International Ragdoll Cat Association
Encyclopedia
The International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA) is a small cat breeding organization devoted to the Ragdoll
Ragdoll
The Ragdoll is a cat breed with blue eyes and a distinct colorpoint coat. It is a large and muscular semi-longhair cat with a soft and silky coat. Developed by American breeder Ann Baker, it is best known for its docile and placid temperament and affectionate nature...

 and related breeds such as the 'Honey Bear' and the 'Miracle.' It was founded in approximately 1971 by Ann Baker, a Persian cat breeder, who established the Ragdoll breed from a unique stray cat named Josephine found in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in the early 1960s.

Ann Baker, in an unusual move, spurned traditional cat breeding associations. She trademarked the name "Ragdoll" and enforced stringent standards on anyone who wanted to breed or sell cats under that name. http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=CBD&breedPage=ragdoll.html].

The IRCA is still in existence today but is quite small, particularly since Baker's death in 1997. IRCA cats are not recognized in any major cat breed organization or cat show, though some IRCA cats have been registered as "Ragamuffin" cats. The Ragamuffin history and breed standard remains somewhat confused.

In 1975 a husband and wife team, Denny and Laura Dayton, took a breeding pair of IRCA Ragdolls and began breeding the currently favored Ragdoll standard. The standard they developed was eventually accepted by major cat organizations such as the CFA
Cat Fanciers' Association
The Cat Fanciers' Association was established in the United States in 1906 and is the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats and the predominant pedigreed cat registering association in North America...

 and the FIFe
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

. The largest international Ragdoll association is the Ragdoll Fanciers' Club International (RFCI) http://www.rfci.org/. At this point in time neither organization recognizes the other as legitimate.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK