The history of the Ragdoll cat breed began in the 1960s in California (USA) by breeder Ann Baker. There are several stories about the story, one of which is, that her older cat, Josephine, was hit by a car. After this accident, her nature changed, which was transferred to the newborn kittens. We do not know for sure whether this story is true, but we are glad that the breed originated.
They got their name precisely because of their cuddly nature, when after taking them into arms they snuggle and relax just like a rag doll. One of the reasons for this characteristic behavior may be the fact that these kittens grew up with humans from the very beginning.
Ann Baker borrowed a tomcat from her neighbor, Mr. Pennels, who had the same badges as the sacred birma and crossbred this tomcat with his (allegedly) Turkish Angora Josephine. That’s how Daddy Warbucks was born. Ann also got a dark anthracite cat – Jozefina’s daughter – Buckwheat. Subsequently, Ann Baker crossbred Daddy Warbucks with Josephine (which means son and mother) and Fugianna was born. Ann Baker’s kittens bore all the brands of today’s Ragdoll breed – a large body with medium-long hair and blue eyes. The standard for including cats in the Ragdoll breed is still very strict.
Another interesting fact is that Ann Baker patented this breed and till now it is the only patented cat breed. However, this led to many human disagreements, mainly due to the collection of fees for its breeding. Another important family in the existence of this breed is the Dayton family, which in the 70s owned the breeding facility Blossom Time in California. The Daytons gradually owned 18 Ragdolls from Ann Baker´s breeding. We can thus consider them the first breeders to do a lot to popularize the breed, when in 1974 they first published the first advertisement for this breed in the Los Angeles Times.
In Europe, Ragdoll cats breeds first appeared sometime around 1981, in Slovakia they appeared almost 30 years later, around 2009. Thanks to that, it is still a very young race.
At our breeding facility Ragdoll Ela we care about care. The cat is carefully cared for already during pregnancy. The quality food, appropriate care or examinations by veterinarians are taken for granted. Thanks to this, we guarantee the origin and health of our kittens.
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