Dark side, Light side

After Josephine's tragic death, Ann was left with one male, Daddy Warbucks, and two females, Buckwheat and Fugianna. Based on the colour of these two females, she divided the kittens into two distinct groups. The descendants of Buckwheat, the black female, became the "Dark Side", while the descendants of Fugianna, the bicolour pointed female, became the "Light Side".

In the summer of 1965, Daddy Warbucks and Buckwheat produced four kittens whose destinies would be very different: two colourpoint kittens and two solid black kittens.

The two solid black kittens

... Experimental Persians or "Ragdoll Tus" ...

Gueber was entirely black like his mother, while Mitts inherited his father's mitted pattern. Ann intended them to found a new breed she called "Experimental Persians", later renamed "Ragdoll Tu". Although they were not colourpoint cats, they were in every other respect similar to their littermates.

Most of the experiments conducted on Ragdolls were carried out on these "solid" Persian lines. According to Ann Baker herself, the cats underwent every imaginable test: X-rays, EEGs, ECGs, chromosome analyses, surgery without anaesthesia and, ultimately, autopsies. It would appear that Ann sought, at their expense, to satisfy the curiosity of the governmental authorities whose approval she hoped to obtain for the Ragdoll.

"Among other things, my Ragdolls had their chromosomes tested, their skulls and spines X-rayed, detailed autopsies, electroencephalograms, electromyograms, electrocardiograms and surgery without anesthesia. No hypotonic behavior was found on examination or on electromyography of the postural muscles, and no malformation of the central nervous system. This is only part of the testing the Ragdolls underwent in order to certify them and obtain government authorization. They are unique in the world. If I had mated two breeds together, I would not have been allowed to file the patent. They would have been considered generic and not patentable."

Unsurprisingly, no deformity, defect or abnormality was ever found. How could it have been otherwise? Yet that was precisely Ann's objective: to prove that the Ragdoll's remarkable gentleness and limp temperament were the result of a higher power rather than any surgical intervention.

In that respect she succeeded. Nevertheless, it is difficult not to feel uneasy at the thought that these unfortunate kittens were sacrificed in the name of progress, transformed into laboratory subjects and subjected to painful procedures in an attempt to support the founder's increasingly questionable theories about the supposed genetic alterations Josephine had undergone at the university following her accident.

Ann produced an enormous quantity of written material and was well known for the countless letters she sent to breeders and enthusiasts. Jill collected some of these documents and compiled the most interesting information. Here is what she wrote regarding the "Experimental Persian" line:

"The Black Experimentals or long-haired Burmese (seal/black color, heavy hindquarters, longer front legs, dense coat, gold eyes, Ragdoll temperament)

• Josephine and the Sacred Birman (son) produce
• DWB and Buckwheat produce
• Kyoto and Tiki produce
• Toy Ling and Gueber produce
• Adam (June 11, 1967)
• Also Josephine and Blackie (black Persian) (son) produce
• Josephine's daughter and DWB produce
• Buckwheat and Daddy War Bucks produce
• Gueber and Wild One
• Mitts produces
• Midnight, who produces
• B'Wanna and Gueber
• Amos, Andy, Sambo (children)
• This was the breeding from 1963 to 1968
• Kyoto, Tiki, Gueber, Mitts (July 3, 1965)
• Kyoto and Tiki registered as Ragdolls

The children of Gueber and Mitts (for those who have lost the thread, these are the two solid black kittens of Buckwheat and Daddy War Bucks) were registered as "Experimental Persians," "Long Haired Burmese"

The cats owned exclusively by Ann Baber, previously named "Rageddy Ann Experimental Persians," will now be called "Ragdoll Tu's." All are from Josephine's line; there were no descendants from them."

For those who have not followed, do not turn the gas on yet. I admit that it is very tangled. However, it would seem she did it deliberately so that she alone could understand it. Since I am not like that, a complete table will follow.