The most succinct description of a Ragdoll cat is to say it is a large, semi-longhaired, blue-eyed cat with pointed coloring. But Ragdolls are much more than that! They are very people-oriented, following their people to whatever room they go. Their coats are silken and seldom mat. And the coloring! Well, you can't get more beautiful coloring than Ragdolls with their Siamese-like points and a variety of white patterns overlaying the points.
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Ragdolls were developed as a breed in the 1960's by a woman in California named Ann Baker. She found that a feral white cat, Josephine, that belonged to her neighbor, had had a litter of kittens who were friendly and cuddly, with some showing the pointed coloring. Their father was also one of the neighbor's cats and showed the pointed pattern that is now known as the 'mitted' Ragdoll pattern. His name was Daddy Warbucks and he was also Josephine's son from an earlier litter. Ann Baker took the kittens and line bred them back to their father and other relatives to perpetuate the beautiful coloring, coat and personality of the original kittens. All Ragdolls' pedigrees go back to Josephine, Daddy Warbucks and one member of the original litters of friendly kittens discovered by Ann. Later, other breeders perpetuated the breed, limiting it to the pointed, blue-eyed cats and getting it accepted in all the major cat registries in this country and Europe. Ann Baker had made some extraordinary claims about Ragdolls that caused their acceptance to be delayed somewhat. |
One claim was that they do not feel pain. That is untrue, for sure. Step on a tail by mistake and you'll hear a true cat screech! Another myth that isn't always quite such a myth, is that they won't defend themselves. They are extremely docile, which may have led her to make that assumption. One of our Ragdolls, Beau Jangles, allows our large collie Rory to pounce on him and doesn't fight back! Because of that docility, Ragdoll breeders are very adamant that Ragdolls be kept inside or only allowed outside in a safe enclosure. Ragdolls are accepted for Championship status in all the major registries that hold cat shows. Our Ragdolls are registered with The International Cat Association (T.I.C.A.) and Cat Fanciers Federation (C.F.F.). |