The short answer to this is "When it's a TICA RagaMuffin that cannot that be registered with CFA, ACFA, GCCF, WCF, CCA-AFC."

The long answer is "When it does not have 3 generation of pure RagaMuffin ancestors in its pedigree."

The RagaMuffin derives from the original IRCA Ragdolls and its sister breeds, the Persian-like "Honey Bear" and the "Miracle Ragdoll", but in a more extended colour range. After the demise of Ann Baker, those IRCA cats that could not be re-registered as TICA Ragdolls were amalgamated into the RagaMuffin by the breeders. The RagaMuffin has a shorter nose with an obvious nose dip, and the eyes are walnut-shaped rather than oval. RagaMuffin breeders have worked to produce a rounded, more heavily boned cat by outcrossing to Persians/Himalayans and have used domestic longhairs to give the breed a sound genetic footing. The plushy coat is shorter and thicker than the Ragdoll's medium-long, silky coat. Some registries only recognise non-pointed RagaMuffins (feeling pointed varieties are too similar to Ragdolls), others also recognise the pointed varieties. Their similarity to the accepted Ragdoll meant that many registries did not accept them even though they had different conformation. Some registries accept them as “Solid Ragdolls.”

RagaMuffins can be registered by CFA, ACFA, WCF, CCA-AFC and TICA, and with the UK’s GCCF. CFA, ACFA, WCF, CCA-AFC and GCCF all require the ancestors to be RagaMuffins for at least 3 generations on the pedigree. there are recognized outcrosses for the RagaMuffin -in CFA, it is the Selkirk Longhair straight-furred variant, in ACFA, it is the Siberian and in GCCF, it is the British Longhair. TICA, however, registers Ragdoll crosses as foundation RagaMuffins. This allowes unscrupulous breeders to churn out cross-bred cats and pass them off to unwary owners as pedigree RagaMuffins.

Look at the pedigrees below. All of the cats are registered with TICA as RagaMuffins. None of them are actually RagaMuffins – they are all Ragdoll crosses being passed off as RagaMuffins.

This situation continues because the RagaMuffin is registrable with TICA, but not recognised for championship status. Any Ragdoll cross can be registered with TICA as a RagaMuffin because the breed isn’t recognized. Backyard breeders are exploiting public ignorance. Some buy Ragdolls from a notorious (in the cat fancy) bulk breeder, breed these to whatever they want and sell the mongrel progeny as TICA registered RagaMuffins. At the same time, breeders of authentic, multi-generation pedigree RagaMuffins need to register their cats, and they would like to see an end to the many Ragdoll crosses being passed off as RagaMuffins.

TICA is more-or-less the only major registry that does not recognise the breed for Championship status. Currently any cat (absolutely any cat!) can be registered as a RagaMuffin foundation cat. Breeders of genuine pedigree RagaMuffins have looked into getting RagaMuffins officially recognized in TICA, but TICA rules would insist on absorbing all the backyard breeders producing mongrel “foundation cats.” Any "TICA RagaMuffin" that cannot also be registered with one of the registries that accept RagaMuffins for championship status (CFA, ACFA, GCCF, WCF, CCA-AFC) is a fake.

[The notorious breeder, – described as a “cat broker” - Jessica Perry of “We Love Ragdolls,” “ElegantRags” and numerous other aliases, has been subject to a class action lawsuit (against both Jessica Perry and Leah Keeran) over the sale of sick and even dying kittens (no vet papers, no vaccinations, no pedigree papers). The breeder also sold "Calico Ragdolls" (there is no such breed). Perry was last known to be operating out of Wichita, Texas, having previously operated in South Carolina and then to Louisiana. There are numerous consumer/ripoff reports online about the operation. While backyard breeders advertise crossbred kittens as RagaMuffins on selling sites for $200-$500 range, some want up to $875 for Ragdoll/Persian mixes, and Perry asked for $4000 for a pet, $6000 for a breeding cat (that cannot be registered with CFA, ACFA, GCCF, WCF, CCA-AFC) - more than any legitimate RagaMuffin breeder asks. ]

Note: the Canadian Cat Association/Association féline canadienne (CCA-AFC) is not affiliated with CCC (Chats Canada Cats). CCC is a separate registry and their pedigrees are not recognised by CCA-AFC. CCC's full name is identical to the name of a former publication issued by CCA-AFC, but the two entities are unrelated. Both are recognised by some, but not all, global registries.