History of Ragdolls

Rags on Bed

Ragdolls are one of the newest breeds of felines and therefore the History of Ragdolls is not that extensive. The first Ragdolls were bred California in the 1960s by breeder Ann Baker. She bred a white Angora Persian type cat queen with a Himalayan coat pattern (Siamese) to beatiful longhaired Burmese sire and Birman sire males and the result was cats of substantial size, non-matting coat and a very equable disposition. The white Angora Persian's name was Josephine, she belonged to Mrs. Pennels in Riverside, CA. Josephine had an accident that she was very lucky to survive.

After this accident, people took notice of her kittens The accident had no affect on Josephine's kittens, it just brought attention to them. They all seemed to grow very large and have a remarkable disposition. They seemed to have a true loving nature, beautiful blue eyes and long non-matting fur. The originator soon knew these kittens were very special. She kept some of Josephine's kittens and bred them very carefully.

The kittens with the desired looks were kept and carefully line bred to keep the strain pure. All Ragdolls must be decendents of Josephine. No other strain of Persian, Birman, or Burmese has been introduced. The traits of the Ragdoll cat can only be found in Josephine's descendents. The looks may vary slightly as to pattern or color, but the disposition must remain the same to be a Ragdoll. No one, not even the originator, can add to the lines at this time, and still have a purebred Ragdoll.

The Ragdoll is floppy when relaxed. A Ragdoll’s behavior is highly typical of Birmans who are the most laid-back of cats. Originally colors for the Ragdoll were the four standard Himalayan; Seal, Chocolate, Blue and Lilac, either as Solid Points (as in the Siamese) or Mitted (as in the Birman) or as Bi-Colors.

Since then, Ragdoll breeders have extended the range immensely to include Tortie Point, Tabby Point, Tortie Tabby Point (all Solid or Mitted) and Bi-Color Pointed, in a wide range of colors. A very large cat, males reaching well over 20lbs. Ragdolls are family cats who will walk away from annoyance rather than retaliate. The Ragdoll has developed very rapidly in popularity; in 1994, 393 kittens were registered and this rose to 1,376 in 2003.

Although Ragdolls have no particular health problems, it makes good sense to insure your cats. More and more owners are now insuring their pets as advances in veterinary medicine, plus the soaring costs of drugs can mean astronomical bills. More people claim on their pet insurance than home or motor policies.

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