The RIEX mention
You have seen “RIEX” on a Ragdoll’s pedigree and wonder what it changes? Here is the complete — and reassuring — answer.
In one sentence
What to remember before everything else
❄RIEX = a genuine LOOF pedigree
RIEX stands for Registre d’Inscription Expérimental — the experimental registration book. It is a fully-fledged LOOF pedigree, conferring purebred status. The mention simply signals that an ancestor with a coat not recognised in the Ragdoll — mink, sepia or solid, that is, nowadays, a Cherubim ↗ — appears within the four visible generations of the pedigree.
It is neither a sub-pedigree, nor a discount pedigree, nor a sign that the cat is any less a Ragdoll than another. It is a piece of genealogical information, and it fades away by itself over the generations.
Generation after generation
How the mention recedes, then goes out
A Cherubim ancestor leaves a visible trace across the pedigree’s four generations: the RIEX mention. As long as matings are only with classically pedigreed Ragdolls, the mention recedes one generation with each litter, then disappears.
At the 5th generation, the Cherubim ancestor falls out of the four visible generations: the pedigree becomes classic again. A RIEX 4 breeding cat must however pass a conformity examination before a LOOF judge for its kittens to join the main book. And reintroducing a Cherubim along the way restarts the count — with, again, the obligation to test.
See her profile ↗
Our future queen Brontë is concerned: a mink male — Traumschnurrer Laos, cream mink mitted (RAG e 32 04), recorded in the filiation register — appears in the 3rd generation of her ancestry, and a sepia female in the 4th. It is the mink ancestor, the closest one, that sets her rank: she is therefore RIEX 3. Her kittens, born of a classically pedigreed Ragdoll sire, will be RIEX 4 — then the mention will go out at the following generation. It changes nothing about their status: they are, and will remain, genuine LOOF Ragdolls.
To understand the LOOF registers: RIA / RIEX / RF · and the Ragdoll & Cherubim news page (both in French).
The three registers, so as not to confuse them
Official LOOF documents
RIEX, RIA and RF do not mean the same thing
📜What each abbreviation covers
- Main book — the most common case: four generations of ancestors all conforming to the breed.
- RIEX (experimental registration) — a purebred cat whose ancestry includes a non-conforming cross within the four generations. A complete LOOF pedigree, with a temporary mention.
- RIA (registration on appearance) — a cat whose genealogy is not known over four generations, recognised within the breed on its phenotype after examination by two qualified LOOF judges. Two RIA cats cannot be mated together.
- RF (filiation register) — does not confer purebred status and cannot be treated as a pedigree.
The official detail is on the LOOF’s RIA / RIEX / RF page ↗ (in French).
A Cherubim parent? Have the kittens tested
The LOOF’s rule, and why it exists
technically, a Cherubim
🧬Two mandatory tests at registration
If a Cherubim (or a carrier of a C / cb allele) is mated to a pointed Ragdoll, the kittens of one and the same litter can be Ragdoll or Cherubim. Impossible to tell by eye.
To register them, the LOOF then requires the colour test on the C locus (Ragdoll or Cherubim) and the HCM-R on every kitten. Without these tests, no pedigree can be issued — nobody would know which register the kitten belongs to.
On the other hand, if two pointed Ragdolls (cs/cs) are mated but a Cherubim appears in their ancestry, the kittens are indeed Ragdolls: that ancestry is simply flagged by the RIEX mention. The C-locus mechanism is detailed on the coats page.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often. Each answer opens with a click.
RIEX stands for Registre d’Inscription Expérimental, the LOOF experimental register. It is a full LOOF pedigree, which confers pedigree-cat status. The mention indicates that an ancestor with a coat not recognised in the Ragdoll (mink, sepia or solid, that is a Cherubim) appears within the four generations shown on the pedigree.
Yes. RIEX is a complete LOOF pedigree that confers pedigree-cat status. It is neither a lesser pedigree nor a discount one.
Yes. As long as the cat is bred only to Ragdolls with a standard pedigree, the mention recedes by one generation with each litter: RIEX 1, RIEX 2, RIEX 3, RIEX 4. At the fifth generation the ancestor falls outside the four generations shown and the pedigree becomes standard again. A RIEX 4 breeding cat must, however, pass a conformity assessment before a LOOF judge for its kittens to join the main register.
RIEX applies to a pedigree cat whose ancestry includes a non-conforming cross within four generations. RIA (Registre d’Inscription au titre de l’Apparence) applies to a cat whose ancestry is not known over four generations, recognised on its phenotype by two LOOF judges. RF (Registre de Filiation) does not confer pedigree-cat status and is not equivalent to a pedigree.
Yes. If a Cherubim, or a carrier of the C or cb allele, is bred to a point Ragdoll, the LOOF requires the colour test on the C locus and the HCM-R test on every kitten. Without those tests, no pedigree can be issued.