Ragdoll History  

Brief History of the Ragdoll:

A relatively new breed.  Large size, loving and affectionate temperament, long non-matting coats, striking appearance, and blue eyes.  Perfect for people who thought (as we did) that only a dog could love them back.

The Ragdoll breed was first created by a woman breeding Persians named Ann Baker in Riverside, California in the 1960's.  The story of the mother of all Ragdolls is a mystical one that includes both the famous cat, and her breeder, Ann Baker.  The story is that part-feral Josephine who was owned by The Pennels, neighbors of Ann's, 'changed' after surviving an almost fatal car accident.  Ms. Baker noticed the new, friendly disposition in 'Josephine' and bred her (a white female of unknown origins) to one of her Persian's.  Josephine was Turkish Angora in looks, and had some Persian tendencies.

    Supposed picture of Josephine 
with some of the kittens used later, possibly 'Blackie'.

Ms. Baker then bred Josephine to two of her own sons by different fathers; male Persian-type cat, 'Blackie' and his half-brother, a Birman-looking 'Daddy Warbucks' (below). 

Known picture of  Daddy Warbucks

The resulting kittens were so fluffy, large, craving of human attention, and attractive that she started two breeding programs.  Female 'Buckwheat' (below) from 'Blackie' headed up "The Dark Side", for Mitted and Colorpoint kittens,

 Female 'Buckwheat' and daughter of Josephine 

and Female 'Fugianna' (below) and daughter of 'Daddy Warbucks' headed up the beginning of "The Light Side" for Bicolor kittens.  

 Fugianna, the other daughter of Josephine

Ann Baker's dedication to Josephine's offspring and her two new programs led her to register them as a new breed (Ragdolls) under the cattery name of Raggedy Ann in 1965.  The first of two kittens registered by Ann Baker included a chocolate colorpoint female named 'Tiki'.  She sold two breeders to Denny and Laura Dayton, who named their program Blossom-Time. 

The Dayton's and Ms. Baker ultimately did not agree on breeding practices and had many legal disputes, however these two groups of people are ultimately responsible with the creation of what is now known as the Ragdoll breed.  Ann Baker also started to make outlandish claims about Ragdolls, like that they were immune to pain and were part skunk, that led her to lose a lot of the credibility she earlier developed.  It was at this time that the Dayton's role in Ragdoll history increased.  Denny's excellent record keeping was the start of all of the Ragdoll pedigree's we have today.

ALL ANGELGIRL RAGDOLLS TRACE THERE PEDIGREE's BACK TO RAGGEDY ANN OR BLOSSOM TIME CATS.  

CFA and TICA are the two biggest cat associations in the United States; and all of our cats are registered with at least one of these associations.

For more information on the origination of the Ragdoll breed, click http://www.rfci.org/history/chapter1.php

For the complete story the best source is "The Definitive Guide to Ragdolls" by Robin Pickering, David Pollard, and Lorna Wallace.