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The Ragdoll is a breed whose origins are besieged by discussion and tall stories. According to assorted stories, the foundation cat, Josephine, produced mediocre kittens till she was struck by a car in the early 1960s. After her recovery, all of her successive litters produced kittens that displayed Ragdoll traits : huge size, non-matting fur, the inclination to chill in a person's arms like a child's rag doll ( hence the name ), and composed dispositions. Also rumoured was the kittens ' insensitivity to discomfort ( which, according to breeders, is not correct ). Another story holds that Josephine was brought to a lab after her vehicle accident, where she was genetically changed as an element of a secret state experiment, leading to genetic changes. While these are entertaining stories, no systematic proof exists to support any of these claims, and, in reality geneticists say that this sort of genetic modification didn't exist in the 1960s.

Other breeders claim that Josephine was bred to a seal Birman male who in turn was bred to a sable Burmese female. There doesn't appear to be any proof of this, either. The Ragdoll's white spotting gene is surely not the same as in the Birman breed, according to TICA's genetics board boss man, Dr. Solveig Pflueger, M.D, Ph.D.

The Ragdolls of America Group ( a group formed to gain approval for the Ragdoll in the Kitty Fanciers ' organisation ) asserts that Josephine was a wild white Turkish Angora-type kitty that resided on the property of a Mrs. Pennels in Riverbank , California. After her vehicle accident, Josephine joined with a wild black and white mitted long haired tom and produced a solid black male kitten named Father Warbucks and a seal pointed bicolor female named Fugianna. Another litter followed, sired by a solid brown long haired tom. This assignation produced a seal point female named Tiki and a black- and white-mitted male named Buckwheat. The breed's founder, the late Ann Baker, came into possession of these pussies, and all subsequent generations can be followed back to them. After a number of years of controlled breeding, the Ragdoll turned into the breed we know today. This appears to be the most convincing story for the breed's creation ; but this lineage can't be confirmed with certainty, since the trysts between these wild pussies were not documented.

Ann Baker made her very own registry for Ragdolls in 1971 called the International Ragdoll Pussy-cat organisation ( IRCA ). She also franchised and trademarked the Ragdoll name. Though all contemporary Ragdolls are descendants from Baker's original stock, several cliques of breeders exist and not all of them are members of IRCA. The breeders who wished to gain awareness for the Ragdoll with the standard registries split from Baker's group and formed the Ragdoll Fanciers ' Club. These breeders, among others, complicated non-IRCA Ragdolls to Championship standing with each organisation excepting the CFA, who belatedly accepted the Ragdoll for registration in Feb , 1993. The CFA now accepts the Ragdoll in the Miscellaneous class. This suggests the cats can be registered and exhibited but cannot contend for Championship.

The RagaMuffin is the most recent development on the Ragdoll scene. The RagaMuffin has similarities, although not matching, in conformation and personality to the Ragdoll. While the Ragdoll is accepted in only 4 colours and 3 patterns, the RagaMuffin also comes in red point, lynx point, and tortie point in addition to the range of Persian colours and patterns, and mitted and mitted with blaze. Breeders say the RagaMuffin isn't a new breed. Though all Ragdolls are descendants from the first Ragdoll lines that Ann Baker developed, RagaMuffin breeders split from IRCA much more lately than the RFC breeders, in 1993, actually. To avoid breaking their contracts with Baker and violating Baker's trademark on the Ragdoll name, they renamed their breed the RagaMuffin. Now , the RagaMuffin is only accepted for Championship.