The ragamuffin is a breed of cat originating in the United States.
This large cat is characterized by its ragdoll ancestry.
Origins:
The history of the ragamuffin is directly linked to that of the ragdoll.
It was Ann Baker, a Californian, already a Persian breeder, who adopted the kittens of a half-wild alley cat with semi-long hair in 1963.
This cat called Josephine had been the victim of a car accident and when she recovered, her character had completely changed.
She was calm, gentle and affectionate.
To Ann Baker's amazement, the kittens would have inherited this character trait.
So she decided to start breeding a new breed called ragdoll.
Ann Baker was quite an eccentric person and the stories she told about the origin of this breed were contradictory and inconsistent.
She wanted to keep control over the evolution of her race and imposed severe rules on people wanting to breed her ragdolls.
In 1994, four breeders disapproving of Ann Baker's practices split up and created a new breed called the ragamuffin.
These cats were crossed with Himalayan Persians and other alley cats with semi-long hair in order to differentiate this new breed from its ancestor.
Breeding ragamuffin with ragdolls was still allowed until 2010.
The purpose of this breed is above all to keep the sweet and affectionate character rather than a particular look.
This breed is not yet recognized by many feline associations. Since January 1, 2009, the WCF in turn recognizes the breed.
Standards:
The ragamuffin is a breed of cat with semi-long hair whose physique still closely resembles that of its ancestor.
They are also large, slow-growing cats.
They reach maturity around three or four years of age.
They can then weigh up to nine kilos for a male and six kilos for a female.
Their body is rectangular, quite muscular with a broad chest and powerful shoulders but a fairly short neck.
The head is triangular, with good cheeks and a well-rounded skull.
His eyes are almond-shaped, which gives him a very sweet look.
Its fur is dense and very soft, similar to that of a rabbit.
The hair is longest around the head of the neck and under the belly.
The standard of the ragamuffin remains close to that of the ragdoll.
However, the ragamuffin's nose is shorter and hollowed out than the ragdoll's, which ends in a straight line.
Instead of having a flat skull between the ears, it is well rounded.
He is also more chubby and the ears lean slightly forward.
The breeders also take care of the almond shape of the eyes, while those of the ragdoll are rather oval.
Interbreeding with other breeds is allowed every five generations to maintain the health of the breed.
All of the colours are acceptable.
Character:
It is a breed described as very docile, extremely affectionate and calm.
They wouldn't be very athletic, but they would still like to play a lot.
They would like to live with the other people in the house and follow them everywhere in order to participate in the activities of the day.
Ragamuffins are also described as confident cats and therefore quite fearless.
They should be kept indoors for their own safety.
These character traits remain however perfectly individual and are above all functions of the history of each cat, whatever its breed.
التسميات
cat breeds