Ragdoll History... |
Ann Baker with Fugianna |
The beginning of the Ragdoll breed is shrouded in myth and controversy. The Ragdoll was founded in Riverside California in the 60's by a woman named Ann Baker, and the foundation cat of the breed was an ordinary non-pedigree cat called Josephine. Josephine was a white, long-haired cat who belonged to Baker’s neighbour Mrs. Pennels. Josephine was hit by a car and Ann Baker’s neighbours rescued her and nursed her back to health. During this time Josephine, who was normally an outdoor, ferel type cat, had to stay indoors and she became more aclimatized to the humans who were helping her. When she had her next litter, the kittens were born in the house where Ann Baker first noticed them.
Josephine and kittens
Josephine’s previous kittens had been half wild like Josephine herself, but after the road accident they were quite the opposite. They were very relaxed and social. No one knows what was so different about these particular kittens andwhy they were more socialble than the rest, it's was probably due to being born in captivity and introduced to humans at birth. This is where many myths surrounding the Ragdoll come into play. One of Anne's theories was that the road accident changed Josephine’s genes, which, as we know is impossible. Ann also claimed that Josephine was "fixed" at the university after the accident and she had new genes inserted in her; this entirely impossible. In any case Ann saw something so special about the kittens that she eventually decided to use them for creating a new breed.
The first Josephine’s kitten Ann acquired was Buckwheat, a black female that looked somewhat like a Burmese. Ann was later given another daughter of Josephine, a bi-colour she called Raggedy Ann Fugianna. The father of Fugianna was mitted Daddy Warbucks, a son of Josephine’s, owned by Mrs. Pennels. All these cats were Josephine’s offspring, but they probably all had different sires. Ann was very impressed by the looks of Daddy Warbucks, who had the appearance of a Birman with a nose blaze and a white tip on the tail. It was this cat that Ann called the "Father of the true Ragdoll look", she used him often for her Ragdoll breeding program. These three cats are the foundation stock of Ragdolls, for Ann never had a chance to get any more Josephine’s kittens. When Josephine had her next litter, the owner’s husband had Josephine and her kittens destroyed.
Daddy Warbucks
Ann promoted the breed with ads and fliers and soon Ragdolls started to have the attention of the media. When the breeding program was well established, Ann Baker did something unheard of in the world of cat fancy; she trademarked the Ragdoll name, and other Ragdoll breeders had to make a contract and pay royalty fees for every kitten they sold. Ann also started a registry called the International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA), which was not connected to the big cat associations. Ann had very strict breeding policies, which other breeders had to follow in order to get the kittens registered as "real" Ragdolls. In time Ann, who was, well.... one sandwich short of a picnic, started to make inpossible claims, which is, of course, where many of the myths surrounding the Ragdoll come form. For example she said that Ragdolls had human or raccoon genes, they were immune to pain and fear and they were the last link between humans and space aliens! The relationships between Ann and other Ragdoll breeders got tense and many gave up and quit. Finally a group of breeders got tired of the arrangement and decided to split from IRCA and start to work on getting Ragdolls accepted by the major cat fancy associations. The most instrumental figures on this were Laura and Danny Deyton, who luckily had obtained their Ragdolls before Ann’s breeding policies were implemented, and were technically free to follow their own breeding program.
Denny and Laura Dayton
The Ragdoll Society, which was later changed to the Ragdoll Fancier’s Club and then to the present Ragdoll Fanciers´ Club International (RFCI), was established in 1971 to promote the breed in the biggest cat associations so that Ragdolls could be shown more widely. In 1967 Ragdolls were first recognized in the USA and in 1981 Ragdolls were first exported to overseas. Due to its curious name and the strange myths associated with them, Ragdolls were often represented in the mainstream media and more and more people got interested in the breed. The fame has had its drawbacks though; many cat associations refused to accept the breed for a long time because it was considered inhumane to breed a cat that didn’t feel fear or couldn’t protect itself! Fortunately these misunderstandings have mostly been corrected by now and the Ragdoll has become the largest-growing cat breed in the history of the cat fancy!