What occurs when a loyal group of significant cat breeders decides to enhance upon an already “good” cat breed?
You get the RagaMuffin.
The RagaMuffin is sweetness incarnate. A RagaMuffin is a lover who adores all the dwelling issues in your family: you, the dogs, the youngsters, and all the opposite cats within the household, too. And there’s no happier place on the earth for a RagaMuffin than ensconced in your lap.
The RagaMuffin is a magnificence, too: all fluff, however the softest, silkiest fluff you’ll be able to think about, with a plume of a tail. A RagaMuffin’s light, doe-eyed expression is fascinating, too.
The one drawback with the RagaMuffin is that it’s a comparatively new breed of cat, and consequently pretty uncommon. At least one of the major cat registries doesn’t even recognize the RagaMuffin as a separate breed. Both of these issues may make it hard to find reputable RagaMuffin breeder in your area.
It can be too easy to allow your eagerness to have a RagaMuffin in your life lead you to buy a kitten from an unethical breeder.
The story of the RagaMuffin begins with the story of the Ragdoll cat.
I’m going to encourage you to read about the Ragdoll cat here, as a result of it’s a captivating story involving house aliens, secret DNA experiments, and stolen kittens.
Properly, probably not. However the founding father of the Ragdoll, Ann Baker, actually did attribute the existence of the Ragdoll cat to aliens and secret experiments, and she or he actually did steal her neighbor’s kittens.
This, imagine it or not, is necessary to know this if you wish to perceive how the RagaMuffin got here to be.
Severe Ragdoll breeders needed to break free
Ann Baker’s loopy conspiracy theories and unscientific views on genetics won’t have been an issue if that’s the place the kookiness ended.
However her paranoia and science denialism started to have an effect on her means to handle the breed she based.
For one, she was distrustful of established cat breed registries. So, she established her personal, only for Ragdolls, known as the Worldwide Ragdoll Cat Affiliation (IRCA).
Then, she trademarked the identify “Ragdoll” and wouldn’t permit any Ragdoll breeders who additionally registered their cats with the opposite, established registries to name their cats Ragdolls.
Why was the IRCA an issue for Ragdoll breeders?
This introduced a serious drawback for critical breeders of Ragdoll cats, as a result of well-established registries, like The Worldwide Cat Affiliation (TICA), Cat Fanciers’ Affiliation (CFA), and The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), serve an necessary function within the enterprise of figuring out and preserving cat breeds.
Conventional registries keep official information of cat pedigrees. They uphold breed requirements, and preserve observe of the catteries that meet their requirements. They certify possession of pedigreed cats, and conduct cat exhibits to guage cats towards breed requirements.
Serious cat breeders want to register their cats with established registries, not just because it allows them to publicly exhibit their hard work, but because it validates their ethical and responsible breeding practices, which separate them from fly-by-night backyard breeders.
The IRCA was not an established registry.
Baker and her breeding restrictions
Baker also instituted rules for Ragdoll breeding that defied known best practices and and showed a lack of understanding of cat genetics.
Baker held that Ragdolls were only “purebred” if they were bred exclusively to other Ragdolls. But that kind of thinking usually applies to an established breed with sufficient genetic diversity.
Ragdolls, on the other hand, were still a new breed, founded by a single cat whose baby daddy had been backbred to his own kittens.
With such a small genetic pool, Baker’s breeding requirements would have assured poor health for future generations of Ragdoll cats.
Some Ragdoll breeders form the RagaMuffin breed
A concerned group of dedicated Ragdoll breeders had had enough. They broke away from Ann Baker and the IRCA. They wanted to introduce fresh genes into the Ragdoll lines to ensure better health for their cats.
Their goal was to focus on preserving many of the positive Ragdoll characteristics, including their size, beautiful long fur, and mellow nature, whereas having the pliability develop new qualities, colours and coat patterns.
The place did the identify “RagaMuffin” come from?
The breakaway breeders had Ragdoll cats, however they couldn’t use the trademarked identify “Ragdoll.” They needed to provide you with a unique identify for his or her breeding inventory.
Former Ragdoll breeder Curt Gehm got here up with a brief identify he was thought was cute. It wasn’t speculated to be the ultimate identify for the brand new breed.
The “muffin” a part of the RagaMuffin identify was a reference to the “Baker” in Ann’s identify, in addition to an allusion to the Ragdoll founding cat, Josephine, who was feral. RagaMuffin was speculated to conjure up the picture of avenue urchin.
The capital “M” in “Muffin” was an try to emphasise the “muffin-iness” of RagaMuffin cats: their squishy, fluffy heat.
The identify caught.
How was the brand new RagaMuffin breed developed?
The aim of the primary RagaMuffin breeders was to create a big, affectionate, wholesome cat in a variety of colours and coat patterns.
They achieved this by outcrossing their Ragdolls with different cat breeds. Outcrossing entails mating two cats who don’t have any widespread ancestors for a sure variety of generations. The aim of outcrossing is to introduce genetic variety, which may stop the well being issues attributable to inbreeding.
Outcrossing may also add new traits to a breed, akin to a unique physique or head form, or coat coloration or sample.
RagaMuffins have been outcrossed with Home Longhair cats, Persians, Siberians, and Himalayans. The CFA registry currently permits outcrossing with the Selkirk Rex.
The Ragamuffin is sometimes called “teddy bear of the cat world.” They’re just cat-shaped cuddly fluff balls.
The Ragamuffin is a substantial cat, with a broad chest, broad shoulders, a “rectangular” body, and a heavily muscled hind end.
The head is broad, too, with a rounded forehead and rounded ears. The short-to-medium-sized muzzle ends in very distinguished whisker pads which can be typically described as puffy.
A RagaMuffin is meant to have a primordial pouch, which is basically sagging skin on the belly. You can read about primordial pouches in cats in this post.
A RagaMuffin has an opulent coat that feels smooth, dense, and silky, like a rabbit’s fur. It’s slightly longer across the neck and edges of the face.
RagaMuffins are available any coloration and sample you’ll be able to consider: strong colours, tabby, spots, or patches of white, black, gray, orange, cream, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, brown, or a mixture. Kittens often begin out white and develop their colours as they develop.
The eyes may be any coloration, and even two completely different colours.
Males could weigh as a lot as 20 kilos, whereas females are sometimes nearer to fifteen kilos. It may take as much as 4 years for a RagaMuffin to achieve full-size.
I’m going to quote the CFA about the RagaMuffin breed here: “RagaMuffins are known for sweetness rather than high intelligence.”
OK. There. It was said.
You don’t need your cat to be doing calculus to be lovely, though. A RagaMuffin is playful, but mostly a lap cat. She’ll be eager to please and responsive to you, and agreeable. What more could you ask for?
RagaMuffins are for everyone. They’re good for families with respectful children who have been taught proper behavior around cats. They’re equally good for people who live alone and enjoy the devotion of a cat.
RagaMuffins get along in the company of other cats and dogs and are rarely aggressive.
They will engage in conversation but are not unduly vocal.
And they may not be Mensa candidates, but some can learn to fetch and walk on a leash.
Coloration
Probably the most noticeable distinction between a Ragdoll and a Ragamuffin is the colour of the coat and eyes.
A Ragdoll all the time has pointed coloration, that means a lighter physique with darker “ideas” across the edges, and blue eyes.
A RagaMuffin can are available any coloration or sample, and have any eye coloration.
Fur size and sort
Ragdolls have a semi-long, silky coat with a minimal undercoat.
RagaMuffins have a shorter, thicker, plusher coat.
Physique form
RagaMuffin our bodies are extra rectangular, with a flat high line, whereas a Ragdoll’s high line angles upward to raised hindquarters.
Facial options
RagaMuffins have facial options which can be extra rounded than a Ragdoll’s. A RagaMuffin’s nostril is sort of scooped, and there’s a roundness between the ears.
A Ragdoll’s nostril is straight and the face encompasses extra straight strains and flat planes.
Due to their wider gene pool, the RagaMuffin is a wholesome cat who may be anticipated to stay as much as 17 years.
Like all cats, nevertheless, a RagaMuffin is inclined to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a illness wherein the guts partitions thicken, making them much less environment friendly at pumping blood.
(*Note: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.)
All the fluff should have me saying otherwise, but a RagaMuffin is surprisingly easy to care for.
Their plush fur tends to withstand tangles and mats.
Simply run a long-toothed comb, like this one from Andis, by means of the coat twice per week and your RagaMuffin needs to be good to go!
Love Pinterest? This is a Pinterest-friendly pin in your boards!
Daybreak LaFontaine is a lifelong animal lover who all the time appears to have slightly pet hair in her keyboard. Her weblog, Kitty Contemplations, helps cat guardians higher perceive and look after the particular beings they share their lives and houses with. Her cat-products enterprise, Cat in the Box, sells stunning, well-made, and award-winning merchandise that she designed to fulfill the organic wants of cats.
“Ragamuffin Cats.” RagaMuffin Cat Fanciers | RagaMuffin Cat Fanciers Is a CFA Affiliate Club to Promote and Support the RagaMuffin Breed., ragamuffinfanciers.com/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
