Cymric - Tumblr Posts

cat breeds round #2: Arabian Mau, Egyptian Mau, Burmilla, Havana Brown, Japanese Bobtail, Cymric

find round #1 here

One more post coming soon and that will be the final in this series.

I want to take this opportunity to talk about short tail mutations in cats, with the Japanese Bobtail and Cymric as examples. Btw Cymric is just a longhaired Manx, so we're talking about the Manx gene here. The Manx mutation for short tails is notorious for the associated health complications, even including death. You see, the mutation works by eliminating some vertebra and that makes the tail shorter. Sometimes it eliminates too many vertebra. In any case, you should never breed tailless x tailless Manx. In contrast, the mutation that gives the Japanese breed its short tail seems to be harmless and devoid of negative side effects. There are probably more than these two that can cause short tails in cats - some harmless, some very dangerous. Anyway. Think twice before buying a Manx or one of the breeds derived from it, and carrying a potentially very dangerous mutation.