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Legendary Ragdolls
"Raglin's Mille Miglia" - Making Ragdoll History
in South Africa
"Raglin's Mille Miglia",
blue colorpoint,
DOB: February 20, 2000,
Dam: "Raglin's Glacier Kelso Caylin", seal mitted
Sire: " SP CH Raglin's Glacier Lord Buffington", blue colorpoint
Owner: Andre Fourie,
South Africa
made history in South Africa by becoming the first Ragdoll ever to compete in the prestigious annual CAT OF THE YEAR (COTY) competition.
he Ragdoll breed is relatively new in South Africa, with the first Ragdolls imported mid 1997, obtaining full championship status in November 1999.
 ille is from the first Raglin litter, born 20 February 2000. The litter consisted of four kittens - two Blue Colourpoint females; a Blue Mitted female; and a single male, Seal Colourpoint. |
Mille (right) and her siblings at eight weeks of age. This is the picture from the "Cat-A-Log" magazine. |
t around five days of age, I was taken in by Mille. She stood out from her siblings in that her coat was beautifully pale, almost glacial. I pointed her out and said, "This girl is staying right here." Her name was chosen (we named this litter after Formula I racing tracks) and Mille soon became the favourite kitten that everybody wanted. A picture of the litter appeared on the centrespread of a local cat magazine, Cat-A-Log, creating wonderful public interest in the Ragdoll breed.
realised that I still had many years of breeding and selecting kittens from my own program and with more imports from the USA due, I decided to let her go to the best home. Within a day of making this decision, I got a call from a gentleman by the name of Andre Fourie, living in Port Elizabeth and twelve hours' drive from where we live, asking for a Ragdoll kitten. We immediately "clicked" and once he saw her photographs, he was besotted with "his" girl.
ille was spayed, recuperated and then put on the aeroplane to fly down to the coast. It was a terribly sad and traumatic experience for me; this was my special kitten! I called Andre from my celphone, crying uncontrollably. Worst was still to come, as once she landed, none of the officials knew where she was! Andre was frantic and eventually, he pointed to a carrier in the office and asked, "Is that perhaps my cat?" The official said "There is no cat in the carrier." Consternation erupted until Andre walked over, opened the door, lifted her blanket and there she was, fast asleep. She opened her eyes, looked at him intently and their strong bond started forming.
was kept informed of her every move, her love for drinking from a dripping tap, her favourite chair, sunny spot, toy, tummy tickles... I felt as if I still had Mille in my life as Andre shared stories of her growing up and developing into a young adult.
pril 2001 Andre entered Mille into her first show. It was a 3-ring show and she caused a sensation! Our Breed Council Secretary (also an All Breeds Judge) told me afterwards that when the steward placed Mille on the judging table, she could only stare "at this cloud of a cat". She said that never in her life had she seen such a perfectly groomed show cat! She said that once she finally got herself to actually touch Mille, she groaned with pleasure when she felt Mille's strong boning and solid weight.
ille was awarded three 1st placings; 3 Challenge Certificates; Best Groomed Cat on Show; Best of Breed; and was also nominated to compete in the Best Mediumhair Alter on Show. Mille returned home after the show with her first title, Champion, and an armful of rosettes.
oon after her first show, she was nominated as one of that region's alters to compete in the 2001 COTY competition. Only the top performing 40 show cats in South Africa are nominated and Supreme Champions dominate the competition. The cat with the highest combined scores obtained at COTY wins the sought-after title. Due to a number of cats with tied scores, there were a total of 51 cats competing for the title.
his year we had four judges - three local ones from different regions and the fourth, International judge Guy Pantigny from France. The hall and cages were beautifully decorated and each cat was placed in a show cage. Owners were allowed to present their cat to the judges for individual judging. Spectators were allowed to watch and listen to the judging.
Andre wearing some of the good luck charms
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o relieve a bit of tension and as a gesture of good sportsmanship, each competing cat's owner gives out a "good luck charm" to the other owners. This "charm" is pinned to the clothing of the owners and they stand out from the crowd, easily identified by the 40 items hanging from their clothing. Raglin Cattery made small dolls, which also won the prize for the most beautiful charm.
arly afternoon, once all judging had been completed, the cats and their owners returned home for a much-needed rest. The owners of the cats and other interested parties attended a dinner and prize-giving event. It was a very tense, yet exciting, evening as the winner is the last cat to be announced!
ille did exceptionally well and was placed 6th in the Alter Division. International All Breeds judge, Guy Pantigny, placed Mille first in the Alter Division. The local judges placed her 5th, 9th and 23rd respectively. On average, she scored 91,55%, which would have been much higher if it was not for the disappointing score by a local judge that has little or no experience with Ragdolls. I had the opportunity to discuss Mille with Mr. Pantigny and he said that although he favours the Bicolour, she was the best alter at the competition and in his opinion, she is "almost perfect".
lthough there are only two shows per year in the region where Andre and Mille live, he plans to continue showing her. Hopefully she will grace the judging tables of COTY again in the future.
Compiled by: Linn Currie, Raglin Ragdolls, South Africa
