History of RagaMuffins
The story of the RagaMuffins begins in the 1960s and their journey is shared with Ragdolls. The basis of the breeding was white Josephine, a cat resembling a sacred birm, Josephine's black daughter Buckwheet and Josephine's son Daddy Warbuck.
Ann Baker was a good breeder, but above all she was an excellent businesswoman with a great talent for marketing.
The kittens that were born from the union of these cats had a special feature - they were like rag dolls when she held them in her arms. She gave the cats the angelic name Cherub. Buckwheat was short-haired and resembled a Burmese cat. Daddy Warbucks looked like a sacred Burmese because he had Siamese markings, white socks and a white tail tip. Daddy Warbucks was later replaced by a mating cat named Kyoto, who reportedly died of poisoning at the age of eight. Many cherubs had Siamese markings, but many were pastel (diluted) or monochrome or bicolour. Ann named these monochrome cats without markings Miracle Ragdolls.
Ann was determined to control the breeding of her cherubs, so she set strict rules for anyone who wanted to participate in the breeding. She knew the pedigree of each cat and made the breeding decisions for the breeder. In 1967, one group of breeders ran out of patience, separated and entered their cats in the stud books of the major breeding organizations so they could show and manage their own breeding. These breeders started calling their cats "ragdolls" and only bred cats with Bicolor, Mitted and Colourpoint badges.
But Ann did not give up and took steps to gain even more control over the development of "her" breed. She formed her own organization, the International Ragdoll Breeders Association "IRCA" and required all her breeders to register only with her. She patented the name "Ragdoll", which breeders were only allowed to use for cats from her organization. Kennels were licensed and paid a fee for each kitten sold. Ann Baker's breeding program ran for over 20 years and Cherub breeders were content to breed kittens and let Ann make marketing and breeding decisions for them. Over time, however, even this group of breeders began to have doubts about Ann and her way of running IRCA. In 1993, a group of breeders convinced Ann to retire, and this group intended to take control of IRCA.
After a few months, however, Ann returned and refused to relinquish control. So the group reluctantly decided to leave IRCA and seek recognition from reputable organizations. Because their cats come in all colors and varieties, they signed a contract not to use the name Ragdoll.
So the first question was to name these cats so that the process could begin to create a standard and recognition of the breed with the ACFA - American Cat Fanciers Association. The first suggestion was the word Lieblingcats, but this proposal did not pass.
The name "RagaMuffin" was chosen because they are the offspring of street cats and the capital M in RagaMuffin was supposedly chosen because they are the "buns" that Mrs. Baker baked.
The new name caught on and in May 2001 RagaMuffins were recognised by the ACFA. Since 2011, RagaMuffins have won titles at ACFA shows and have been recognised by other world organisations.
European FIFe does not recognize them yet.
They have been bred in NCHK since 2015 in an experimental program.
Interbreeding (Siberian cats, Persian cats, British cats, Ragdolls and other breeds or domestic cats) is allowed to maintain the health of the breed.
