So, who are the Ragdolls – these are charming rag dolls (English ragdoll – rag doll), which are very popular on both sides of the Atlantic. The breed is also known in Russia, moreover, due to its memorable appearance and soft, docile nature, it is becoming more and more popular. Ragdoll is a beautiful large cat with a luxurious thick coat. She is delicate, calm, friendly and selflessly devoted to her master. She will become your close friend and companion. It will give you joyful emotions and will warm your soul and heart for many years to come.
The history of the Ragdoll.
The creator of the breed is a rather ambitious breeder Ann Baker from Riverside, California, who was engaged in breeding Persian cats, but had plans to breed a completely new breed. Conversations with Danny Dayton and correspondence between Ann Baker and her follower Blanche Herman indicate that Ann began trying to create a Ragdoll around 1963.
It all started with the fact that her neighbor Mrs. Pennels had a cat, Josephine. Josephine had a white color, a semi-long coat and was similar to the Angora breed. Josephine and her offspring were distinguished by wild behavior, until the accident in which this kitty got into changed everything. After getting into a traffic accident, Josephine suffered a head injury and, according to some reports, even lost an eye. She was found on the side of the road, where she lay for two days and was rushed to a local hospital at the University of California. Ann assures that during the treatment, some kind of "genetic change" occurred with the cat, as a result of which it was noticed that subsequent litters from Josephine, that is, those born after the accident, differ from litters born before the accident. They weren't wild–they were playful, loving and relaxed. They seemed to crave human attention; the kittens began to sag when they were picked up, like rag toys from a child. This is what gave the idea for the name of the new breed: RAGDOLL – "rag doll".
Ann Baker began taking kittens from Josephine to create a new breed. Ann acquired a cat, born without a leash, from a cat that resembled the sacred Burmese breed of Daddy Warbucks. Ann also acquired Josephine's daughters, Buckwheat and Fugianna. Josephine and her three kittens became the founders of the Ragdoll breed. However, only Warbucks and Fujianna were registered as ragdolls by the National Cat Fanciers Association (NCFA) in 1966. Continuing the breeding work and wanting to "decorate" her pets in two main colors — white and brown, Ann Baker used Burmese with dark brown markings in her work. Whether they were purebred is unknown, since the breeder did not document the first mating, but loved to experiment. I also want to point out that since the breed was created by crossing animals that do not have pedigrees and without documentary proof of origin, all information about its ancestors is assumed.
Unusual cats gradually gained popularity, and, of course, the question arose about obtaining the official status of a new breed. And then Ann Baker decided to go for a trick: instead of registering with well-known federations, she created her own international Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA). According to its terms, all breeders had to buy the right to breed and further pay a percentage of each kitten sold. Ann Baker was a businesswoman! The first sale of animals for breeding occurred in early 1969 to Danny and Laura Daytons (Denni & LauraDaytons). Buddy and Rosie's married couple, Danny and Laura Daytona, bought their first breeding pair of ragdolls from Ann Baker. They named the cats Buddy and Rosie. These cats became the producers of their nursery "Flowering Time". It was with these small beginnings of the Daytons that most of our current ragdolls began. In 1969-1973, Danny Dayton tried very hard to work with Ann to promote the breed, but Ann wanted to maintain full control over what she considered a "gold mine". She was afraid of the growing popularity of ragdolls among breeders. To regulate the constant flow of money from the sale of rag dolls, Ann began using the method of franchising nurseries that purchased animals from her for breeding.
In 13 years of working on the breeding of ragdolls, the Daytons created a genetic database of ragdolls, founded the RFC/RFCI club, and Danny became its first president, released the first newsletter about ragdolls and played a huge role in registering ragdolls in all feline associations. In 1982, after 13 years of breeding ragdolls, they stopped breeding.
In 2000, the new breed officially received the status of a developing breed, and in 2003 it was recognized by the CFA Federation, which became the first felinological federation to recognize this breed. In 2011, the Ragdoll breed received final recognition and standards not only in the CFA, but also in the WCF.
Currently, ragdolls still belong to rare breeds in Russia, but the number of ragdolls and breeders is growing very rapidly both in our country and around the world. Today, ragdolls are recognized by almost all major organizations (CFA, WCF, TICA, FIFe).
