small cat breed definitions

Question
What are, or are the differneces among, so-called miniature,
-bob, teacup cats?  Are they impaired kitties? Does breeding
them so small seems crule to you?

Answer
A bob is a cat with a shorter than average tail.  There are Pixie Bobs, American Bobtails, Japanese Bobtails, etc.  All of these were the result of a natural mutation, and these kitties are not impaired in any way.

Miniature and teacup are interchangeable terms for cats that are bred to be smaller than average.  It's important to recognize these are NOT mutations.  They are not cats suffering from dwarfism or any type of deformity.  They are a line of cats that were bred to be small over several generations.  Cats who were naturally on the small side of normal were bred to other cats who were smaller than average to produce kittens that were smaller than average.  It's on the same idea as with people - two tall people are likely to produce tall children.  Miniatures and teacups are simply petite normal cats and they do not suffer from any impairments.

There are no known health risks associated with breeding bobs or teacups/miniatures, so I have no problem at this point with the ethical breeding of them.