The Myth of the Great Ragdoll Cat
Ragdoll cats are the most amazing intelligent animal you will ever have that is no myth.
As is the case with several breeds of cats, there are all sorts of myths and curious little theories as to how exactly the cats developed. For the most part, we know that whenever new breeds are formed, it's often accidental or a result of a lot of careful planning. The hard part is being able to figure out exactly which one this is. While, of course, we can't be certain, here's an interesting little story about how the ragdoll could have been brought together.
According to this story, it begins with Ann Baker, a lovely woman who had lived in California. She has two cats named Daddy Warbucks and Josephine. These two particular cats, however, must have had some fairly interesting genes as a new breed was born from these two.
When Ann Baker saw these cats, she named the two little kittens her "ragdoll cats" and then got the name actually patented. After that, whenever ragdoll cats were breed, they then had to pay royalties to Ann Baker, which worked out for her.
In 1971, she started a cat registry that she labelled as the International Ragdolls Association so that she could actually find specific ways to differentiate between ragdolls and other cats. She had continued to breed cats from Daddy Warbucks and Josephine, creating her own ragdoll population so that she could better tell which features actually distinguished these cats so much.
1. Ragdolls are larger than other cats.
2. Their fur remains shiny, rich and doesn't mat
3. Less sensitive to pain than other cats.
4. They're called ragdolls because they'd have a tendency to become limp whenever they're held.
5. These cats are not defensive, at all, unlike other cats.
Okay, so, in looking at these characteristics, the story isn't terribly unbelievable, but the best part is that later, different myths and rumors went around claiming that the ragdoll cats were just a government genetic experiment, or an alien product.
So, here's the truth of it. While Ann Baker gets the credit for the actual design of the ragdoll cats, the real breed is going to be the work of Laura Dayton. With her help, the Ragdoll fancier's international club was organized and ragdolls as a breed were recognized as purebreds.
Who knows exactly how the real ragdoll cat came about, but it's kind of cool to think that Daddy Warbucks was an alien kitty scout sent by the government to create super-cats.
Above all else, a ragdoll cat will always be slightly mysterious
