04/29/2026
Well… I waited so long to introduce our new future King, that now we must do it with a BANG💥‼️
We have some REALLY exciting news to share!! ❤️🏆
RAGYDOLLS MAYFAIR BEACON, “Leo” went to his very first show as a freshly turned 7 month old kitten this past weekend at the Catsachusetts Cat Club Show in East Boston, MA! Prior to entering him, I messaged his breeder. I let them know Leo would make his debut this final show weekend of the cat show season… and I told them with a kitten who has much room to grow yet, and the judges not use to seeing as many old style, traditional looking Ragdolls these days, that are truly slow maturing as the breed once was, that we probably wouldn’t get too much respect at this very competitive show with 45 Allbreed Kittens. Well… boy, was I wrong! Of 20 rings over the course of 3 show days, Leo was Best of Breed Ragdoll Kitten in every ring, and finaled in 18 of the 20 rings… ending the show weekend as the 2ND BEST KITTEN IN THE ENTIRE SHOW! 🤯😳! Over the years I’ve had so many outstanding Ragdolls that have done well, but Leo was consistently finaled and appreciated by the judges among a class of numerous quality kittens. I was extremely grateful that Leo received so much respect. I really expected to leave with just a smile if he enjoyed himself, with the goal to title him once he entered the adult class. I was absolutely floored at his success. Thank you so much to all of the judges who awarded him one of their top 10 kitten finals when the class was so competitive. I know the short list of quality kittens was not short at all. I’m thankful his positive qualities made him memorable enough to make the “final cut”. I also want to thank the club for putting together another quality show. The goody bags were very thoughtful and the Best of the Best rosettes a wonderful token of a memory I’ll never forget. Of 24 years showing, this show now sits up there as a top show memory… especially since it is with our new little King and my little beacon of hope for our WillowTreeRags future…
Leo is an 100% tracable, traditional Ragdoll that goes back to only the 3 foundation cats used in the Ragdoll breed (check out the PawPeds screen shot). He proudly carries the true, floppy, trusting, personable character and temperament of the Ragdoll with him in everything he does. Leo doesn’t know fear, nor a stranger. Even through his show bath, he purred and purred and made biscuits in the bath water. At the show he enjoyed every spectator, judge and fellow breeder who took the time to sweet talk or interact with him. He wants to be everyone’s best friend (and who can resist him?). True not only in his character to the original Ragdoll and how the Ragdoll was bred to be, Leo also physically embodies the very special traits that have left people endeared with the Ragdoll Breed since its beginnings. He has the proper plush, non-matting, bunny coat. Semi-longhaired, low maintenance fur, how the Ragdoll was intended to be. Leo’s body is long and tall as an adolescent growing boy, a true to the breed slow maturing Ragdoll. He is also solid and substantial with thick, heavy bones and very well muscled already. Leo’s head is moderate all over and not extreme in any way. Being from these old, traditional lines, he will only become nicer and nice with age.
Over the years, I’ve been very line-picky and particular. Not following trends, but following what I see and what I know based on cumulative knowledge and experience over 24 years. Being true to myself and my beliefs as a Ragdoll breeder, I’ve been very fortunate to begin my cattery with very old, healthy lines and hold those lines near and dear to me. The will always be the backbone of my cattery. When it comes time to add a new line, it is not always easy to find a line I feel is truly as generically healthy as what I hope to continue to preserve within my own cats. Over the years and with the popularity of the breed, pedigrees globally have become saturated with what is “trending” in the show halls or publicly, and not necessarily what is correct, nor what is healthy. With some of these popular lines dispersing themselves to so many corners of the world it is now almost impossible to find pedigrees that are not saturated with them. Unfortunately, I’ve seen genetic health disregarded and some of these lines line bred in extreme ways (especially overseas) and the results have been very poor when it comes to health. After some trust in “new” line additions to my cattery that contained more of the trendy lines than I’ve wanted in the past, I too experienced the same issues as others. After these experiences, I found it never more important than now to go back to basics, and seek out the truly pure, old, untouched by show trend lines… and some of my very favorite traditional lines over the years have been with the breeders in the UK who’ve strived to the written standard whether actively showing or not, preserving the breed as it is intended to be. After all of these years toying with the possibility of bringing in some old English Ragdoll lines (originally straight from the first breeders here in the US), I brought in our dear, sweet little Leo!
Leo is a DNA confirmed Chocolate Point Mitted. For those of you who may be excited that we have reignited interest in the Chocolate/Lilac colors, I’m afraid that isn’t the case here. I personally love the bold, saturated colors of the breed- Seal, Blue, and Red/Tortie here and there. We do not have any Chocolate carrier queens, so we won’t be producing Chocolate or Lilacs anytime soon and that is not our goal. It’s just not my cup of tea. We brought Leo here exclusively for his pedigree quality, his physical structure and his personality… he could have been any pointed color/pattern and he would have been my dream. He was a very unintentional chocolate in this case.
With his chosen registration name I wanted to convey that Leo was our renewed hope in carrying the breed forward further towards greatness, as the Ragdoll was intended. Leo, in my heart, is a symbol of the light and hope for our future success of our goals. For this reason, I wanted to include the word “Beacon”. Being that Leo is a Chocolate, I decided to add a cute little touch! “Mayfair” is not only a place in London, but also my very favorite chocolate that See’s candy markets (it has cherries and walnuts inside a vanilla cream center… yum)! So, the name came together quite easily and beautifully! Ragydolls Mayfair Beacon! ❤️
I want to thank Maxine (& Gary) Jones of Ragydolls in England for trusting me with one of their beautiful boys and a piece of their lines. Leo’s lines haven’t been in the Americas for many, many generations… We are extremely excited to have the chance to obtain the work of some great English breeders as well as some other European and Australia traditional Ragdoll breeders in Leo’s pedigrees who’ve strived over the years to maintain a strict traceable line. If not for them, where would I be turning to today, when this is what I so desperately wanted? My extended thanks go out to all of the traditional breeders globally. Although I am also a strong ally of diversity, so much of the breed is already incredibly outcrossed (whether it’s on paper or not)… including some of mine and some of the very best lines. Which is why right now we definitely need an infusion of some of these very old lines that have been independently bred disregarding the “trends” which has waxed and waned for years with the breed’s popularity. Leo has Blossom-Time Ragdolls as close as his 8th generation.
We are excited to show Leo further and make him an integral part of our breeding program going forward.
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