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The beginnings of the Ragdoll cat breed are filled with strange stories and controversy. The stories told by this breed’s fonder are bizarre and downright silly. The facts known about Ann Baker are that she started breeding Ragdoll cats in the 1960s in California. Ann was a eccentric person that liked to tell wild stories about her cats. The first Ragdoll cat was called Josephine and belonged to Ann Baker.

Ann Baker recognized a characteristic in Josephine and her kittens that became the defining feature of the breed. Ragdolls simply go limp when you pick them up and hold them. Ann Baker even trademarked the breed name so that anyone that wanted to breed the cats had to pay her a royalty. She founded the first registry for Ragdoll cats but eventually lost control of the breed partially due to her wild claims and erratic behavior.

Ragdoll cats do indeed go limp when held; however, Ann Baker had wild explanations for why the cats do this. Her stories go back to the night Josephine was hit by an automobile. Baker claims she rushed to a local University seeking treatment for Josephine’s injuries and the University changed her cat’s DNA. As a result of this genetic manipulation the Ragdoll cat breed was born.

Ann Baker made many wild claims about her cats, telling people Ragdolls do not feel any pain whatsoever. She told people her cats were really feline alien hybrids that had been genetically altered for her by aliens of course. An x-file that never made it off the editing room floor; however, according to Baker alien cats have been in California since the 1960s. She also told people Ragdolls were the perfect pet for people with allergies because they did not give off allergens. When it comes to the stories Ann Banker told about her cats, Ragdoll history is a page out of science fiction.

Tags: Cats