| 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. 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. The most up to date registration policy for the Ragdoll breed in the UK can be found on the website of the General Council for the Cat Fancy (GCCF).
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