The ‘Traditional’and the Red & Tabby Series Ragdoll

The Ragdoll has always been a breed of cat surrounded by myths and legends, many of which have now been disproved. However, it seems controversy just will not go away from this breed!!!

Both Allen and myself have never made a secret of the fact that we are 100% dedicated to the Ragdoll Breed as a whole. We have been out to shows and seminars promoting the Breed for many years and have been actively involved with TBRCC for nearly a decade. We have had the pleasure to have as personal friends, some of the most experienced and dedicated breeders of Ragdolls in the UK, without whom the Ragdoll would not be at the stage it is today in this country. Without their genetic knowledge and their experience of the lines leading back to the foundation cats of RaggedyAnn along with the unique experience of actually having met and spoken with Ann Baker herself, much of the information which is now vital to us all would not be in existence.

Perhaps it is time to go back a few years to the beginning of a discovery that was quite shocking. A group of well respected and established breeders, through studying their pedigrees and researching the lines that were being bred from in the UK, noticed to their dismay, that kittens bred purely from the Blossom Time lines that had first been imported into the country had began to die out. It was becoming harder and harder to find cats which originated purely from those old lines.   As most of us are aware, those older lines have a certain ‘look’ that gives the Ragdoll it’s unique, soft expression and ‘smile’ and, usually, the temperament that makes the breed so special. To lose these lines was unthinkable.

It is difficult to maintain a healthy gene pool from such a small number of cats, remembering that only 12 cats were imported from Laura & Denny Dayton of Blossom Time in 1982, so, when in the early 1990’s, more Ragdolls were imported from the USA, this time from other Catteries such as Catastrophe, Hemlock Trails, Villa Royal and Ragnarock amongst others, these cats were of vital importance to the cats already here as it opened up the gene pool and imported a new vigour into the breed.

However, the American Standard of Points is slightly different to the one we use in the UK. These newer imports had a slightly different look to the ones that had originally come in. Their ear set was a little higher, their noses did not seem to have the retrousse tip, their coats slightly longer and their eye colour definitely not so good. They did however have the one thing that we had started to lose in the UK ……… SIZE! The newer imports were large imposing cats just as the SOP suggest that they should be.

I personally can remember  that time very well,  everyone wanted the new imports. They produced large healthy litters. The difference in the kittens was dramatic and pleasing as they were large chunky and ‘chocolate box’ looking,.  In most of the adverts, breeders were only too happy (and proud) to state that they were breeding with, and I quote, ‘…..new USA imported lines….’.

As the years went by, unfortunately, it was found that the look of the Ragdoll had started to change and as the kittens were maturing, many had a slightly different ‘look’ to them. Many had a heavy muzzle and chin and their eye colour was certainly not as good as they once had been.

Many of the older established breeders who had the Blossom Time offspring noticed that by mating these original lines with the newer imports  found that they could actually have the best of both worlds. It was then that it was actually noticed that the older lines actually stamped the Ragdoll ‘look’  into their offspring.

At the meeting in 1999, it was decided that, as a group of breeders, we should do as much as we possibly could to preserve these precious lines so that they could be used in the future for the good of the breed itself.

I attended this meeting and I can assure everyone that there was NEVER any suggestion that the Blossom Time offspring were superior cats,that those old lines were ‘elite’, it was just that they did possess that certain something that was needed to inject the ‘type’ back into ANY Ragdoll litter that needed it, regardless of what was in the rest of the pedigree.

What has to be remembered is that the Ragdoll was not a naturally occurring breed such as the Turkish Van, Maine Coon, Birman etc. It is a man made breed and, as has been documented in the past, many different breeds are in the background of this wonderful cat.

It must also be remembered that the Ragdoll IS an American breed. There really is no such thing as an ENGLISH Ragdoll! There were other breeders of Ragdolls in the USA at the same time as the Daytons and their cats came from Raggedy Ann cats just as the Blossom Time Ragdolls did.

 Now, perhaps we should look at the Red & Tabby Series Ragdolls!!!  This is an article that, hopefully, should explain exactly WHY the Red & Tabbies were not among the first Ragdolls imported from the Blossom Time cattery in 1981.

Look..... The picture that says it all!!!!

 ORIGINS OF THE IMPORTED RED & TABBY RAGDOLL

 ‘……………………….Ann Baker bred the offspring of Josephine to many different sires; to create various different colour and patterns of the breed of cat she named THE RAGDOLL.  Ann made reference to these cats in her Ragdoll book.

***  “ Josephine had other sons and daughters, but their eye colouring and fur colour was different (we had chosen the Sacred Cat of Burma look). We now had to go back and get her other males and experiment with them.  We are now at a place where we are discussing with another two breeders of authentic Ragdolls whether we should breed them so that they will throw only blue eyes and Seal point fur, or whether to leave them different as they are “

These early Ragdoll cats were bred under Ann’s Raggedy Ann prefix. (which she later changed). According to Ann Baker, Josephine was a pure white semi-longhaired cat. The white gene in cats is termed as an ‘overcoat’gene, this is because the cat could be any colour or pattern underneath the white ‘overcoat’.    The early pedigrees and literature show, that Ragdolls were bred in many different colours and patterns including solid, flame and lynx. The Flame and Lynx are referred to as Red & Tabby in the UK.

***   “ We had to go back and get another son of Josephine (the injured cat) and breed down his offspring (in order to keep the qualities of the Ragdoll) as all Ragdolls have to be descendants of Josephine (no other breeds in after her).  This will make some changes in the look of the Rag doll. Ragdolls are not the look, but the disposition and all the other qualities above mentioned will remain the same.

Our new Ragdoll look will be in our next book…….”

Ann Baker was opposed to Ragdoll cats being shown and registered with organisations and in 1971 she founded her own association and so enabling the cats to have a registering body. This association was named The International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA).

***   “ IRCA was founded in 1971 registered in September 1973 as a business and now declared with the Government Department of Agriculture as a register of breeds.”

Laura and Denny Dayton bought their first Ragdoll cats from Ann in the late 1960’s early 1970’s and these cats were to become the foundation cats of the Blossom Time Cattery. The Daytons were to send Ragdolls around the world so the cats bred under this prefix were to become the founding lines for many breeders, It appears that the Dayton’s did not breed with any solid coloured, red or tabby cats. As these genes were dominant, no solid, red or tabby cats were produced under the Blossom Time prefix.  The Ragdolls the Dayton’s exported to the UK were only in Seal, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac and all of the colourpointed pattern with or without white. In 1975 the Daytons started a Ragdoll Fanciers Club International (RFCI) to promote the Ragdoll cat. This clubs’ goal was to get as many American cat Registries as possible to recognise the Ragdoll as a breed of cat.

***   “ Ragdolls first registered as a breed by NCFA (no longer exists) in May 1972. First Champion Ragdolls were Raggedy Ann Jon and Raggedy Ann Prica.”

From 1975 onwards, there were two groups of Ragdoll breeders, one group wanted full recognition for their cats, and so were members of RFCI, the other bred under the originators ( Ann Baker) guidance, so registering their cats with IRCA.  The IRCA breeders had to obey strict rules laid down by Ann, so, over the years, many left.  In the early 1990’s, a group of breeders left IRCA and began to register their Ragdolls with other cat organisations….. the cats registered included the Lynx & Flame Ragdolls….

Ann Baker would not allow IRCA breeders to send Ragdolls to the UK due to our quarantine laws, so, Ragdoll lovers in the United Kingdom had to wait until some of the IRCA breeders had registered their Ragdolls with major organisations in America.  The American organisation also had to be recognised by The Governing Council of The Cat Fancy (GCCF) so that the cats could be dual registered….

In 1995 the first Tabby (Lynx) Ragdoll arrived from American and in 1997 the Red (Flame) series were to be imported.

*** Excerpts taken from Ann Bakers Book  ‘THE RAGDOLL’

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I do understand that the above can seem to be a little confusing, however, it does go a long way to prove that the Ragdoll had been bred, by Ann Baker, in ALL colours and patterns which included both the Red & Tabby.   

I think it should be made quite clear, Red & Tabby Series Ragdolls that were ** IMPORTED from the USA in the mid Nineties were no less Ragdoll than the Blossom Time Ragdolls that came before them. They are no more ‘outcrossed’ than any of the other Ragdolls that were bred originally by Ann Baker. Remember what she was quoted as saying………

’..Ragdolls are not the look but the disposition…’

*** NB: The first Tabby line which was imported from the Meadowpurrs cattery in the USA originated from an IRCA breeder as did the first imported Red Series. It has been documented that a further imported line DID contain a Himalayan ( Colourpointed Persian) in a more recent outcross. The breeders with this line were made fully aware of this fact and made their own decision as to whether or not to continue to breed with that particular pedigree.

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Here at CHEHAM RAGDOLLS, ALL of our Ragdolls, including our Red & Tabby Series, are ‘authentic’ Ragdolls, originating from  both the original Blossom Time Lines and the first imported Red & Tabby lines from IRCA breeders in the USA.  

We have 100% original lines which breed happily alongside the Red & Tabby imported lines. In fact one of our tabby girls, Happytyme Sensation, (Fleur) had an ‘English Related’ pedigree with over 12 of 16 ancestors on her fourth generation  being Original Blossom Time offspring!!

I have heard it said that only offspring of the original imported (Blossom Time) cats are ‘true’ Ragdolls.      What does that statement mean exactly?    That Catastrophe and Ragnarock offspring are not?

If the Catastrophe and Ragnarock cats ARE ‘proper’ Ragdolls,  then aren’t Meadowpurrs and Maralas (other Catteries in the USA) too?  These catteries were all breeding in the USA from cats originating from Ann Baker just as Laura & Denny Dayton’s Blossom Time Cattery were.

Perhaps we should all be concentrating on the ‘type’ of the Ragdoll and the breed as a whole and a little less at what is written on a pedigree which, for most pet owners, will be looked at for a while and then put in a drawer and forgotton about!!    The fact of the matter is, most ‘pet’ owners want the RAGDOLL TEMPERAMENT and, unfortunately, most kittens haven’t read their pedigree to see if they are allowed to have one!!

Christine Powell                       

September 2004

Without Prejudice