The Ragdoll
A recent breed, a crazy story.
The story of the “Cherubim cats”, one of the original names for the Ragdoll cat, is quite incredible and you will easily understand why the fabrications of their creator have long jeopardized the recognition of this new breed.
Here is one of the many versions…
Once upon a time, in the 1960s, in Riverside, California, a cat breeder named Ann Baker regularly collaborated with her neighbors, the Pennels, who also bred Persian cats.
They owned a somewhat wild cat named Josephine, a white cat with blue eyes, and an unfriendly personality that she generally passed on to her kittens.
Having been hit by a car, Josephine was taken seriously injured to a medical center, likely the University of California School of Veterinary Sciences, where she remained for several days due to the severity of her injuries.
From this event, the fable begins, because according to Ann Baker, in this laboratory where her neighbor’s son works, Josephine was “genetically modified” to reproduce certain unique characteristics found in this cat today. After her recovery, Josephine produced babies with a surprisingly gentle and docile character, reputed to be “insensitive” to pain and who have the unique characteristic of completely relaxing when carried in the arms, regardless of the male who fathered them.
Ann Baker noticed this and decided to buy some of the kittens and use her neighbor’s studs to set up her own breeding program in which she would select for several months a particular type of cat, gentle, large and hyperlax. The first Ragdoll cats born to Josephine were called Raggedy Ann Fugianna, a seal Bicolor, Daddy Warbucks, a seal Mitted with a blaze and Buckwheat, a black female.
Only the first two cats will be registered with Merle Pennel as breeder and Ann Baker as owner. Then, Buckwheat will be bred to Daddy Warbucks and 4 kittens will be born, but only two of the four will be registered by Ann Baker as breeder this time: Tiki, a seal colorpoint female, and Kyoto, a seal mitted.
In 1963, Ann Baker created a new breed from Josephine, the ancestor of all Ragdoll cats, which she literally called a rag doll in English. However, they sometimes had other names like Cherubim for the Mitted pattern and Miracle for the other patterns, then Honeybears, Little Americans, Baby Dolls, Ragdoll Tu…
In 1969, Ann Baker sold her first pair of Ragdoll kittens to the Daytons, whose cattery was called Blossom Time (Raggedy Ann Buddy and Raggedy Ann Rosie). It was from this cattery that most of today’s Ragdoll cat lines originated.
In order to keep the characteristics of this new breed under control, Ann Baker created the IRCA (International Ragdoll Cat Association) in 1971 with its own filiation register and registered the name “Ragdoll” as a trademark. She defined a breed standard and a franchise system drastically limiting the possibility for other breeders to develop it on their own and to register in other cat clubs.
At the same time, Ann Baker became a famous breeder. On television, she made a remarkable name for herself, attracting audiences by declaring that this cat breed was insensitive to pain.
On another occasion, she claimed that Josephine had undergone genetic manipulation at a university laboratory that was then experimenting with pain control using certain drugs, under the cover of a secret government program.
She went so far as to say that she possessed human and then extraterrestrial genes; she spoke of a divine act…
These outlandish claims and Ann Baker’s eccentricities did not facilitate the recognition of this new breed, and in 1975, some frustrated breeders, such as Laura and Denny Dayton, then owners of 18 cats descended from Ann Baker’s cats, left the IRCA to create their own association, which in 1978 would be called the RFCI (Ragdoll Fanciers Club International). The three Ragdoll cat patterns were then recognized: Colorpoint, Mitted, and Bicolor in the colors seal, blue, chocolate, and lilac.
While the Mitted pattern was written by Ann Baker, it was the RFCI that defined and recognized the other two patterns among the major American cat clubs of the time.
The Ragdoll cat arrived in Europe in 1981. First in the United Kingdom where two breeders, Lulu Rowley from the Petit-Lu cattery and Pat Brownsell from the Patriarca cattery, bought four cats from the Daytons.
They quickly acquired 8 other cats to obtain all the established patterns and colors. In 1987, the TBRCC (The British Ragdoll Cat Club) association was created and the cats were very quickly recognized by the GCCF (Governing Council of the cat Fancy) thanks to the breeder from the Pandapaws cattery in 1990 and then by the Fifé (International Feline Federation) in 1992. The tabby and red Ragdoll cats were not recognized until 2002.
And in France ? The first Ragdoll cat was introduced in 1986 by Noëlle Vialatte of the Gailande Cattery, which is still in operation today. I strongly encourage you to browse her website to learn more about her own story.
To conclude this long page, until the early 1990s in the United States, the IRCA, still chaired by Ann Baker, provided advertising support to franchised breeders and referred them to potential clients in exchange for annual fees, to follow its standard guidelines and to accept its “genetically modified” theory.
Exhibition was neither mandatory nor encouraged, and certain criteria such as large size, docile temperament, and an easy-care coat were the founder’s main requirements.
But Ann Baker remained an embarrassment as IRCA president: her own cats were reputed to be infested with fleas or ringworm. She sent photos of dead cats to breeders who had previously abandoned her, and ultimately, her mental instability increasing as her health began to decline, she refused surgery to slow the progression of lung cancer, claiming she still had 20 years of life ahead of her. She was not so lucky and died in January 1997.
In 2005, the registered trademark “Ragdoll” was not renewed. It therefore fell into the public domain on December 16, 2006, in the United States.
As for poor Josephine, she was euthanized along with her kittens by Merle Pennel, under the pretext of having attacked his dog to protect her kittens. We will therefore never be able to verify the “genetic” characteristics of the ancestor of today’s Ragdoll cats.
So, myth or reality?
If you would like to know more, I invite you to browse the following sites:
https://ragdollhistoricalsociety.net/ragdoll-history-the-beginning/
https://www.tbrcc.co.uk/services/
Ragdoll Cat Patterns
The Ragdoll cat has a very handsome presence. Its semi-long coat is composed of many guard hairs and few undercoats, which prevents matting and requires only weekly brushing.
It is extremely soft to the touch. The texture of its fur should be fine, cool, and silky, like that of rabbits. The fur is longer around the neck, creating a majestic ruff, giving the cat the appearance of a small lion.
This large cat comes in three main patterns and 18 color varieties, offering a multitude of possibilities… Enough to satisfy all your desires!
But what is a pattern?
It’s the distribution of white on the cat’s body. So, you’ll find Ragdoll cats:
Colorpoint
Mitted
Bicolor
I thank the Chatterie de la Rose Boisée for allowing me to reproduce its pretty drawings of the Ragdoll cat patterns.
Colorpoint: The ears, the entire mask and nose, the paws and the tail are the basic color of the cat, but darker than the body and uniform.
Mitted: The ears, mask, nose, and tail are the cat’s base color, but darker than the body and uniform.
However, the front feet are white, even, and closed like gloves, and the hind legs are entirely white up to the thighs at most, without any spots or blemishes on the white.
From the chin, which must also be white, a white ventral band extends to the base of the tail. A white blaze on the nose and/or between the eyes is acceptable provided it does not extend onto the leather of the nose.
Bicolor: The ears, mask, and tail are the cat’s base color, but darker than the body and uniform. The nose is pink.
The mask has a white inverted V, as symmetrical as possible, without any colored patches and without extending beyond the outer edge of the eyes. The chest, belly, legs, and feet are white.
But in the Bicolor, there are four more variations:
• The True Bicolor
• The High Mitted Bicolor
• The Mid High White Bicolor
• The High White Bicolor, commonly known as the Van
It is sometimes difficult to determine which breed a Bicolor cat belongs to based solely on its phenotype or physical appearance. It’s important to look at its genealogy or conduct a genetic test.
The Van comes from 2 True Bicolors and its color is restricted to the ears, tail, and the upper part of the mask above the eyes. The body is at least 80% white.
The Mid High White is born from a pair consisting of 1 True Bicolor + 1 Mitted.
The High Mitted comes from 2 Mitted. Generally, the V of the mask is smaller and the front legs are colored halfway up.
There you have it, you know everything, or almost everything! And now, we just have to move on to the colors…
Ragdoll Cat Colors
Ragdoll kittens are born white, and thanks to an enzyme called Tyrosinase—which plays a role in the production of melanin based on body temperature—the coldest parts of their bodies begin to darken with age, becoming virtually immobile around the age of three or four.
The production of certain hormones also influences melanin synthesis, and it’s not uncommon to see a colorpoint female appear darker at the time of birth due to the hormonal changes induced.
The term colorpoint in cats therefore refers to the coat whose tips are darker than the rest of the body.
The illustrations below give you a relative idea of the color possibilities of the Ragdoll Colorpoint cat, as each cat is, of course, unique.
And of course, these same colors exist identically for the Mitted and Bicolor patterns, tabby or lynx (tabby), tortie (three colors), and torbie (three tabby colors).
Blue
Seal
Blue is the dilution of Seal.
Lilac
Chocolate
Lilac is the dilution of Chocolate.
Cream
Red
Cream is the dilution of Red.
Tabby
Tortie
Torbie
The Tabby, the Tortie, and the Tabby + Tortie = Torbie.
I thank the Chatterie de la Rose Boisée for allowing me to reproduce its pretty drawings of the colors of the Ragdoll cat.
To learn more about the standard:
https://www.loof.asso.fr/download/standards/std_rag-2021.pdf
https://www.tica.org/phocadownload/rd.pdf
The character and health of the Ragdoll cat
Large in size and imposing in terms of musculature and weight (3-6 kg for females and 5-9 kg for males), the Ragdoll cat is known for being a cat-dog, meaning it waits for you at the door when you come home, follows you everywhere in the house, can go out in a harness or retrieve a ball when thrown to it. It is a great player, a little clumsy, who gives all its trust and affection to its human family. While it demands a lot from its owners, it still enjoys its peace and quiet, like many cats.
Docile and naturally confident, it easily lets itself be approached and petted and is not always well aware of outside dangers. If it is lucky enough to live in a house, it is essential to supervise its outings and secure its garden.
It is therefore an ideal cat for children and apartment living.
The downside is that they really don’t cope well with being alone. Ideally, they should be given a companion when they have a lot of time outside the home.
Sociable with other animals, they generally get along well with dogs, and it’s not uncommon for them to share the same couch.
But be careful, if you’re absolutely looking for a lap cat, this breed isn’t for you. In my case, two out of three are always with me, but not on me.
Even though the Ragdoll cat is generally a robust and well-built cat, it can unfortunately be affected by two types of hereditary disease:
– Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This is a cardiac syndrome that results in the thickening of the heart walls. This disease can affect all cats, but unfortunately, it’s more common in Ragdoll cats. – Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a congenital condition characterized by the formation of fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys, leading to chronic and painful kidney failure.
DNA tests, developed specifically for this breed, can diagnose gene mutations responsible for these disorders. Regular ultrasounds also allow us to ensure that everything is going well.
All my breeding dogs are tested for this and are negative.
Finally, on the next page, I invite you to discover them…