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FAQ - THE TRADITIONAL Copyright Diana Fineran August 4, 2004 HISTORY The exact primary source of this tailless breed is shrouded in legends as surely as its place of discovery, the Isle of Man, has its fog. The mystery hasn’t found a satisfactory explanation. Persistent legends connect shipwrecks with the Traditional Manx’s introduction to its island home. Many ships docked there too, bringing with them their sailing cats. These cats could have trotted down the gangplank to their new island home.
The Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea half way between Liverpool, England and Belfast, Ireland. It is a tiny island with only 221 square miles – 32 miles long and 13 miles wide. Its inhabitation began in Neolithic times. I found conflicting stories concerning whether there were cats already on the island of British Shorthair variety before the tailless Manx arrived. One stated the island didn’t have an indigenous cat species of its own, so the Traditional Manx was it’s first. Another mentioned the Manx was a spontaneous mutation among the island’s domestic cats, rather than a cat that arrived with its tail already absent. No one really knows for sure.
Rev. W.B. Clarke stated, “A Baltic ship wrecked between
Castle Rushen and the Calf was responsible The naturalist, Kaempfer, postulated in 1902, “Definitely the specimens of this breed now so common in parts of Russia all came originally from Japan.” Other legends say these cats were brought onto the Isle from Japan by Phoenicia traders, or they came with the Vikings who colonized the Isle. Even more fanciful yarns account for the Traditional Manx’s lost tail. One postulates that two cats were going onto Noah’s ark but they dawdled, so the door was slammed on their tails. Another fable claims they are a cross between a cat and a rabbit. Another maintains the Vikings used cat’s tails as helmet plums so the mother cats nipped off the tails of their kittens to protect them from thieves. All of these can tickle the imagination, but are rooted in mystery!
“Noah, sailing o’er the seas, In any case it is reasonable to say the origin of the Traditional Manx to the Isle of Man was from a foreign source and they developed as a natural, spontaneous mutation. An explorer of the time, Auguste Pavie, thought the
Annamite cats could have been connected in
Siam and Malaya also were considered sources of the Traditional Manx, because cats with malformed tails such as kinked, knotted, or clubbed were in abundance there. This condition has endured there for many decades. In addition to the Cat Book Poems, mention was made as far back as 1783 by William Marsden, F.R.S., then Secretary to the President and Council of Sumatra. In his “History of Sumatra”, he wrote, “All their tails imperfect and knobbed at the end.”
The Traditional Manx’s tail abbreviation is governed by a dominant gene, along with modifying polygenes. It has been proven that the Traditional Manx has no relationship to the Japanese Bobtail, who’s short tail is governed by a recessive rather than a dominant gene. This rules out any connection between the two breeds.
From “The Book of the Cat” by Frances Simpson, 1902,
The following photos were courtesy of Gale Thomas-Goodman of Varary Mews Manx located at www.manx--cats.com Please click on the pictures to enlarge. “I will therefore proceed to give my opinion of Manx cats, but with all due deference to my fellow fanciers who have had personal experience with the breed. I think I have judged every species of cat, long and short haired, except Manx. I remember in former times stump-tails cats, called Manx, used to win comfortably at shows, but in our up-to-date times I should make a black mark in my judging book against those cats with a stump or an appendage, or even a mere excrescence. I do not fear contradiction when I state that a Manx cat of the true type should have no particle of tail – only a tuft of hair, which ought to be boneless.” “There are at present six distinct types of Manx, or ‘rumpy’ cats being exhibited at our shows (1902). The long straight backed cat, the long roach backed cat, the long straight backed cat with high hind quarters, the short straight backed cat, the short roach backed cat, the short backed cat with high hind quarters. The last type is the correct one, the first is the worst and commonest type, the others are intermediate and should be judged accordingly.” “The Manx cats should always be judged in a good, large, empty pen, and never in their own pens, or when held by the judge.” “At one time, we may presume, the Manx cat was kept pure in the Isle of Man, but, alas! The natives, with an eye to the main chance, have been led into manufacturing a spurious article, and many more tailless cats and kittens than ever were born have been sold to tourists eager to carry home some souvenir of the island to their friends on the mainland, I have been told that the landing pier is a frequent resort of dealers in so called Manx cats, where the unwary traveler is waylaid and sold! On some out of the way farms on the island I believe none but tailless cats have been kept for generations, and some genuine specimens may thus be picked up, if the tourist gives himself the trouble to go off the beaten tracks.”
“Letter 1, Castletown, Isle of Man, 12th July, 1898. “I received yesterday your letter respecting Manx cats. I fear I am unable to aid you much in your inquiries as to the Manx cat, for any personal information I can give.” “When I was a boy there was a kind of tradition that the
tailless cat was brought here by the Spanish Armada. We have a headland called
‘Spanish Head,” where it was been believed that some tailless cats escaped and
took refuge here, and that from such cats all the so called Manx cats have been
derived. During my life I have frequently met persons who have traveled in
Spain, and I think I have always asked from such persons if they had ever met
with tailless cats there, but I never met anyone who had seen them. I never
heard any other origin of the Manx cat alleged. They are very common here, but
not so common as cats with tails. Both cats with and cats without tails
associate together. In my own house we have always kept cats, and in almost
every litter of kittens there are some with and some without tails. I have two
tailless cats now – one is a kitten of a few weeks old. It has no sign of a
tail ,but is (as designated here0 a pure rumpy. The mother is one also, but she
has a little fur tuft. I have frequently seen kittens having a very small
rudimentary tail, such as one or two bones.”
“I have seen, I think, Manx cats of most of the colours mentioned by you, but the most common are the grey or tabby. I have never heard of wild cats found here, and I do not think there is any tradition about them.” “A few years ago I had a very fine tom cat (bred in my own house), black all over, and with no sign of a tail. I lost it. I presume it was stolen by some tripper. Trippers are frequently on the look out for Manx cats, and I fear that many tailed kittens are deprived of their tails to meet the demand.” “Letter 2, Ramsey, 17th July, 1989. “Thank you for letting me see the interesting letters about Manx cats. I suppose the Society wants to have a standard by which to judge them.” “I am sure we should all be interested to hear what they have to say on the subject, and we may be able to add some general information.” “To take the questions in order I should say that grey tabby (barred, not spotted) is the most natural and correct, if one may so speak. I think it is certainly most common. I have known tortoiseshell, black and white, black, white and perhaps others, which I now forget. The eye, so far as I know, is the same as in the common English tabby.” “Certainly we have cats with tails. The rumpy being the rare form. Perhaps one in a litter, and one or two of them with half tails.” “As to what they are supposed to be, I have of course heard the Spanish Armada story. My own belief is that they have originated in a sport, e.g. as we find in dogs and fowls, and have been perpetuated as curiosities, and in modern times on account of their commercial value.” “I don not know that there is any type which can be said to be more true than another with regard to size and shape of head, etc. The height at the hind legs is perhaps more apparent than real, caused by the abrupt ending, without the falling tail as in ordinary cats.” “Professor Owen made a preparation, which may be seen at the British Museum, showing the bones (if any) of the tail. I think in a perfect specimen there should be no bones. Of course, there are all degrees of stumps.” Frances Simpson continued,
“It is only of recent years that any English fanciers Lady Marcus
Beresford has lately shown a great partiality for Manx. “The
following is translated from a paragraph in a German weekly paper called “Mutter
Erde,” and appeared in Our Cats of M arch 1st, 1900: “The progeny of
a tailless cat of the Isle of Man. A cat brought from the Isle of Man (felis
catus anura) to S. Germain en Laye, of which the pedigree is unknown, was mated
with ordinary long tailed cats and had twenty four kittens.” The litters were
given.
“Manx cats may be considered shy breeders, and constantly the litter will consist of one kitten only! I have been told that they are excellent mothers, but , in the words of a Manx fancier, “they only care to have one family a year, many queens won’t breed at all, and heaps of males are very funny and take no notice of their wives!” Another breeder of Manx informs me that these cats seem entirely fearless with dogs, and that her canines and felines live together in perfect amity. I believe Mr. H.C. Brooke once exhibited a Manx in the same pen as a bull dog at the South London Bull Dog Show of 1893.” “Mr Brookes was a well known and successful fancier of Manx wrote, “The silver tabby “Champion and Premier Bonhaki” was breed by Mr. Jungbluth, one of the keepers of the monkey house at the Zoo. He made his debut at the Botanic Gardens as a kitten, when he was much admired by the then Princess of Wales, and Mr. Wain awarded him the Championship. This success he followed up by winning four others under various judges, and died at the early age of twenty seven months. “Champion and Premier Katzenjammer” was bred at home. He did not commence his show career till late, and then he had to meet “Bonhaki,” after whose death, however, he was unbeaten, and had earned his Champion title at the time of his death from gastritis last year, which robbed me of one of the most affectionate pals man ever had, and I am not ashamed to own that many and bitter were the tears I shed over his grave.” The Traditional Manx comes in all coat and eye colors except Lavender, Chocolate, ticked, Pointed or these colors with white. From the beginning there were shorthaired and longhaired versions of the breed on the Isle of Man and cats with both coat lengths were exported from the island. For a while the government on the isle was keeping a government cattery for the preservation of the longhaired and shorthaired types. Visitors to the cattery could see both coat lengths in the country or origin. The longhaired version became known as the Cymric, which is identical to the Traditional Manx in every way except for their longer coat length. TO TAIL OR NOT TO TAIL One of the endearing qualities of the Traditional Manx is its tail or absence of one. Their tail actually can come in a variety of different lengths. Four types are described. The tailed have a full length tail. A Stumpy has a short tail stump, which can usually be moved, though the tail is often curved, knobby or kinked.. A rumpy-riser has one to three vertebrae at the base of the spine that are usually immovable. Complete taillessness is called a rumpy. The rumpy has no tail vertebrae at all and often has a dimple at the base of the spine where the vertebrae would normally start. For show purposes only the tailless Traditional Manx is considered favored. Geneticists believe the tailless gene was a spontaneous mutation that occurred within the cat population on the Isle of Man. The isolation of the Isle from a broader population of cats improved the odds of the survival of this unique gene. The dominant gene governing the lack of tail was easily passed to the next generation. Their lack of tail is controlled by a dominant gene, while the tails of most other short tailed breeds are governed by recessive genes. This suggests the Traditional Manx is not related to breeds such as the Japanese Bobtail. PERSONALITY Loving and Loyal the Traditional Manx has devoted fans. They can attach to only one person or only one family, who they feel comfortable with. Still others happily greet everyone. Full of their own happy personality, they create an endearing bond. Playful and fearless of heights, their powerful hind legs propel them to high spots. They are excellent jumpers. They make great household companions because they are intelligent, active and get along with other pets (especially dogs). A good game of fetch is so enjoyable to them. Known for their quiet voices, loud purrs and sweet temperaments, they can be easily leash trained and are fascinated by water. Just don’t dip them in it! They want to know what is going on, but don’t necessarily want to be near all visitors. A joy to own they add endless pleasure and entertainment. In 1902 Frances Simpson wrote in her book, “The Book of the Cat”, “From a personal knowledge of nearly all breeds, has no hesitation in recommending the latter as companions, their quaint and doglike ways making them general favourites whenever they are met with.” As a rule the Traditional Manx is a healthy breed with many living to a ripe old age. Despite their lack of tail, they are perfectly capable of landing on their feet and expressing their emotions just like any other cat. The dominant gene governing the lack of tail or shorter tail needs to be inherited from only one parent in order for the kitten to manifest the trait. This means that if a kitten has one gene for taillessness and another for a normal tail, taillessness will win out. In the case of the Traditional Manx, however, the kitten cannot inherit the gene from more than one parent. Homozygous kittens (kittens that inherit the Traditional Manx gene from both parents) don’t develop past the embryo state due to malformations. On average about 25% of the kittens in any given litter are homozygous, so litters are small, with an average of two to four kittens. Scientific theory projects any given litter from a Traditional Manx to Traditional Manx breeding will have 25% homozygous kittens, 25% normal tailed kittens and 50% heterozygous kittens (kittens who inherit only one copy of the Traditional Manx gene) that will manifest the Traditional Manx gene in some form. Still the heterozygous kittens have a higher than average mortality rate because the Traditional Manx gene can cause deformities such as fusions of the spine, spina bifida, loss of control of the hind legs, weak hind quarters, one weak leg, bowl and bladder abnormalities, and colon defects. Because of these problems the Traditional Manx gene is called a lethal gene and the set of problems that arise from the gene are called the Manx Syndrome. Roy Robinson stated in his book “Genetics For Cat Breeders”, “It is unfortunate that the Manx is associated with various anomalies of the lower vertebrae and anal region. The various anomalies arise from the action of the M gene in causing the taillessness and are inescapable in Manx breeding.” Breeders state that careful breeding by using strong and healthy cats minimized these defects. This is true in all breeds. There are breeding challenges. All four tail types are included in breeding programs and breeding rumpy to rumpy for more than 3 generations is avoided. This practice helps reduce the likelihood of genetic problems. A Traditional Manx can be expected to have the same life span as any other cat. They are slow to mature, and reach their full growth and weight around age 5. They are no more or less susceptible to feline diseases than any other breed. ONE SPECIAL KITTY We don't always get the heart felt pictures and story that you are about to see, but we know they are out there. Please enjoy these as they were sent to us by a very caring owner. " I wish you could have seen what a beautiful and unusual cat she was. She seemed to smile even. :) She went everywhere with us in the car. And hopped like a bunny when she ran.
This was my favorite cat, Thistle, that I lost from old age 8 years ago. She
was a Manx with a stub tail (pom pom) that I got from my husband's cousin and
was a real marshmallow kitty, a true companion, 1 in a million!! Below is my
new one.
Here are two pictures of the Traditional Colorpoint Manx.
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