What is a Ragdoll?

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     The Ragdoll that most people recognize is a medium haired, blue-eyed

kitty with a pale body, dark face, ears, legs and tail and is described as

being "pointed.” This coat color pattern is the result of the

recessive Siamese gene (cs) and it requires both parents to carry

this gene in order to pass it on to their offspring. The point gene

is carried on the C locus, where pure albinism is also carried.

It is shown with the sign cs, and needs two alleles of cs for the

points to be expressed. The pointed coat color pattern is recessive

and is an error in the production of Tyrosinase (TYR). The

mutated enzyme is heat-sensitive; it fails to work at normal body temperatures,

but becomes active in cooler areas of the skin. As a result, dark pigment is limited to the coldest areas of the body, that is, the extremities. Pointed kittens are born white, since the womb is uniformly warm. As the kitten ages, the cooler areas darken while warmer areas remain cream to white in color. There would be no pointed Ragdolls without the solid, mink, and/or sepia at the foundation. As per UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, and Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians,  on the topic of feline coat color and the colorpoint restriction:

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• Cats with C/C genotype will be full-colored and will not display colorpoint restriction. They cannot transmit colorpoint variants to any of their offspring.

• Cats with C/cb genotype will be full-colored and are carriers of Burmese colorpoint restriction. They will transmit this Burmese colorpoint variant to 50% of their offspring. Matings between two carriers of Burmese colorpoint restriction are predicted to produce 25% Burmese colorpoint kittens.

• Cats with C/cs genotype will be full-colored and are carriers of Siamese colorpoint restriction. They will transmit this Siamese colorpoint variant to 50% of their offspring. Matings between two carriers of Siamese colorpoint restriction are predicted to produce 25% Siamese colorpoint kittens.

• Cats with cb/cb genotype will display Burmese colorpoint restriction and will transmit the Burmese colorpoint variant to all of their offspring.

• Cats with cs/cs genotype will display Siamese colorpoint restriction and will transmit the Siamese colorpoint variant to all of their offspring.

• Cats with cb/cs genotype will display Mink colorpoint restriction, an intermediate color between Siamese and Burmese.

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       According to The Association of the Original Ragdoll (VdOR), Ann Baker, the pioneer and ORIGINATOR of the Ragdoll breed, utilized the first genealogical mother, a pure white cat and founder of the “White Line,” Josephine. The second genealogical mother, Burmese (BLACKIE in some databases and at times incorrectly designated as a male) was the founder of the “Dark Line,” whose markings were MINK and carried the variant point gene. The photo (right) depicts Burmese with her kittens, the kitten on the right in the photo is thought to be Buckwheat, a Seal Colorpoint, according to the Dayton Genetics Card. The third ancestral animal and genealogical father is Birman (BEAUTY in some databases) who looked similar to the breed Sacred Burma who carried the white spotting gene, not the laced Glove gene (bicolor would not have been possible). All three are of UNKOWN origin.

 

       For 100% Original Ragdolls, based upon this information, the following is true as per the VdOR Database: “100% Original Ragdoll lines traceable to Ann Baker’s 3 Original ancestral cats: Josephine (Mother [Dam]of all Ragdolls), Blackie (Burmese [Dam] in Dayton Genetics Card), and Beauty (Birman [Sire] In Dayton Genetics Card).” JOSEPHINE was a solid carrying the pointed gene. BURMESE (called Blackie in some databases) was a Mink. BIRMAN ( called Beauty in some databases) could have been either MINK or pointed. If all three ancestral cats are of unknown parentage, then the three Original ancestral cats were solid, mink, and EITHER a pointed or a mink.

 

      “Original” Ragdolls are defined as those that can be fully traced to Ann Baker's 3 Original ancestral cats--Josephine, Burmese (Blackie [Dam] in some databases), and Birman (Beauty [Sire] in some databases), as per the Dayton Genetics Card. There are no outcrosses to any other breeds in the lineage of these Ragdolls and they are referred to as having "white pedigrees." The lines are pure and they are 100% traceable to ANN BAKER's three original ancestral cats with no outcrosses to other breeds and they are only of the following colors/patterns:  Seal, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac in Mitted, Bicolor, or Colorpoint. 

 

 

           In the United States, many breeders use the term, "Traditional" to describe the Ragdoll that is fully traceable to Ann Baker's foundation cat, Josephine, the mother of all Ragdolls, through the Dayton Genetic Card.  Dayton excluded those Ragdoll catteries and their progeny, that remained loyal to Baker, from his records (i.e., Purple Mountain, Blue Heather), so there are Ragdolls that are actually "fully traceable" that are not acknowledged through Dayton's records. “Traditional” Ragdolls are defined as those bred from the primary Ragdoll pedigree lines - a blue-eyed pointed cat in only the four colors of Seal, Blue, Chocolate, and Lilac transposed over the three recognized patterns of Colorpointed, Mitted, and Bicolor. It is used for these colors that were included in the 1975 Patent by Ann Baker. The blue-eyed pointed Ragdolls have become world renowned because they were highly publicized by Denny and Laura Dayton in the show halls of TICA (The International Cat Association) and CFA (Cat Fancier’s Association).    

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      European breeders have two designations for their Ragdolls, they are either Original Ragdolls or New Color Ragdolls that have outcrossing in the bloodlines.  "Non-Traditional" Ragdolls have outcrossing to other breeds in the blood line as sanctioned by a cat registry and that matches that cat fancy organization's official Ragdoll standard.  “Non-Traditional” Ragdoll Felines consist of the four newly recognized colors of CINNAMON, FAWN (Cinnamon's dilute), RED (Flame) and CREAM (Flame's dilute). Any cat with Cinnamon, Fawn, Flame, Cream, or Tortie in its pedigree may have an outcross to another breed somewhere along the line, as Red was recognized by TICA in the 1980s and Cinnamon in early 2000. Likewise, any Ragdoll that has a LYNX pattern was either created early in the breed by Ann Baker, or outcrossed somewhere in the line to get the Lynx pattern. One needs only to look at their pedigrees to make the determination from whence it came. The pointed areas of the cat will display distinct barring, or Tabby markings, which are separated by lighter background color. The Lynx markings appear with ANY of the three patterns (bicolor, mitted, and colorpoint) and in all colors. If a Ragdoll female has a Tortie coloring, as well as Lynx markings, she will be identified as a Torbie.

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       When certificates of registration were transferred from Ann Baker's IRCA Registry to the TICA Registry, all Ragdolls were reregistered as Ragdolls in one grouping, and not as individuals. Many Solid and Mink Ragdolls were actually registered as Pointed Ragdolls when they were transferred from IRCA to TICA, instead of being specifically registered as a Solid Ragdoll or a Mink Ragdoll. This was most prevalent in the case of the Solid Ragdolls. An examination of IRCA pedigrees transferred to TICA will reveal the very beginning lines of Solid Ragdolls, Mink Ragdolls, Lynx Ragdolls, Smoke and Silver Ragdolls, and yes, even Tortie and Torbie Ragdolls.   It was Baker's intention to include all of the following; Lynx, Red Factor, Chocolate, Lilac, Mink, Solid, and Pointed.  Baker, herself, registered these mink and solid cats as RAGDOLLS. Every mink and sepia Ragdoll traces back to Anne Baker's IRCA registered mink male, Mike McDonald (who may also be found in a tremedous amount of Blue Eyed Pointed Ragdoll lineage), perhaps even further based upon genetics alone. Solid Ragdolls can be traced back to St. Patrick and possibly, Raggedy Ann Gueber.

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      Denny Dayton and his followers dismissed Ann Baker's vision of her Ragdoll and made it their mission to establish a small representation of the breed, the Pointed Ragdoll, in the multiple cat associations and show halls. The Pointed Ragdoll is a product of recessive traits, a mutation, that can only be produced by Solid, Mink, or two Pointed Ragdolls--of which are the foundation of the Ragdoll Breed created by Ann Baker. Curt Gehm is another who acquired some of Baker's Ragdolls, which encompassed the Mink, Solid, and Sepia Ragdolls rejected by Dayton for show. Gehm created a new breed that originated with a limited number of Ann Baker's cats. Outcrossing was used in the further development of what was coined the “Ragamuffin.” All colors and patterns were accepted for the Ragamuffin and outcrosses were made to Persian, Siberian, Selkirk Longhair, British Longhair, Turkish Angora, and even longhaired domestic cats that have resulted in an extremely different appearance, and Breed Standard, to the Ragdoll. 

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      All purebred, registered Mink, Solid, and Sepia Ragdolls are going to be recognized for championship status for all of the aforementioned reasons beginning May 1, 2025 in TICA. Mink and Sepia are already recognized for championship, titles and in the Ragdoll breed standard of LCWW. Regardless of their coloration or patterns, all purebred Ragdolls are famous for their extreme loyalty, inquisitiveness, immensely affectionate nature, intelligence, and of course, the Ragdoll flop that invites the coveted belly rubs!

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~Christine Lupo

New York Divine Ragdolls

 

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          Update your TICA Membership, so you may bring your Cherubim Ragdolls to show. Your family members may ALSO register their mink, solid and sepia Cherubim Ragdolls and become voting members by filling out this same form. Be sure to SPECIFY that you are part of the Ragdoll Breed Section:

 

TICA Membership Form

 

     Please send your information to the email address below if you have registered mink, solid, and sepia Ragdolls in the past year and/or have been showing your cats in “New Traits” over the past year to Christine Lupo at RagdollAlliance@gmail.com in order to aid us in our endeavors to maintain a record of mink, solid and sepia Cherubim Ragdolls being exhibited in the cat show halls of TICA.

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