The Origins of the Ragdoll It was in 1963, in California, that the breed began, with accidental matings. The foundation dam of the breed was a white cat (sometimes reported as an Angora) called Josephine. The most common story is that Josephine was injured in a road accident, and subsequently, her kittens exhibited a new temperament. It is highly unlikely that an accident suffered by a cat can affect the genetic disposition of her kittens, but it is this story which is repeated, time and time again. Josephine The first breeder involved was Ann Baker, who was a neighbour of the owners of Josephine. It was she who realised that the kittens of Josephine were ‘special’, and it was she who instituted a selective breeding programme, which resulted in the lines leading to the Ragdolls we know today. Ann had been in the habit of borrowing one of Josephine’s sons to use as a stud in her Persian breeding programme. This cat apparently resembled a black Persian, so she named him Blackie, and it was on a visit to borrow him that she noticed his brother. Ann described him as having the appearance of the Sacred Cat of Burma (the Birman). She was also permitted to borrow him for her breeding programme and named him Raggedy Ann Daddy Warbucks. He apparently had a different sire to Blackie and no siblings in his litter. Ann had also acquired two other kittens of Josephine, a black female called Buckwheat, out of Blackie, and an early Bicolour female which she named Raggedy Ann Fugianna. So it was from Daddy Warbucks,Buckwheat and Fugianna that Ann began her Ragdoll breeding programme. Shortly afterwards, Josephine, the matriarch of all Ragdolls was destroyed by her owner. It is believed that, at some time in these early days, a Burmese was introduced into the pedigree but the details are unknown and are unlikely to be clarified after such a time. Ann's breeding programme was devised by herself and, although idiosyncratic, produced the Ragdoll that we know today. She split the kittens into two groups, those from Fugianna she called the "Light Side", and from Buckwheat, the "Dark Side". The first mating was between Daddy Warbucks and Buckwheat and produced four kittens, two black self and two colourpointed, born in 1965. One of the self kittens had mittens, like its father while the other resembled its mother. These two were called Gueber and Mitts. The colourpoints are believed to have been a Seal Mitted, called Raggedy Ann Kyoto, and a Chocolate Colourpointed, called Raggedy Ann Tiki. These last two were the first kittens registered as Ragdolls and formed the mating foundation of the "Dark Side". They were mated back to each other, and subsequent offspring were mated to each other and to their parents, but not, as yet to any of Fugianna's ofspring. The "Light Side" breeding followed a similar pattern and eventually, after several generations, the two different lines were put together, producing the variety of Ragdoll patterens and colours that we know today. In 1969, Laura and Denny Dayton responded to a newspaper advertisement and visited Ann Baker's cattery, and like all of us, were smitten by this large, affectionate cats. They agreed to buy a pair and the Blossom Time dynasty was founded. The first cats were Raggedy Ann Buddy, a Seal Colourpointed boy, and Raggedy Ann Rosie, a Seal Mitted girl. It was when they notified Ann Baker of the birth of their first litter, that the relationship began to turn sour, as Ann attempted to operate a franchise agreement and demand more money. Subsequently, Ann had no success in her demands from the Dayton's, although other potential breeders had their plans spoilt by harassment from Ann. Indeed, the Dayton's were able to acquire other Ragdolls from these sources and prosper as the internationally renowned cattery which they became. In England, in 1980, two friends discussed the new breed of cat which had appeared in an American cat magazine and decided to try to buy some. Eventually in 1981, from the Dayton's, Lulu Rowley bought Blossom Time Lad, a Seal Colourpointed boy, and Blossom Time Lass, a Seal Mitted girl. These two were the beginning of the historic Petil-Lu lines. At the same time, Pat Brownsell bought Blossom Time Proper, a Chocolate Bicolour boy, and Blossom Time Prim, a Seal Colourpointed girl. Thus was born the British branch of the Ragdoll Fancy. Subsequently, Lulu imported more Blossom Time Ragdolls, most of which appear repeatedly in the pedigrees of British bred Ragdolls. Due to the efforts of these two ladies, the Ragdoll is now firmly established in Great Britain. As a further note, it is possibly advisable to backtrack a little to the registration policy employed by Ann Baker. In 1975 she registered the patent of the Ragdoll name and franchised future breeding, under the strict terms of a legally enforceable contract. The first franchises were issued in 1971, updated in 1975, but lapsed the following year. In 1971, Ann founded her own Ragdoll registration organisation, IRCA ~ the International Ragdoll Cat Association. In the IRCA rules, Ann sets out her conditions and her breeding policies which she believes are necessary to maintain the purity of the Ragdoll. In recent years, legal action in the USA by Ann has led to the formation of independent breeders groups, and the creation of the Ragamuffin, a cat similar in type to the Ragdoll, but encompassing different colours and patterns and not legally permitted to be called Ragdolls. It will be interesting to observe the future development of the breed, with all of the various influences coming into play. Suffice it to say, the glorious cats that we know as Ragdolls are sublimely indifferent to it all, and just carry on being Raggies, without a care in the world.