History
Bonnyhale Dark Poppet
There has been much debate and some mystery surrounding the beginnings of the Ragdoll breed. However it is generally accepted that Ragdolls originated in the USA in 1963, with a litter of kittens born to Josephine, a white angora type cat, who had been mated by two males, a Birman and a Burmese. The resulting offspring were large and extremely docile. Anne Baker used these kittens as the foundation for her breeding programme, which produced the Ragdoll cat we are familiar with today.
The breed first came to Britain in March 1981 when Pat Brownsell and the late Lulu Rowley each imported a pair of Blossom Time Ragdolls. The first Ragdoll kittens to be bred in Britain were born in quarantine to Blossom Time Lass and Lad. By 1982, Lulu, who bred under the Petil-Lu prefix and Pat, who bred Patriarca Ragdolls had imported 12 Blossom Time Ragdolls and had begun establishing the breed in Britain. However, it was not until March 1990 that the Ragdoll was recognised by The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF). The popularity of the breed grew and over the years more Ragdoll lines were imported from the US by British breeders, including recently the Red series and Tabby (lynx).