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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.

Baker saw a characteristic in the cat Josephine that became the hallmark of the breed. When Ann held Josephine the cat went limp in her arms like a rag doll. Ann Baker named the breed for this limp trait and filed for a trademark so she could collect royalties from anyone to breed her cats. She started a registry for breeding Ragdoll cats but lost control because of wild behaviors and story telling.

This characteristic of going limp when held is where Ann Baker’s wild stories come from. It all started when her cat Josephine was hit by car. On one account Ann Baker said she rushed Josephine to a nearby University to be treated for the accident. Ann Baker’s story goes to to say that Josephine’s DNA was altered and this is where the characteristic limpness comes from.

Ann baker made other wild claims, telling people for instance that her cats did not feel pain. She claimed the cats had been altered genetically and their DNA was actually a hybrid of aliens and cats. Look out x-files; alien cat hybrids have been hiding out in California since the 60s. Baker made other wild claims telling people the cats did not have fear and were hypoallergenic. She claimed that Ragdoll cats were the ideal pet for anyone suffering from allergies. When it comes to Ann Baker and the history of her cat breed, the stories she told are stranger than science fiction.