Breed Standard Proposal Title

Dear Members of the Ragdoll Breed Group:

Greetings! I am Christine Lupo, and I am officially submitting my candidate statement for the 2023 TICA Ragdoll Breed Committee. I live in the USA, residing in the middle of Long Island, NY. I have owned and have shown my Ragdolls for fifteen years. I have done this in the capacity of exhibitor and as a show manager. Exhibiting and breeding Ragdolls is my passion, as I do enjoy advising and educating kitten clients, breeders, exhibitors, and spectators about the exquisite Ragdoll breed. I am an ambassador for the breed every day. My cattery has been awarded The International Cat Association’s Outstanding Cattery Certification in 2022 and 2023. Through careful and selective breeding, NYDIVINEDOLLS Cattery is the home to numerous TICA Supreme and Quadruple Grand Champions, as well as up and coming stars. 

Please allow me to share my history with the Ragdoll breed with you. Knowing my commitment to the Ragdoll breed will allow you to understand why I feel I would be the best candidate for this position. I attended my first show with my first two Ragdoll kittens in 2008. One was a pointed Ragdoll, and the other was a mink Ragdoll. It has been an ongoing learning experience ever since. At that first show, I met my first mentor who guided me in officially establishing my cattery, NYDIVINEDOLLS, in TICA, in 2010. This individual also educated me about the importance of ethical breeding, being proactive by ensuring that each cat was genetically sound and healthy through testing, as well as practicing and adhering to the protocols of showing in this organization. Through showing, I met two Ragdoll breeders who worked with Ann Baker and shared the history of the breed with me. One bred solid, mink, and pointed Ragdolls, the other bred only the pointed. The latter advised me to spay the mink, which I declined to do; however, years later upon retiring, she honored me by entrusting three of her pointed Ragdolls to me to continue her lines. Three other ladies, Ragdoll breeders and one a Singapura breeder, taught me the crucial importance and value of reading, understanding, checking, and maintaining accurate pedigrees.  This was especially important for those Ragdolls that come from pure lines, whether they are mink, solid, or pointed. It is for these reasons that heartiness, temperament, maintaining clean pedigrees, and conformation to breed standards, in that order, became my priorities and mission in regard to breeding and showing Ragdolls. Learning and improving one’s lines is an ongoing and never ending project. 

Should I be honored and granted the position of a Ragdoll Breed Committee member, I will continue to advocate for all purebred TICA registered Ragdolls. I will continue to work toward getting mink and solid Ragdolls accepted for championship as Ragdolls, and do so through a proposal to amend the current standard (TICA By Laws, Article Seven, 17.4). If approved by a majority of  the newly elected Ragdoll Breed Committee and Genetics & Rules Committee, I will ensure all members of the Ragdoll Breed Group are made aware of the proposal and are reached to voice their preferences via polling. This goal can be achieved through collaborative discussion with a Ragdoll Breed Committee that is truly representative of all voting members of the Ragdoll Breed Group. This will be beneficial for the Ragdoll gene pool, good for TICA, and will serve to enlighten the public about all Ragdolls. In addition to this, I will work tirelessly to ensure that educational seminars for judges, exhibitors, and spectators will be constant. It is for these reasons that I request that you vote for me. Thank you for your consideration, as well as your valuable time.

Warmest regards,

Christine Lupo

The International Ragdoll Cat ALLIANCE

 www.the-irca.com


Post Script:

TICA has been accepting money for the registration of non-pointed Ragdolls as Ragdolls since 1982. TICA was founded on June 22, 1979.  After all these years, based upon this fact, and that of genetic and Ragdoll historical facts, TICA should not be putting this up for members to vote in regard to acceptance of the Solids, Minks, and Sepias, but should actually automatically grant them recognition and permit eligibility for Championship! They are the foundation of what created the pointed, blue eyed (recessive traits) variant of Ragdoll. This would double, and perhaps, even triple the number of Ragdolls at each club’s show. This would especially be the case if current Ragdoll exhibitors, make the effort to demonstrate good sportmanship and strive to welcome, educate, and encourage new exhibitors to produce show quality Ragdolls that adhere to the standard. True Ragdolls do not just have blue eyes!

 

 

CHECK YOUR PEDIGREES AND FOUNDATION for MINK Ragdoll, Mike McDonald.

Click to enlarg

The only difference between the Ragdoll and the Solid, Mink, and Sepia Ragdolls  is caused by the C-locus (which is responsible for the self-color, pointed, and Sepia gene) . All of the other characteristics are the same. The Ragdoll Breed Committee should represent ALL Ragdolls in the standard and simply amend it to represent the coloration of all Ragdolls that are, and have been registered SBT Ragdolls in TICA. 

Ragdoll Breed Group: Pointed: (RD) and Nonpointed: (RD-M); (RD-Sa); (RD-Sd)

HEAD.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 points
Shape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Ears.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Eyes … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chin.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Muzzle.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Neck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
 
BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 points
Torso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Legs/Feet. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Tail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Boning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Musculature.. . . . . . . . . . . 8
 
COAT/COLOR/PATTERN. . . . 25 points
Length. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Texture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Pattern.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
HEAD.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 points
Shape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Ears.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Eyes … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chin.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Muzzle.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Neck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
 
BODY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 points
Torso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Legs/Feet. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Tail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Boning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Musculature.. . . . . . . . . . . 8
 
COAT/COLOR/PATTERN. . . . 25 points
Length. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Texture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Pattern.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
CATEGORY: 
RD: Pointed.
RD-M: Mink
RD-Sa: Sepia
RD-Sd: Traditional (Solid)
 
DIVISIONS: 
RD:
Solid Point Division, Tortie Point Division, Tabby Point Division, Solid Point /white (including Van), Tortie Point/white, Tabby Point /white Divisions (Colorpoint, mitted and bicolor pattern ONLY). 

RD-M: Mink Solid, Mink Tortie, Mink Tabby, Mink Solid and White, Mink Tortie and White, Mink Tabby and White.(Solid, mitted and bicolor pattern ONLY).

RD-Sa: Sepia Solid, Sepia Tortie, Sepia Tabby, Sepia Solid and White, Sepia Tortie and White, Sepia Taby and White. (Solid, mitted and bicolor pattern ONLY).

RD-Sd: Traditional Solid, Traditional Tortie, Traditional Tabby, Traditional Solid and White, Traditional Tortie and White, Traditional Tabby and White. (Solid, mitted and bicolor pattern ONLY).

 

COLORS: 


RD: seal point
blue point
chocolate point
cinnamon point
lilac point
fawn point
red point
cream point

seal tortie point
blue tortie point
chocolate tortie pt
cinnamon tortie pt
lilac tortie point
fawn tortie point

RD-Sd:  black
blue
chocolate
cinnamon
lilac
fawn
red
cream

black tortie
blue tortie
chocolate tortie
cinnamon tortie
lilac tortie
fawn tortie

white

RD-M: seal mink
blue mink
chocolate mink
cinnamon mink
lilac mink
fawn mink
red mink
cream mink

seal mink tortie
blue mink tortie
chocolate mink tortie
cinnamon mink tortie
lilac mink tortie
fawn mink tortie 

RD-Sa:   seal sepia 
blue sepia
chocolate sepia
cinnamon sepia
lilac sepia
fawn sepia
red sepia
cream sepia

seal sepia (sable) tortie
blue sepia tortie
chocolate sepia tortie
cinnamon sepia tortie
lilac sepia tortie
fawn sepia tortie

 

PERMISSIBLE OUTCROSSES: 
NONE. 

HEAD (ALL):
Shape (RD): Broad modified wedge, with slightly rounded contours, slightly rounded forehead (not domed), appearance of flat plane in area between ears, skull medium in size.

Ears (ALL):
Medium in size, broad at base, rounded tip. Set as much on top of the head as on the side, slightly tilted forward.

Eyes:
Large, oval, moderately wide-set, outer aperture to fall in line with base of ear.

RD: Pointed colors have blue to violet eyes, with deeper color preferred. 

RD-M: Mink colors typically have blue-green to green-blue (aqua) eyes, with preference given to
deeper, richer, more vibrant tones. 

RD-Sa: Sepia colors typically have gold or gold-green (chartreuse) eyes, with preference given to
deeper, richer, more vibrant tones. 

RD -Sd: (Self-colored) Traditional colors typically have bronze, copper, gold, yellow, green, or hazel eyes. Preference
is to be given to deeper, richer, more vibrant tones.

Chin (ALL):
Well-developed. Straight from nose to bottom of chin.

Muzzle (ALL):
Rounded, medium in length; in line with wedge.

Profile (ALL):
Chin well-developed in line with nose. Straight nose to bridge followed by change of direction to gentle curve to brow. Appearance of flat plane between ears.

Neck (ALL):
In proportion to head and torso.

BODY (ALL):
Torso: Medium-long to long, substantial. Broad chest. Fat pad on lower abdomen acceptable. Females may be smaller than males.

Legs: Substantial boning, in proportion to body, hind legs slightly longer than front legs.

Feet: Large, round, tufting desirable.

Tail: Equal to length of body. Thicker at base, with slight taper.

Boning: Substantial.

Musculature: Well-muscled with Solid weight.

COAT (ALL):
Length: Semi-long, allow for shorter coats on unaltered adults and seasonal variations.

Texture: Silky soft, plush, similar to rabbit fur. Minimal undercoat gives the coat body,but coat still falls smoothly. Not woolly or cottony.

COLOR: 
RD (Pointed): Even, lighter color on the body with minimal shading. Definite contrast between body and point color. Allow for darker body color in older cats. Allow for undeveloped color in young cats. Kittens are born almost white and develop color on the points while remaining pale and creamy colored on the body. Body color often darkens with age, but not to the extent of the corresponding minks. Body shading, if any, shouldbe in the tone of the point color. In the pointed category, darker spots may develop over pressure points such as the hips, especially in older cats. Points of injury or resulting from other causes of recent hair loss (e.g. on the breast area of recently nursing queens) may show similar color changes.

RD-MThe coat darkens with age: kittens are born much lighter than the corresponding sepias (almost white in some colors) then develop noticeably darker color at the points than on the body.

RD-SaCoat color is paler and warmer than the traditional equivalents due to the reduction in the amount of pigment in the melanin granules. The coat darkens with age and has slight intensification at the points which is most visible in kittens.

RD-Sd:  Kittens are born with full color. Traditional coat colors do not dramatically change in intensity with age.

SOLID POINT DIVISION:
Points: Ears, mask, legs, feet and tail to be darker, well-defined color.

Body: Chest bib and chin areas may be somewhat lighter in color. Soft shadings of color are allowed.

ANY COLOR AND WHITE DIVISION:

Mitted Pattern:
Head: May have a broken or evenly matched, symmetrical white blaze on nose and/or between eyes. White not to extend into the inner corner of the eye, nose leather, or whisker pads. Chin must be white.

Front feet: Evenly matched white mittens not to extend above bend of paw. All toes to be white.
Back Legs: White goes up to and around the hocks entirely and extends no higher than mid-thigh.

Body: White stripe extending from chin through chest and length of belly.

Bicolor Pattern:
Head: White inverted “V” on face that completely surrounds the pink nose leather and does not extend
beyond the outer edge of the eye on either side. The “V” to be as symmetrical as possible. The shape should be an inverted “V.” White Chin.

RD-Sd: (Self-colored solid) As described in TICA Color Descriptions.

RD-M: (Mink)  Body color in Minks a distinctly lighter shade of point color, showing definite contrast to points, but not as much as with the pointed Ragdoll. Even, lighter color on the body. Allow for darker body color in older cats. Allow for undeveloped color in young cats.

RD-Sa: (Sepia) Body color in Sepias closer to that of extremities, showing slighter contrast to points.
Even, lighter color on the body. Allow for darker body color in older cats. Allow for undeveloped color in young cats.

WITHOUT WHITE DIVISION:
RD-Sd: (Self-colored)
The color is evenly across the whole cat. Lighter color on the collar allowed. 

RD-M: (Mink)
Points: Ears, mask, legs, feet and tail to be darker, well-defined color.

Body: Chest bib and chin areas may be somewhat lighter in color. Shadings of color are allowed.

RD-Sa: (Sepia)
Points: Ears, mask, legs, feet and tail to be somewhat darker, well-defined color.

Body: Chest bib and chin areas may be somewhat lighter in color. Shadings of color are allowed.

ANY COLOR AND WHITE DIVISION:

Mitted Pattern:

Head: May have a broken or evenly matched, symmetrical white blaze on nose and/or between eyes. White not to extend into the inner corner of the eye, nose leather or whisker pads. Chin must be white.

Front feet: Evenly matched white mittens not to extend above bend of paw. All toes to be white.

Back Legs: White goes up to and around the hocks entirely and extends no higher than mid-thigh.

Body: White stripe extending from chin through chest and length of belly.

Bicolor Pattern:
Head: White inverted “V” on face that completely surrounds the pink nose leather and does not extend
beyond the outer edge of the eye on either side. The “V” to be as symmetrical as possible. White Chin.

Body: Chest, stomach and ruff are white. Saddle may  be broken that may include spots of white.

RD-Sd: With the self-colored the saddle must have the body color.
RD-M and RD-Sa: With the Minks and Sepias shading in body color allowed.

Feet and Legs: All white preferred. 

Paw Pads: Pink preferred, but mixture of color on paw pads acceptable because of two colors in pattern.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: 
RD: The Pointed Ragdoll is a semi-long haired, blue eyed pointed cat with a sweet personality. The Ragdoll grows large and heavy, but is slow to mature and may not reach full weight and size for four years. Full color is not reached until three years old. The Ragdoll is muscular with little fat except on the lower abdomen fatty pad.

RD-Sd; RD-M; RD-Sa: The Solid, Mink, and/or Sepia Ragdoll is a semi-long haired cat with a sweet personality, which grows large and heavy, but is slow to mature and may not reach full weight and size for four years. 
RD-Sd: The self-colored have their full color at birth.
RD-M: The Mink is born with color but full color is not reached until three years old.
RD-Sa: The Sepia is born with color, darker than the Mink, but full color is also not reached until three years old. The Ragdoll is muscular with little fat except on the lower abdomen fatty pad.

ALLOWANCES: 
Seasonal changes in coat length.

PENALIZE:

Mitted: Lack of white belly stripe; Hock spots. 

Bicolor: White beyond the outside edge of the eye. Lack of inverted “V” such as a rectangle, “M”, heart shape, etc. Hock spots.

WITHHOLD ALL AWARDS (WW):

General: Short tail, tall triangular pointy ears, short legs; cobby body, round eyes, flat plane between eyes, doming of the head (concave curve to brow and convex curve to forehead); Roman nose, straight profile, obvious nose dip giving impression of a scoop in profile, wooly/cottony coat texture. White tail tip. Leg runners. Ear runners. White on ears.  

Mitted: Lack of white belly stripe; white on ears and/or tail.

RD: For pointed: any eye color other than blue.

Colorpointed: Any white.

Solid division: Any white.

Mitted: Lack of white chin.

Bicolor : Any dark markings inside the white “V” including the chin. 

Disqualify (DQ): Crossed eyes, Nystagmus. Tail faults. Severe cow hocks. Extra toes. Obvious illness.

Temperament must be unchallenging; any sign of definite challenge
shall disqualify. The cat may exhibit fear, seek to flee, or generally
complain aloud but may not threaten to harm. In accordance with
Show Rules, ARTICLE SIXTEEN, the following shall be considered
mandatory disqualifications: a cat that bites (216.9), a cat showing
evidence of intent to deceive (216.10), adult whole male cats not having
two descended testicles (216.11), cats with all or part of the tail missing
, except as authorized by a board approved standard (216.12.1), cats
with more than five toes on each front foot and four toes on each back
foot, unless proved the result of an injury or as authorized by a board
approved standard (216.12.2), visible or invisible tail faults if Board
approved standard requires disqualification (216.12.4), crossed
eyes if Board approved standard requires disqualification
(216.12.5), total blindness (216.12.6), markedly smaller size, not in
keeping with the breed (216.12.9), and depression of the sternum or
unusually small diameter of the rib cage itself (216.12.11.1). See Show
Rules, ARTICLE SIXTEEN for more comprehensive rules governing
penalties and disqualifications.