The Ragdoll
The Ragdoll cat is a large breed which is founded in California, USA by Ann Baker in 1965. Ragdolls have the name because they are very floppy and some will lay relaxed in your arms, they are indoor cats only due to their friendly nature. The Ragdoll is a very good socialized cat for everyone, including families with children.
They have the ability to adapt themselves very easy into their new home. The Ragdoll has also a kind of puppy-behaviour, they follow you where-ever you go and apports occasionally.
The Ragdoll is a huge powerfull cat with a semi-long hair pointed coat, which will hardly tangle. All Ragdolls have also beautiful blue eyes.
The Ragdoll is interested in everything you are doing and would go into every hole or cupboard, they are very curious!
They have no need to demolish furniture, etc. A piece of paper is a great toy to play with for serveral hours.
Short history
The story of the Ragdoll really began in the sixties with Ann Baker's female cat Josephine. Ann Baker used Josephine's offsprings in a very special breeding program only, she used the kittens which had the right behaviour, looks, bodyshape, colour and patterns. In the years she slowly worked on getting the right type of cat that had all those qualities included.
The true story behind the origin of the Ragdoll breed is concealed in many controversities. What we know for sure is that Ann Baker created a pointed cat breed with the most beautiful blue eyes and the perfect, friendly behaviour.
Ragdoll history
The story began in 1963, in the USA. Ann Baker, Riverside, California started her work on developing this cat breed.
The most widely reported story is that the foundation female was a white Angora like cat named "Josephine". At a certain stage Josephine was involved in a road traffic accident. She recovered fully after nursed from her injuries. After her recovery, Ann Baker bred her to another male. The first litter of Josephine was wild, just like Josephine was. But this time things would be quite different! Ann borrowed one of Josephine's older sons to sire progeny in her Black Persian breeding program. The appearance of this son was a Black/Brown Persian and Ann Baker named him Blackie, and it was one of her visits to borrow him that she saw Blackie's brother. He appeared very impressive and according to Ann's words had the appearance of a "Sacred Cat of Burma". Having already established the owner's trust, she was also permitted to borrow this cat to mate with her own females. She was most taken with this son of Josephine and named him Raggedy Ann Daddy Warbucks. The offsprings were very relaxed and social, these kittens were the start of the first Ragdolls.
No one knows what was so different about these kittens and why they were much more social than Josephine's previous litter, it's was probably due to being born in captivity and introduced to humans at birth. This is where many myths surrounding the Ragdoll appeared. One of Ann's theories was that the road traffic accident changed Josephines DNA, 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 is entirely impossible too.
Ann promoted the breed with fliers and adds and soon Ragdolls started to have the attention of the local media. When the breeding program was well established, Ann Baker trademarked the Ragdoll name, and other Ragdoll breeders had to make a contract and pay a royalty fee for each Ragdoll kitten they sold. Ann also started a registry called the International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA), which was not connected to any other cat associations. Ann Baker had very strict breeding policies, which other breeders had to follow in order to get the kittens registered as "real" Ragdoll kittens.
At a certain stage the Dayton family (Cattery Blossom-Time) purchased kittens from Ann Baker, they were against the coming strict trading terms and breeding conditions. They bought their Ragdolls just before the strict breeding policies were implemented. Danny and Laura Dayton started a long campaign to get the Ragdoll breed onto a sound genetic footing and to obtain recognition from other cat organisations. At the end a small group of breeders got tired of the arrangements and decided with the Daytons as a leading roll to split from IRCA and start to work on getting Ragdolls accepted by the major cat fancy associations. The result was that the Ragdoll was recognized and the Ragdoll could be shown.
The Ragdoll Society, which was later changed to the Ragdoll Fancier’s Club and later to the present Ragdoll Fanciers Club International (RFCI). This Ragdoll cat is the oldest still existing Ragdoll breed association in the world. The 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 the Ragdolls were first overseas exported in 1981. Due to their unusual name and the many myths associated with this breed, Ragdolls were regularly represented in the media and this way more and more people got interested in the Ragdoll cat breed. The fame has had its drawbacks though; many cat associations refused to accept this breed for a long time because it was considered inhumane to breed a cat that couldn't feel fear or was unable to protect itself! Fortunately these misunderstandings have mostly been corrected by now.
Danny and Laura Dayton were able to balance the genetics of the breed and avoid too close inbreeding. Their breeding program went a long way in the development of the nowadays Ragdoll type.
White of the Mitteds and Bi-Colour
It is a misconception that the Ragdoll was bred from the Birman cat breed but it is important to note that Ann Baker's description of Daddy Warbucks was that he had the looks of a Sacred Cat of Burma. It should also be told that the white spotting gene in the Bi-Colour and Mitted Ragdolls is different from that which produces the white gloves and gauntlets in the Birman.
Ragdoll patterns and colours
The Ragdoll patterns are: Point, Mitted, Bi-Colour and recently also Lynx and Tortie. These are common in the colours blue, lilac, seal, chocolate, flame, red and creme. All the kittens are born white. After 10-12 days or so, the eyes will go open. After about two weeks you can see the amazing blue eyes.
Ragdolls are to be bred Ragdoll to Ragdoll only, with no outcrossing to any other breed. The Ragdoll has specific breed standards, to which the breeders must adhere. It can take between 3 to 4 years for Ragdolls to reach full maturity and attain the desired coat qualities and definition of contrasting colour. Seasonal variations, such as a shorter coat in summer, are acceptable.
The future of the Ragdoll
As Ragdoll breeders, we need to be very careful that the Ragdolls we breed are healthy, and not too closely inbred, that we, without thought, carelessly ruin all the good work, time and effort that the past and present Ragdoll breeders have put into breeding huge, healthy, disease free and defect free cats. We need to protect our precious cat breed to help continue the formation of this magnificent breed and carry it on into the future.
Ragdoll standard
The back legs are standing higher then the front legs, this results to a run-down backline. The tail is well hairy and has a good length in regard with the body. The medium big head is wellshaped with big oval blue eyes, good and strong chin and well shaped cheeks. The legs are medium big and very strong with round feet.
For more information go to the Ragdoll TICA standard page.