The story of the RagaMuffin begins with an accident. During the 1960s, Ann Baker, a Persian breeder, developed a friendship with a neighbor who fed and cared for a colony of feral cats. A car struck one of these cats, named Josephine, who had previously given birth to wild kittens. After Josephine returned to health, she delivered a litter of kittens that impressed people with their sweetness and sociability. Although any difference in temperament could be explained by natural variation or having different fathers, a highly unscientific theory, that the accident somehow accounted for the kittens docile nature persists to this day.

Breed Description

Head: The head is a broad modified wedge, with a rounded appearance. The forehead should be moderately rounded. Muzzle is round, slightly shorter than moderate in length, tending to broadness. The chin is firmly rounded, reflecting a proper bite. There is puffiness to the whisker pad, which results in the characteristic “sweet look” of the RagaMuffin. Cheeks are full. In profile, there is an obvious nose dip, giving the impression of a scoop rather than a break. Neck is short, heavy and strong, particularly in older males. An allowance is made for jowliness in mature adult males.
Ears: Medium in size, set to the side of the head with slight flaring, tilted slightly forward, rounded (the lynx point should have tufts on the tips of the ears), with moderate furnishings, in pleasing proportion to the head. The ears should be set as much on the side of the head as on top of the head.
Eyes: Large, walnut shaped and expressive, moderately wide set, the eyes contribute to the characteristic sweet look. A slight oriental tip to the eye is acceptable. The more intense the eye color, the better. Lighter eye color in dilutes is allowed. Eye color requirements are as follows:
Body: Rectangular, broad chest and broad shoulders, and moderately heavy muscling in the hindquarters with the hindquarters being equally as broad as the shoulders. There should be a fatty pad (greater omentum) in the lower abdomen. Fitness should be determined by the muscle tone in the hind legs. These cats are fully fleshed. The backbone and ribs should not be visible to the eye and upon palpation should feel well covered with flesh.
Tail: Long, in proportion to the body. It is fully furred, similar in look to a plume or soft bottlebrush, medium at the base with a slight taper.
Legs and Paws: Legs should be heavily boned, medium in length with the back legs slightly longer than the front legs, yet in proportion to the body. The paws should be large and round, able to support the weight of the cat without splaying, and with tufts beneath and between the paws. Allowance is made for finer boning in females.
Coat: The fur is to be medium to medium-long. Texture is to be dense and silky, similar to a heavily furred rabbit. Texture will vary slightly with color. Fur length is to be slightly longer around neck and outer edges of face, resulting in the appearance of a ruff, and increasing in length from top of head down through shoulder blades and back, with the coat on the sides and stomach being medium to medium-long. The fur on the front legs is thick and short to medium in length. The fur on the hind legs is medium to medium-long and thick with the appearance of a wispy frill on the hindquarters.

History

Extremely loveable and docile, RagaMuffin cats were developed in the latter part of the 20th century by Mrs. Baker of Riverside. The exact origin of the breed is unknown as the developer chose what cats to breed. It is believed that the breed was developed from street cats found in Riverside.

Behavior

The RagaMuffin cat is famous for its mellow personality and tends to be very friendly to people. The breed is never aloof and does everything to earn a cuddle. Many RagaMuffins follow their owners as they are very people-oriented and thrive on much attention. Keep in mind that they are indoors cats.