History of the Ragdoll in France - The Ragdoll Club France

From 1965 to 1969, Ann began to develop her breeding stock. The first mention of Ragdolls for sale dates from the beginning of 1969, when Denny and Laura Dayton bought a pair of Ragdolls for breeding from Ann Baker. They called their cats Buddy and Rosie. It is from these humble beginnings by the Daytons that most of our current Ragdolls find their ancestry. During the years 1969-1973, the Daytons had tried with difficulty to work with Ann to help promote the Ragdoll, but Ann wanted to maintain total control. Ann was afraid of losing control of what she considered to be a gold mine if it grew too fast. In an attempt to keep control over the growing number of owners and breeders, Ann created The International Ragdoll Cat Association (IRCA) in 1971 she registered it as a business in September of that year. In order to generate a constant flow of money, Ann also began to franchise the catteries that had purchased breeding Ragdolls from her. On the19 December 1975, in order to protect her "invention", Ann was granted a patent by the Patent Office of the United States (patent number 1026916). Most of the original owners and breeders rebelled against this franchise not wanting to know anything of such an arrangement.

The Daytons having bought their Ragdolls before that date refused this new franchise concept. As a result of the measures taken by Ann, several owners decided that they no longer wanted to be involved with Ann. Fortunately, Denny and Laura Dayton, understood that for the breed to develop it needed to be accepted by the various cat associations. With other breeders the Daytons started a very long and arduous path that resulted in their acceptance in all the feline associations in the United States.

The Ragdolls eventually found their way to Europe. In 1981 England was waiting with open arms for this wonderful breed. Then in 1986 Noëlle Vialatte introduced the first Ragdolls into France.