The story begins in the 60s ...
Ann Baker, who lived in the town of Riverside in California, was the first owner of Ragdoll cats and founded the world's first Ragdoll association. A white cat with semi-long backyard hair named Josephine, owned by Mrs. Pennels, a neighbor of Mrs. Baker, may be considered the progenitor of the breed. Its history seems to be this.
Josephine, used to living in a semi-wild state, suffered a car accident. Collected by the neighbors of Mrs. Baker who took care of her long and complex care, she was saved.
Shortly after, Ann Baker noticed that the first litter born after the accident was very different from the previous ones. Puppies born before the accident were wary and savage while those born after were confident, free of aggression with a unique feature of its kind.
When they were held in arm, they melted their muscles, abandoning themselves in total relaxation as if they were "a rag doll".
Theories about the mild character of this new breed and the unique ability of the muscles to relax are different and varied.
To date, the scientific community is very cautious about the genetics of Ragdolls, it being understood that the only safe information is the appearance of non-physical characteristics totally different from any other feline breed.
Ann Baker, in the light of the first feline litters with these unique and particular characteristics, decided to create an absolutely new breed making it promoter, she called the new breed "Ragdoll" (literally rag doll ) and she patented the name. Anyone who wanted to start breeding this breed would still have to refer to Mrs. Baker, by signing up with her complicated contracts full of clauses and impediments.
Ann Baker also founded the International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA), which was not linked to any of the other feline organizations.
Many errors were made about it; for example, in order to promote the Ragdoll breed, she said that these cats were immune to pain. Nothing could be more wrong. The Ragdoll feels the pain like any other cat, only that being an extremely mild, sweet and peaceful cat, it bears itself in silence with great dignity.
The first Ragdolls arrived in Europe in 1981. Telling the Ragdoll story, it is worth remembering Laura and Danny Dayton, who had these cats just before Ann Baker began to put legal and contractual restrictions on the right to breed this breed.
Both have been proclaimed Precursors of true breeders and founders of Ragdoll Fanciers Club International (RFCI) , founded in 1971.
The name Ragdoll, in English "rag doll", ideally reflects its character and its basic characteristic.
When you pick him up, he automatically relaxes all his muscles and goes limp.
His other characteristics that distinguish him from all other feline breeds is his enormous confidence in his master that he is a child, adult or elderly person and also the immense sweetness and unconditional love for his human parents.
He is willing to travel or change his dwelling place to follow his human companion always and everywhere.
He loves the physical contact with his human companion and he is never satisfied to receive cuddles.
The Ragdoll claims to all effects to be considered a true member of the family and does not want to be just a cat.
It takes an active part in domestic life following its human family step by step from room to room.
If you have a Ragdoll you no longer have your privacy because a Ragdoll accompanies you even in the bathroom.
Ragdoll is a very calm, balanced but never phlegmatic cat. It is not particularly agile and for this reason it does not like doing acrobatic jumps, getting on furniture or climbing on tents.
Its lack of aggression and reactivity means that it always lives in good relations with other animals, with children and with older people creates a relationship of total symbiosis.
All these characteristics make it the only one of its kind to which no other feline race can be compared.
Its lack of aggression, sweetness, trust, immense love for man, intelligence, make that the Ragdoll has been chosen as the only breed in the world used in pet therapy (therapy with animals).
Its work has been enhanced with people of all ages with psycho-social problems.
But we must be careful when we play with our Ragdoll, or in unprotected gardens, because its mild temperament and very confident nature make it a creature who is practically incapable of defending himself.
Precisely because of the lack of aggression, one should never leave it alone on its own. It would never defend itself against the aggression of other people or animals.
Ragdoll is a typical housecat that does not have to be big because Ragdoll is interested in company and not in space.
IMPORTANT :
The attachment to man, the constant search for contact with him, the immense love it has for its human parent means that you should NEVER leave it home alone without any company for several hours during absence.
Day by day our beloved companion would begin to suffer of depression with long-term psycho-physical repercussions.
The Ragdoll is a silent cat and does not like the confusion and the noise, but after all which cat does love them?
Ragdoll is a mighty cat of massive structure.
The female weighs about 4-6 Kg while the male 5-9 Kg.
It is a cat with semi-long fur, thick, soft and silky with little under-hair.
Longer on the back, on the thighs and on the neck where it forms a collar of hair, called "Gorgiera".
Ragdoll, like most semi-long or long-haired cats, develops very slowly and matures only around 2-3 years of age.
The puppies at birth are completely white and only about 2 weeks of life can understand which variety will belong to each puppy.
The color of the hair will darken over time and will be final only when the growth is completed, ie around 2-3 years of age.
Generally, some basic characteristics can be described starting with the consideration that the ideal Ragdoll does not exist.
The closer you get to the breed standard the closer you get to the race ideal.
Head : Wide with rounded contours, flat skull between ears, slightly rounded forehead, well developed cheeks, rounded snout, nose with a slight head, well developed chin and wide chest.
Ears : Medium, wide at the base, well spaced and positioned at the bottom, slightly pointed forward and rounded at the tip.
Eyes : Large, oval, slightly oblique, better if of a more intense blue.
Neck : Short and powerful.
Body : Large, well-structured, rectangular shape with medium to strong frame and muscular chest. Shoulders wide as the hips in the adult cat.
Paws : Medium, neither too long nor too short, the hind legs slightly longer than the front ones, large, round feet, with tufts of hair between the fingers.
Tail : Long, thick at the base that tapers slightly at the end. Well supplied and thick.
Cloak : Semi-long, soft, silky fur, during the movement the fur is divided into strands, an important collar, that is "the gorgiera"; medium-long on the stomach, on the sides and on the sides.
Ragdoll exists the three varieties: POINT , MITTED and BICOLOUR with colors attributed to each variety.
The colors are: Seal , Blue Choccolate , Lilac , Red and Cream .
Like some purebred cats Ragdoll may be affected by feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
This disease is hereditary with an autosomal dominant transmission.
A specific DNA test has been developed and it detects mutations of the MYBPC3 gene responsible for the development of the disease.
Judging from the results of the genetic tests it is thought that about 20% of Ragdoll are affected by the mutation of this gene.
A follow-up ultrasound is also recommended for breeders to avoid transmission and eradication of the disease.
We know, in fact, that the mutation of the MYBPC3 gene is not the only cause of HCM in cats.
The race may also be affected by polycystic kidney disease PKD although this is much less common than in the Persian breed.