The Ragdoll breed originated in California in 1963 with the help of a lady by the name of Ann Baker. Although there are many myths still rampant about the breed, it is safe to say that the original female, a white angora type cat, was named Josephine.

Josephine was in the beginning a relatively wild cat, as were her kittens, but at some point in her life Josephine was hit by a car. After her recovery Ann Baker discovered that Josephine's subsequent kittens were of a much more relaxed temperament and in fact tended to crave human companionship. Although Josephine actually belonged to a neighbor of Ann Baker's she was allowed to mate Josephine to two of her own offspring. The first being a black/brown Persian type cat that Ann had named Blackie. The second son of Josephine had as Ann described the look of a Sacred Cat of Burma, and she named him Raggedy Ann Daddy Warbucks.

The resulting kitten from the cross between Blackie and Josephine was a black self female that Ann named Buckwheat. She was described as being similar to a Burmese, but she was thick furred. Ann also was given another offspring of Josephine's, this time sired by Daddy Warbucks, that Ann named Raggedy Ann Fugianna. Fugianna was by all appearances a badly marked Bicolor, she had a wide inverted white 'V' on her face and her ears were both dark and white and she had a large amount of white on her body.

By this time Ann Baker owned both Buckwheat and Fugianna and with the continued stud services of Daddy Warbucks the foundation stock of the breed was established. It is from these three offspring of Josephine that the Ragdolls are descended.

Unfortunately the founding Queen of the Ragdolls met her untimely demise at the hands of her owner. Josephine was protecting her litter and was reported to have had an altercation with the family dog. Following this the owner gathered up Josephine and her litter and had them all destroyed. Sadly the founding Queen of the Ragdoll breed was gone.

To read more about the Ragdoll Breed we recommend The Definitive Guide to Ragdolls written by Lorna Wallace, Robin Pickering and David Pollard. These authors interviewed Ann Baker and other early breeders of Ragdolls for this most fascinating and informative book.