FAKE RAGAMUFFIN SCAM ALERT!

 

Would you knowingly pay $500-$1000 for a MIXED BREED DOMESTIC LONGHAIR?

Buy a TICA registered RagaMuffin and you probably are...
 

AUTHENTIC RagaMuffins are registered in and come with papers from ONLY the following registries:

ACFA (USA), CFA (USA), GCCF (U.K.), CCC/CCA (Canada), WCF (Europe).

 

TICA DOES NOT RECOGNIZE RAGAMUFFINS - Please click here to see.  RagaMuffins are NOT LISTED as a breed in any category.

Please be advised that there are many SCAMMERS, some knowingly and some who have been scammed themselves, who are advertising and selling FAKE RAGAMUFFINS and claiming they are Registered RagaMuffins with papers - but they are TICA registrations - these kittens and cats can not be registered in any other reputable registry as RagaMuffins - because they aren't RagaMuffins. 

How do they do this?  TICA will register ANY CAT OR KITTEN as a RagaMuffin because there is NO STANDARD defining what a RagaMuffin is.  In other words, there are NO RULES so scammers can do whatever they want and TICA will accept the money to do it.  Just how that registry operates when a breed is not recognized.

 

TO READ MORE ABOUT AUTHENTIC RAGAMUFFINS, please read here.

TO READ MORE ABOUT FAKE RAGAMUFFINS written by MESSY BEAST, a site dedicated to recording cat history, authentic breed history, and cat genetics information, please read here and another of theirs articles here. 


The difference between an AUTHENTIC RagaMuffin and a TICA registered only 'Ragamuffin' is very much the same as buying a $2000 designer handbag from an authorized company store (think Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton) with accompanying warranty versus buying a $500 knock off handbag from Canal Street in China Town with a 'Good Luck While It Holds Up' warranty (and good luck finding them for a replacement or repair support if the bag falls apart...)

Some knock offs are very good and look almost identical to the real thing, but will always be outed as an imitation under scrutiny. Others are obvious fakes.

The staining will run on the faux leatherette the first time rain hits it.  The seams will fray and come apart with just a short amount of use. It has a commercial production odd smell to it that just won't go away. The fine details make them look almost like the real thing, but something isn't quite right when you or anyone else looks at it. It constantly has annoying issues that make you not want to take it out to wear it in public.  You get the picture.

Just like Chanel or Gucci would not have an authentic retailer on Craigslist or Hoobly offering cheaper handbags, likewise if you find your RagaMuffin 'breeder' on sites such as Craigslist, Hoobly, Petfinder, and other such selling sites it is extremely unlikely you are dealing with 1) Authentic RagaMuffins and 2) a reputable or ethical cat breeder in the first place.


Unfortunately, more often than not, RagaMuffins sold with TICA ONLY REGISTRATIONS are SAD IMITATIONS of our Authentic RagaMuffins by "Backyard Breeders" or "Commercial Breeders" who are only interested in the money generated from selling kittensNot the authenticity, not the health of the lineage or breeding cats, not the appropriateness of the breeding cats conformation, not to staying true to any registry's standards at all.  They are simply producing kittens they can sell and make money off of by taking advantage of people who do not know better.

Even more sadly, some are aware of this fact and further EXPLOIT THE PUBLIC'S IGNORANCE to the situation by not only intentionally taking advantage of the ignorance, but also by playing on your sympathies by claiming the money raised from the sale of kittens is to support causes such as Autism.  These kittens are usually Ragdoll mixes that no registry recognizes as RagaMuffins - even TICA doesn't...

They are Domestic Longhair Mixed Breed cats and Kittens - more often than not a Ragdoll mixed with Persian, another 'solid' Ragdoll (again ONLY TICA recognizes solid colored ragdolls), or even a regular Domestic Longhair cat.  

To put it bluntly...

TICA will register ANY Domestic Longhair Mixed Breed kitten

as a RagaMuffin because they

DO NOT RECOGNIZE the RAGAMUFFIN BREED  

This literally means they DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS because there is NO STANDARD defining the breed.

There is absolutely no 'quality control' in authenticity, health, personality, temperament, type, looks, etc. because these breeders' focus is on making money off of poorly bred and raised kittens.


Breeding and raising healthy, happy, well adjusted Real RagaMuffin kittens is a very costly venture.  Authentic RagaMuffin breeding cats are costly to acquire, costly to properly check and verify MANY health clearances, costly to properly feed, costly to properly house ethically, and costly to show, not to mention costly to our own personal lives and families.  Kittens are costly to properly feed, house, vaccinate, spay/neuter, deworm, provide veterinary health checks and clearances on.  

Respectable, ethical Authentic RagaMuffin breeders often dearly sacrifice personally to preserve and continue the heritage of our beloved Muffins - usually at a financial loss to ourselves at that. In order to continue our mission to preserve and continue our breed, we must offset the costs involved with ethical, humane, and proper breeding practices by offering the kittens not held back for the next generation of RagaMuffins as adoptable pets.  Each breeder has a different set of costs involved with their particular cattery including but not limited to breeding stock acquisition, type of foods that are fed, and geographical factors.  Geographical factors that vary based on location include: Home buying costs to accommodate our cats and kittens (cost per square foot of our homes), Utilities costs (electricity, water, sewage, internet), Veterinary care costs, and food costs.  

Compare the median home value in downtown, city central New York, NY - $915,300 versus home buying cost in Harlingen, Tx - $85,700 

To properly house even ONE male stud cat usually requires a room just for him to use.  It seems fairly obvious that the breeder's cost to maintain even one male for a breeding program is significantly different in New York than it is in Harlingen.  Thus the variation in pet kitten adoption costs, with just one factor as an example.

The average pet RagaMuffin kitten adoption fee from reputable breeders ranges from $2000-$3000, often based on location and what the breeder provides in addition to just the kitten (spay/neuter, number of veterinarian health check visits if any, whether vaccines are administered by the breeder or the veterinarian, types and brands of foods provided, length and extent of health warranty given with the kitten, etc.)  Authentic PET KITTENS DO NOT adopt out for $3000-4000+ (one online commercial scammer actually sells them for this!).

We understand that not everyone that wishes to be owned by an Authentic RagaMuffin will be in a position to afford the adoption fees when they discover our wonderful breed.  The temptation to buy a TICA RagaMuffin kitten may develop.  

Please understand that if a person chooses to

BUY a TICA RagaMuffin

They are BUYING A DOMESTIC LONGHAIR MIXED KITTEN 

NOT A RAGAMUFFIN

Please DEMAND an appropriate price for your Mixed Breed Domestic Longhair kitten

Don't get scammed into paying Authentic Pedigree RagaMuffin fees for a Mixed Breed kitten by people preying off the public's ignorance

 

We at MirrorMirror RagaMuffins are not saying or implying these TICA registered kittens aren't worthy of being loved on.  Isn't every kitten worthy of that?! 

We are however clarifying the situation regarding RagaMuffins and fake TICA RagaMuffins to EDUCATE THE PUBLIC and prevent RagaMuffin lovers from getting scammed.  Would you knowingly pay $500-$1000 or more for a MIXED BREED DOMESTIC LONGHAIR??? 


Please contact a reputable Authentic RagaMuffin breeder if the adoption fee range is outside of your current abilities but you still wish to be owned by one.   We may be able to put you on our list to be matched up when such an occasion comes around. Such as:

-Occasionally there are cats and kittens that are in need of rehoming and our breeders work together to help rehome these kitties for our adopters into appropriate homes.

- Retired breeding cats that are ready for their Forever Retirement Homes are often placed at a significantly reduced Adoption Fee.  Ages can range from 1 year old and up.  Retired breeders are our BEST OF THE BEST - thus we chose them to continue the legacy of RagaMuffins in our breeding programs.  Usually the sweetest personalities, most physically beautiful and appealing, and throughly health tested and verified cats are what we hold back for our breeding programs or reserve for other breeders' programs.  When these Muffins are finished with their hard life of service to the legacy and are altered, they are carefully placed in homes where they will be cherished and treated like the Kings and Queens they are.

 

Thank you for reading to the end of this article and learning more about this sickening scam.  Please help us protect and preserve the RagaMuffin breed by sharing the information contained here with friends and family who may benefit from this knowledge.

 

UPDATED: May 26, 2019