Orígenes de la raza
The first Ragdoll was bred in Riverside, California in the 1960s by a woman named Ann Baker, and the cat that founded the breed was a non-pedigree white semi-longhaired cat named Josephine. The Ragdoll is believed to have descended from a combination of three wild (non-pedigree) cats: Josephine, a white-footed colorpoint male named Daddy Warbucks, and a black male named Blackie.
Josephine belonged to Mrs. Pennels, Ann Baker's neighbor. Like many cats in the area, she was feral and often had kittens. She was hit by a car and Ann's neighbors, who worked at the local college, rescued her and nursed her back to health. During this time Josephine had to remain indoors and became somewhat more domesticated.
When she had her next litter, the kittens were born at home, where Ann Baker first saw them. Josephine's previous kittens had been half-wild like herself, but after the accident they turned out completely the opposite, they were very relaxed and social.
It is not entirely clear how different these kittens were exactly and how they came to be that way.
One theory is that the car accident changed Josephine's genes, which is absolutely impossible. Ann Baker also once claimed that Josephine was "fixed" at college after the accident and had new genes inserted into her. This would have been impossible in the 1960s, even if someone had a good reason to do so.
Another theory suggests that Josephine suffered a mutation in her reproductive cells, which is possible in theory, but highly unlikely since there must be more than one gene responsible for the kittens' temperament.
In any case, Ann saw something so special in the kittens that she decided to eventually use them to create a new breed.