Search and see photos of adoptable pets in the Ennis, Texas area Our Featured Ennis, TX Partner: Merlin's Hope Ragdoll and Maine Coon RescueWe raise Ragdoll cats and huacaya alpacas here in the beautiful Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire.  We raise friendly Ragdoll cats and kittens for sale as pets and, out in the pastures, soft and fuzzy huacaya alpacas for their wonderful fiber.  We have alpacas for sale as well as alpaca yarn and products for sale as well. Ragdoll cats, a truly American breed, are raised underfoot, and make the best pets ever. Not only are they beautiful, with their pointed coloring and blue eyes, they are truly people-loving cats. Ragdolls were first created in the 1960s, in California, by a woman named Ann Baker, from feral cats owned by her neighbor! Thanks to her, we have this beautiful pointed cat with a laid-back personality. We register our Ragdolls with the Cat Fanciers Federation (CFF) and The International Cat Association (TICA).

Alpacas, relatives to the llama, are the producers of very fine fiber that is made into gorgeous alpaca yarn for sale to knitters and crocheters. Alpaca fiber is also used to make warm clothing accessories like alpaca socks, scarves, gloves, hats, etc., which are for sale on the farm. American Bully Puppies For Sale IndianaEven some of the alpacas themselves are for sale. Max Studio Duvet CoverSee ‘Our Alpacas’ page for our sales list.  Tarkett Vinyl Flooring DistributorsAll of our alpacas are registered with the Alpaca Registry Inc. (ARI). Foss Mountain Farm is owned by Lana Nickerson and Dick Dole pictured here with Krypton and his reserve champion fleece. Whether you are interested in the Ragdolls or the alpacas, please enjoy our website.

Originally published Apr 3, 2010 Merlin’s Hope: A Ragdoll and Maine Coon Rescue has been in the rescue business in Ennis, Texas (south of the DFW area) since 2005, though I personally have been in rescue since 1998. In the five years that we have been rescuing here in Texas, we have helped nearly 600 cats. This is, of course, in addition to the transporting, coordinating, referring, and working with other rescues that we do to help other cats. We originally started with Siamese and long-haired breed cats (Maine Coons, Ragdolls, Persians) but quickly saw the need for dedicated rescue for Maine Coons and Ragdolls. We have worked with several breeders in the past couple of years to help them as they went out of business, decided to quit breeding, retired, etc. Additionally, of course, we rescue from shelters around the state of Texas, including the areas of Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. We have a very strict adoption process including an application with veterinary and personal references, a lengthy telephone interview, and a lengthy contract requiring no declaw, indoor only, and that our cats be returned to us in the event the situation does not work out (just to mention a few of our specific requirements).

Our cats stay with us as long as they need to find the right home, and we are committed to finding the perfect home for each cat. Our motto is: A home for every cat; a cat for every home. All of our cats are in monitored foster homes. Though we love our Maine Coons, our rescue is quickly becoming pretty much Ragdoll Rescue as we find so many Ragdolls and Ragdoll mixes in the state and in surrounding states needing homes.  See our current available Ragdoll Rescues. I could tell you many stories of the lovely Ragdolls we have rescued and would love to share them with you. With the economic situation as it is, we have numerous cats coming in from sad situations. Since this is the case, at Jenny’s request, I’d like to quickly share the story of Killian and Jillian. Killian is a lovely Mitted Seal Ragdoll mix; Jillian is her cute Brown Tabby Pixie-bob mix sister. The two of them found themselves in quite a situation when their owner went to jail and was there for two weeks before someone realized that her cats had been left in her apartment without care.

For two weeks, these poor cats managed to get enough water out of the faucet to survive. When a friend finally came in to help, she discovered that the resourceful girls had pulled cereal boxes out of the cabinet to eat Cheerios in order to survive, but it didn’t stop these two girls from being wonderful babies. She notified me of their need for help one day; the very next day they were on transport to me. They came into our rescue and were quickly adopted by a lovely family in Killeen who wanted to keep the sisters together. Many of our cats come from similar situations. Thank you for welcoming us to your website. You may also like: About the Author (Author Profile) Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world, Ragdoll Cats Available on Petfinder Right Now

Watch Video About Ragdoll Cats Ragdoll Cat Personality Docile, mild-mannered, and congenial, Rag-dolls make ideal indoor companions. One of the nicest features of these cats is their laid-back, sweet personality. They are playful but are not overactive. Known to adapt easily to their environment, Ragdolls get along well with children and adults, as well as cats and dogs. They are easily trained to stay off the counter and are affectionate without being overly demanding. They have soft, polite voices, even at dinnertime, even though they are renowned for their enthusiasm for food. Ragdoll Cat Breed Traits The Ragdoll comes in the four traditional pointed colors: seal, chocolate, blue and lilac; and three divisions: solid or colorpoint, particolor mitted, and particolor bicolor. Solid division Ragdolls have darker, well-defined points. Body color is a shade lighter than point color, and soft shadings of color are allowed on the body. No white patches are allowed. Mitted Ragdolls possess well-defined points, except on the feet where they have a matched set of white mittens.

Hind legs are entirely white, but the white extends no higher than mid-thigh. A white blaze can decorate the nose. Bicolors boast a white mask like an inverted 'V', plus white on all four legs, feet, stomach, chest, and ruff. Other white patches and markings can appear, except on the points, which are darker and well-defined. Interested in the history of the Ragdoll cat breed? The Ragdoll is a breed whose origins are surrounded by controversy and tall tales. According to various stories, the foundation cat, Josephine, produced unremarkable kittens until she was struck by a car in the early 1960s. After her recovery, all of her subsequent litters produced kittens that displayed Ragdoll characteristics: large size, non-matting fur, the tendency to relax in a person's arms like a child's rag doll (hence the name), and serene dispositions. Also rumored was the kittens' insensitivity to pain (which, according to breeders, is not true). Another story holds that Josephine was taken to a laboratory after her car accident, where she was genetically altered as part of a secret government experiment, resulting in genetic changes.

While these are amusing stories, no scientific evidence exists to support any of these claims, and, in fact, geneticists say that this type of genetic alteration did not exist in the 1960s.Other breeders claim that Josephine was bred to a seal Birman male who in turn was bred to a sable Burmese female. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of this, either. The Ragdoll's white spotting gene is definitely not the same as in the Birman breed, according to TICA's genetics committee chairperson, Dr. Solveig Pflueger, M.D., Ph.D.The Ragdolls of America Group (a group formed to gain acceptance for the Ragdoll in the Cat Fanciers' Association) says that Josephine was a feral white Turkish Angora-type cat that resided on the property of a Mrs. Pennels in RiversideAfter her car accident, Josephine mated with a feral black and white mitted long haired tom and produced a solid black male kitten named Daddy Warbucks and a seal pointed bicolor female named Fugianna. Another litter followed, sired by a solid brown long haired tom.

This tryst produced a seal point female named Tiki and a black- and white-mitted male named Buckwheat. The breed's founder, the late Ann Baker, came into possession of these cats, and all subsequent generations can be traced back to them. After years of selective breeding, the Ragdoll developed into the breed we know today. This seems to be the most credible story for the breed's creation; however, this lineage cannot be confirmed with certainty, since the trysts between these feral cats were not documented.Ann Baker created her own registry for Ragdolls in 1971 called the International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA). She also franchised and trademarked the Ragdoll name. Although all contemporary Ragdolls are descendants from Baker's original stock, several factions of breeders exist and not all are members of IRCA. The breeders who wanted to gain recognition for the Ragdoll with the traditional registries split from Baker's group and formed the Ragdoll Fanciers' Club. These breeders, among others, advanced non-IRCA Ragdolls to Championship status with every association except the CFA, who belatedly accepted the Ragdoll for registration in February, 1993.

The CFA currently accepts the Ragdoll in the Miscellaneous class. This means the cats can be registered and exhibited but cannot compete for Championship.The RagaMuffin is the newest development on the Ragdoll scene. The RagaMuffin is similar, but not identical, in conformation and temperament to the Ragdoll. While the Ragdoll is accepted in only four colors and three patterns, the RagaMuffin also comes in red point, lynx point, and tortie point, as well as the spectrum of Persian colors and patterns, plus mitted and mitted with blaze. Breeders say that the RagaMuffin is not a new breed. Although all Ragdolls are descendants from the original Ragdoll lines that Ann Baker developed, RagaMuffin breeders split from IRCA much more recently than the RFC breeders, in 1993, in fact. To avoid breaking their contracts with Baker and violating Baker's trademark on the Ragdoll name, they renamed their breed the RagaMuffin. Currently, the RagaMuffin is only accepted for Championship in the recently formed UFO, although they are accepted for registration in ACFA.