Please respect the copyright of Helmi Flick, who is a professional photographer. Dreamer is a blue mackerel tabby and white cat.
Introduction
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.
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 natural mink McTabby and white – (see a page on tabby and white cats)(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…”
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Thanks for visiting Kimberely. I love your cat, Persephone. A great name too. I’m envious.
She sounds almost exactly like my Persephone. It was only around 3 years old. Although never timid or scared, she was a stray in the neighborhood so I guess she got used to stuff like that. But she follows me everywhere and she doesn’t go up/down the stairs unless I go first. She has that beautiful thick ruff around her neck. I have no idea their ancestry being astray. But she sure fits almost every single trait so I tell her that’s what she is.
I’ve been enjoying reading different information about the Ragamuffin breed. I have a 2.5 – 3 year old cat, Persephone, that we brought in as a stray we found after a rainstorm. I doubt she’s a purebred of anything, but she sure has an awful lot of traits of a Ragamuffin, so I tell her she that what she is. Thanks for the information.
Thanks a lot Laura for sharing your valuable first hand experience.
Actually RagaMuffins like Ragdolls have a very mat resistant coat. I have a RagaMuffin and they only need to be combed about once a week.
These cats are beyond beautiful with a personality to match. I wonder about the lack of matting with such long fur, and the large amount of fur balls. I imagine that anyone who treasures this breed must also brush/comb them daily to maintain their beautiful coat. Michael, thanks for enhancing the photo! And also, for attempting to show the history.
Only last week our handyman told me that he has a Ragamuffin, and I thought he meant a RagDoll, since I hadn’t heard of the Ragamuffin. Now, I must talk with him more, and see if he has a picture. My curiosity is aroused!