it all but
impossible to
compare.
Breeders & Breed Standards
RagaMuffin cat - Breed standards (all open in new window/tabs)
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