The history of the Ragamuffin cat is very special. It is a very recent breed and looks very much like the Ragdoll cat. The Ragdoll breed was selected by an American breeder Ann Baker and the story begins in the 1960s when a white long-haired cat named Josephine had an accident and was injured. She was taken to a laboratory at the University of California where she was treated. She later recovered and went on to produce several litters of cats, all of which were very beautiful and exceptionally sociable.
The breeder Ann Baker bought some of these kittens and after many selections finally got the Ragdoll breed. For a long time Ann Baker had a real hold on the Ragdoll breed, imposing particularly drastic standards. Then some breeders wanted to create a variant of the Ragdoll with the difference that the coat could be of any colour and these breeders, in order to improve the genetic health, personality and temperament of the breed, crossed with Persians, Himalayans and long-haired domestic cats, thus creating the Ragamuffin breed. In addition they also crossed with the original Ragdolls. However, only cats with at least one Ragamuffin parent can be called that.
Character of the Ragamuffin cat
The Ragamuffin cat is a very sweet, affectionate and cuddle-loving animal. Rather lazy, it prefers to take naps on its human’s lap instead of playing, with whom it bonds very strongly. It is therefore also suitable for the elderly, to whom it will provide much company by their side at all times. He gets along well with children because of his peaceful nature, but he doesn’t like confusion, he plays but not much, his aspiration is to be caressed and cuddled as long as possible.
It gets on well with both cats and dogs, as long as it has its own place to go when it is tired or there is too much confusion. It is not a cat that likes to be outdoors, and even if you have a garden you must avoid it going outside, as it would not be able to defend itself outside on its own due to its peaceful nature.
With this cat, it is necessary to have a little time to try to get it moving, encouraging it to play, in order to keep it in good shape; left to itself, it will spend much of its time sleeping and lounging.
It is not a cat to be taken if you are away from home a lot, it cannot stand loneliness and although it is not at all intrusive and hardly demands anything, it needs human contact much more than any other cat. With strangers it needs its time to accept them, even if usually being curious it is very quick.
Appearance of the Ragamuffin Cat
The Ragamuffin Cat is a medium to large cat, the male can weigh up to 9/10 kilograms, but there are reports of male cats weighing up to 14 kilograms. The females are smaller, there is a considerable difference between males and females, in fact usually a female does not exceed 5 kilograms. Although it is quite large in size and has massive muscles, it is not at all stocky, on the contrary, its body is elongated and agile.
In contrast to its Ragdoll ancestor, the Ragamuffin has a shorter nose, slightly forward-pointing ears and almond-shaped eyes, whereas in the Ragdoll they are round. The colouring of the eyes can vary but is always very intense.
The legs are of medium length with the hind legs slightly longer than the front ones, the tail is long and wide at the beginning, with a very thick coat.
The coat is on average long and very thick, soft, dense and adherent to the body. The length of the coat is not homogeneous, on the neck for example it is longer, forming a kind of gag. All colours are permitted in this cat, also with spots, patterns with or without white.
Care and health of the Ragamuffin cat
Although it has a long coat, this cat has a special feature: it does not tangle or knot easily, so it is enough to brush it once a week to keep its coat soft and shiny.
The life expectancy of this breed is around 15 to 16 years, and they are very resistant to disease. However, as they are a very young breed, it is difficult to say whether they may suffer from any genetic or hereditary diseases.
Care must be taken with regard to diet. The Ragamuffin cats are large cats and can easily gain too much weight if they are fed too much, as they tend to be lazy.
