Origination of the Ragamuffin  

RagaMuffins come from the original International Ragdoll, which have been bred outside the cat fancy for more than thirty years. About twenty years ago a number of breeders abandoned the originator of the breed and her breeding program, and began breeding Ragdolls on their own. They took with them just a small part of what the Ragdoll was intended to be, just a few colors and patterns. Eventually they petitioned for acceptance in some registries.

Today's RagaMuffin continued to be bred in isolation outside the cat fancy during that twenty year period under IRCA. In February 1994 another large group of breeders left the originator and petitioned for registry as RagMuffins in ACFA, UFO, ICE and CFF. They were accepted.

Why did we change the name from Ragdoll to RagaMuffin? Simply, there is a valid trademark on the name Ragdoll held by the originator IRCA. No one can legally use the name without the permission of the owner. We feel as a matter of principle the trademark should be honored. In addition most RagaMuffin breeders have signed contracts that state we must change the name of our breed or spay and neuter our cats if we choose not to breed our animals in the originating group. Because we have the highest regard for ethical standards and believe giving our word stands for something important, we have honored our contracts and changed the name of our breed to RagaMuffin.

Many people do not know that the original cats were not blue-eyed color points. They came in a variety of colors and patterns. The breed was developed with the intent to produce the finest feline companion. personality and temperament were most important, than coat color. The pointed pattern appeared much later in the breeding program as an addition not a replacement. RagaMuffin breeders believe the original non-colorpoints are as valuable and worthy of preserving as the pointed cats.

RagaMuffins currently can be registered in ACFA, UFO, CFA, TICA,  AACE, CFF.  We can show the RagaMuffins in championship class in ACFA, UFO, AACE and CFF.  We can show then in miscellaneous class in CFA.  We can currently only register them in TICA.