{"id":14022,"date":"2026-10-02T12:54:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T10:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healingragdoll.com\/?p=14022"},"modified":"2026-10-07T16:23:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T14:23:26","slug":"why-is-it-called-ragdoll-breed-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healingragdoll.it\/en\/why-is-it-called-ragdoll-breed-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Why It\u2019s Called \u201cRagdoll\u201d: The Story of a Recent Breed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Ragdoll is a young breed. While many cats come with ancient, slightly mythical origin stories, this one began in a precise place and time: California in the 1960s. Yet precisely because it is so recent, it is a story full of tales worth rereading with care, telling what is documented apart from what is legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riverside, the 1960s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It all starts in Riverside, California, with a breeder, Ann Baker<\/strong>. The cat from which the breed took off was a white, long-haired domestic female called Josephine<\/strong>, who, according to the cat associations’ own sources, was considered to have a particular temperament. From Josephine’s matings with other cats came the cats that Ann Baker selected to fix appearance and character, and the first registered Ragdolls date back to 1965<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
Living together<\/a><\/span><\/div>
Children, Older People, Other Pets: Why the Ragdoll Works<\/a><\/h5><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
Colours and patterns<\/a><\/span><\/div>
Ragdoll Colours and Patterns, Explained<\/a><\/h5><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

So much for the facts. The rest of the origin story is more complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legends of Ann Baker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ann Baker was a charismatic and, in many ways, eccentric figure. Around Josephine she built astonishing tales: that the cat, after an accident, had given birth to kittens insensitive to pain, or that the breed was the result of genetic experiments. These claims have no scientific basis and no cat association considers them credible. We repeat them only because they still circulate, and because knowing them helps you recognise them.<\/p>\n\n

\"Ragdoll
PECORELLA \u2014 \u00a9 Healing Ragdoll<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On a practical level one important point must be made clear: the Ragdoll feels pain like any other cat<\/strong>. The opposite idea, besides being false, can be dangerous if it leads people to underestimate an ailment. A Ragdoll that is unwell may show it discreetly, and for any doubt about its health the reference is always the veterinarian.<\/p>\n\n\n