Riana's Ragdolls

On May 30, 2010 an enquiry via a Ragdoll rescue led us to the website of Riana's Ragdolls, located in Napa, CA. On that website, owners Ahmad and Jessica Alwawi make a number of disparaging statements about Ellen Milas and Hallmark Ragdolls, all of which are blatant lies.

What consumers need to know:

• Hallmark Ragdolls did not go out of business, nor did Riana's Ragdolls "rescue" any cats from Hallmark Ragdolls, nor did Hallmark Ragdolls ever ask Riana's Ragdolls to "rescue" any cats from Hallmark Ragdolls, nor did Hallmark Ragdolls give any cats to Riana's Ragdolls in order to carry on Hallmark Ragdolls' legacy. Hallmark Ragdolls is still in business.
• Riana's Ragdolls did not pick up any Ragdolls at Ellen's home, cattery, or anywhere else. Ellen rented a van and drove the cats all the way from Los Angeles to Napa, CA based on promises that Riana's Ragdolls did not keep. At the time, Ellen believed the cats' stay at Riana's Ragdolls would be temporary. (Ellen's house got flattened by a huge diseased tree; miraculously everyone survived due to a sturdy refrigerator! Riana's Ragdolls is particularly nasty with their claim that this is a fabricated sob story, especially since they were keenly aware of why the cats needed temporary boarding in the first place.) Ellen has received no compensation whatsoever.
• Hallmark Ragdolls' cats were NEVER under threat of delivery to any shelter much less a high kill shelter. Think about it—why would a breeder send cats that are worth thousands of dollars to a high-kill shelter? That alone should tell you all you need to know about Riana's Ragdolls' false claims. Hallmark Ragdolls' cats have never been neglected or abused in any fashion whatsoever by Hallmark Ragdolls.
• Hallmark Ragdolls has never had 64 actively breeding cats; that number is grossly, GROSSLY inflated.
• Hallmark Ragdolls still retains the TICA/CFA papers on all cats and kittens that came from Hallmark through Riana's Ragdolls (that includes ALL that were and are listed on their Hallmark page at http://ragdollsincalifornia.com/index.php/ragdoll-cats-a-kittens-for-adoption). These papers constitute the vast majority of the cat's value, and if you intend to breed your cat, you will need them for their progeny's value as well. THESE CATS ARE ALREADY REGISTERED; PLEASE BEWARE ATTEMPTING TO RE-REGISTER THEM AS THAT WILL CONSTITUTE FRAUD. If you learned of this too late, you may have been defrauded. Contact Hallmark Ragdolls about purchasing their genuine papers. TICA and CFA are aware of the dispute. Ellen regrets the dispute has put buyers in this position and will be very considerate with pricing. Below is a rough list of the cats Riana's Ragdolls received, which Riana's Ragdolls posted on a message board, of which Riana's Ragdolls considered 11 to be breeding quality; I have filled in some names in BOLD.
  
  • Kittens:
    - Seal mitted
    - Seal colorpoint
    - Seal bicolor
    - Flame colorpoint
  • Young adults:
    - Seal colorpoints: [Mama Mia]
    - Seal mitteds (several females, two males): [Ephraim, Bobby, Romeo, Cecilia, Bridget, Griselda, Trinity, Blaze]
    - Seal bicolors: [Dana, Ann, Mau]
    - Blue colorpoint (two females, one male): [?, ?, Stanley]
    - Blue mitted (two females, one male): [Sonia, ?, ?]
    - Lilac lynx mitted: [?]
    - Blue lynx mitted: [Alexandra]
    - Two flame colorpoints: [Scarlet, Dawn]
    - Seal tortie point: [?]
    - Seal tortie mitted: [Lucy, Freckles]
    - Blue cream (half 'n' half): [Cafe Con Leche, or Half & Half]
    
    By Riana's Ragdolls' own testament there were 26 adults (at least 3 pregnant) and 12 kittens; Ellen says the actual numbers were more like 20 adults and definitely 10 kittens. (Since Riana's Ragdolls refuses to return Ellen's list, she has had to re-compile it by memory.) Bobby, Bridget, and some others were Ellen's personal (though fertile) pets, along for the ride just to keep the other cats calm, and were not for sale by Ellen at any price; they were left in Napa only because Ahmad Alwawi refused to admit Ellen to retrieve them for the ride home. (How convenient—Ahmad emailed me a day or two after I put this information up that he is willing to return Bridget to Ellen. [Bobby was already neutered and sold; we have heard from his new owner.] It remains to be seen whether Ahmad will do the right thing and deliver Bridget to Los Angeles with no strings attached. It just might earn him some leniency in court.) It is believed that Riana's Ragdolls had only about 3-5 of their own breeding cats before Ellen delivered the above to them for temporary boarding.

Hallmark Ragdolls is pursuing its legal options.

We're aware that Riana's Ragdolls has posted a response to the above, and Hallmark Ragdolls' webmaster is happy to clarify the following:

• Altering perfectly good breeding cats in order to sell them as "pets" is not about rescue, it's about retribution, i.e. depriving Hallmark Ragdolls of the sales of the cats' registration papers which comprise the majority of their value. The fact that Ellen retained the cats' registration papers ought to tell you that she had no intention of selling or giving these cats to Riana's Ragdolls.
• As to Riana's Ragdolls' allegation that Ellen is just in it for the money, keep in mind she is a 70-year-old disabled woman who slept in the rented van for five days because: a) Ahmad withdrew his offer to let her stay as his guest in his home; and b) what little money she had went to buying supplies for the cats that were in Ahmad's possession, at his insistence. Why would Ellen pay for supplies for somebody else's cats? The answer: Ahmad knew all along that the cats were hers, not his. His sudden "epiphany" on the last day that "Ellen was a bad breeder" is just nonsense concocted to justify theft.
• Riana's Ragdolls claims that Hallmark Ragdolls does not give customers their cats' registration papers; this is untrue. To clarify, Hallmark Ragdolls gives customers their pet-quality cats' registration papers AFTER the customer shows their vet's proof of spaying/neutering; this verbiage is included in the Purchase Agreement that customers sign. Customers who bought breeding- and show-quality Ragdolls need only call Ellen if they've not yet received their papers; Ellen does recognize it's possible she missed transferring some papers when the tree fell and destroyed her home (and her records, which succumbed to rain on the wreckage).
• Hallmark Ragdolls has never claimed Hallmark Ragdolls' progeny is in Riana's Ragdolls' progeny, whatever that is supposed to mean.
• The only thing 'disturbed' about Ellen is that she ever trusted Riana's Ragdolls.
• I have been updating this website as I discover more lies that require rebuttal. I'll continue updating as necessary.
• Hallmark Ragdolls' offer to pick up its remaining cats from Riana's Ragdolls remains open. Ellen has no car and cannot afford to rent one. Ahmad claims Bridget is the only cat of Ellen's that he hasn't sold, and if he is sincere about returning Bridget, he can make the drive to Los Angeles himself.
  • UPDATE: Just as I suspected, there were strings attached. Read it for yourself:
    
    • From: Riana's Ragdolls [mailto:info@ragdollsincalifornia.com]
      Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 6:13 PM
      To: Hallmark Ragdolls
      Subject: RE: Bridgette

      You know what, I was going to do this as a good deed to Ellen to prove a point, but you ****ed it all up for her writing that s*** on the website. Tell me something, what did you gain by writing that crap on the website about her not coming up and me driving down? NOTHING you stupid. You people really need help! Bad!
      
      That offer is now gone. Bridgette will be spayed and adopted out.
      
      Ahmad

    Ahmad, the only thing you have proven is that you control people using threats. I will not bow to terrorism. Returning stolen property is not just some "magnanimous gesture" on your part. And keep in mind nothing about you would be on this website if you hadn't been spreading lies about Ellen and Hallmark to begin with. Your emails are now blocked due to your harassment.