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Munchkin
Cat
The Munchkin Cat is a
relatively new cat breed created by a random mutation that produced a cat with
extremely short legs.
Munchkin Cats have short or long coats in a wide
variety of colors. Somewhat surprisingly, because of their short stature
munchkins are particularly adept at climbing and jumping.
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Munchkin
Cat
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Munchkin Cats are usually
raised as indoor cats, although they are reported to be extremely active,
agile and fast runners.
Those who have spent time around barns have proven
to be extremely good hunters. The mutation only affects the length of the
legs.
The Munchkin Cat breed was begun in 1983 when Sandra
Hochenedel found an extremely short-legged black cat living under a trailer
in Louisiana.
The cat, Blackberry, was pregnant and half of her kittens were
born short-legged. One of Blackberry's kittens, a tomcat named Tolouse,
became the father of a breeding program and helped establish the breed in
North America.
The Munchkin Cat breed is not recognized by
all registering associations and is specifically banned by the Fédération
International Féline FIFe
and other European registries, but it is accepted by The International Cat
Association (TICA).
Because the munchkin gene is a dominant one,
approximately half the kittens with a munchkin cat parent will be 'standard'
munchkins.
The remainder have normal length legs, but since it is a dominant
gene these long/traditional legged cats cannot pass on the trait of short
legs. Nor would this trait be passed on if the long legged kittens were
crossed to another breed.
At one time it was theorized that this
short legged trait was due to the same gene that causes achondroplasia
achondroplastic in humans, however all attempts to prove this to date,
have failed.
Neither is it the same gene nor has a specific locus on another
gene been found and identified at this writing.
True "dwarfism"
affects more than the long bones of the legs. The munchkin cat is shorter
than a standard domestic, but in all other respects it is identical,
genetically and in size and overall appearance
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