Manx (cat)

Manx is a cat breed that is different from all the other cats in that it has no tail. This feature was originally created as a spontaneous gene mutation, but is selectively promoted today by breeders. The Manx Cat for centuries lives on the past in the Irish Sea Isle of Man.

Cause

The tailless Manx cat is due to a gene mutation that has probably get by selection in the insulation due to extreme inbreeding in a closed relative in region ( island ) ( Genetic bottleneck ). In addition to the tailless consist skeletal and sometimes also other malformations. Manx cats are in this mutated gene " M" always heterozygous, with them, therefore, is the combination of " Mm " before. The inheritance is autosomal dominant with incomplete penetrance simple and variable expressivity. In animals with the homozygous gene - combination "MM" already dying fetuses in the womb - so it is in the tailless to a recessive lethal factor. In order to ensure the breed that no homozygous animals produced in the breed clubs is not normally allowed a breeding Manx Manx ×. You need to breed still a so-called "outcross " race, usually British Shorthair.

Features

The tailless and the physique not only lead to the characteristic of the Manx cat bunny-hopping gait, as we know from rabbits, but also to health problems. In addition, Manx cats have a poorer sense of balance than their peers, which is why they are also poorer climbers because of the missing tail.

A distinction Manx cats in Rumpies, Stumpies and Tailies. Rumpies are completely tailless, unlike Stumpies, which after all have a small stub at its rear part. In Tailies occurs an almost natural tail. In appearance this cat is round and compact: it has a round head with a round snout and large, round eyes and a short back, which is curved to rounded rump.

Breed standards

The breed standard according to the rump of a Manx cat should be higher than the shoulders. Animals should be completely tailless, and where the tail actually sitting, no cartilage, bone, or the like may be located. The coat should be put twice and feel like a soft cushion, wherein the undercoat must be shorter than the top coat. A related breed is the Cymric. This has a medium length coat, lengthen the hair from the shoulder to the back. The Manx has already been recognized in the 1960s by the British GCCF as a race, some organizations deny this but until today.

After a 1999 prepared at the request of the competent federal ministry report, the Manx cat breed torture pursuant to § 11b of the German animal protection law represents the showing and breeding of this breed is in Germany therefore prohibited for reasons of welfare de facto.

Also, by Article 10 of the revised in 2005 Swiss animal protection law, the breeding of animals are prohibited with certain characteristics. It breeds are especially forbidden "in which it must be assumed that hereditary body parts or organs for the species-specific use are missing or altered and this creates pain, suffering or injury to the animal ."

In Austria prohibits § 5 paragraph 2 of the Federal Animal Welfare Act Varieties, " which are connected to the animal or its offspring with severe pain, suffering, injury, or severe anxiety. " Whether the Manx cat falls under, is controversial.

Various animal protection associations criticize the breeding of Manx cats also sharp. However, it will continue, especially in the UK and Scandinavia, bred as a race.