the manx

Question
QUESTION: I got a cat from a humane society that looks like a silver tabby and bengal and has a stumpy.  I say tabby and bengal because he is equally spotted and striped.  So, is it true that to get a rumpy, stumpy, or longy one of the parents would have been a manx?  Or is it a natural anamoly?  Or is any kind with lack of tail considered manx, although you know they aren't purebred?

ANSWER: Hi there,

There are actually more than one breed of spotted cat and more than one breed of variying tail length cat.  Spotteds include the ocicat, and Pixie Bob, a bengal has rosettes, these spots are a large two toned oval shape that you would see on a leopard.  There are silver bengals and ocicats, in bengals it is called a 'snow'. n But it sounds as though your cat may just be a badly patterned mackerel, this would look like broken tiger stripes.

Here are some colors and patterns of the Bengal http://www.natureworkscats.com/bengalcolours.html

You can look around this site of a breeder friend of mine for more info on both the Pixie Bob and Bengal.  You can have a look at the Pixie's spots as well.

The cats of variying tail lengths are the Manx, as you mentioned, the Japanese bob tail, and the Pixie Bob.  Now I am not sure about the Manx and the Japanese Bob tail but I do know that the Pixie Bob's tail is naturally occuring.  What I do know is generally with these breeds what happens is a kitten or cat will be found with a natural anomoly and turned into a breed by many many years of developing that anomoly.

Now, having said all of this, finding a pure bred in a shelter is far from unheard of but the only way to know for sure if your cat is a pedigreed cat is to have the paperwork.  Honestly though, I would say about 80 percent of the people who purchase kittens from me don't even ask for the paperwork, meaning they purchased a Maine Coon for thier looks and personality but don't feel the need to prove it with paperwork so no matter what 'breed' you have I am sure it is a unique kitty that you will adore for a long time!  :)

Hope this was helpful!

Natoma

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have owned a purebred manx before, he died at the age of 8 due to the typical bowel problems that manx cats often have..knowing this,should I be concerned for my stump tail cat that he may have the same ailments just due to the spine problems, or could it be unrelated since he is not from a purebred line?

Answer
Hi again,

Do you know for sure that this cats tail is short due to a birth anomoly?  Is it possible there was some kind of accident that caused the loss of the tail?  A vet would probably be able to tell the difference.  The next question would be how short is the tail?  A completely tailless cat from birth is at risk of those types of problems but if they have a bit of a stub or longer short tail (you know what I mean) the risk is much less significant or non existant.

Natoma