Munchkin cats?

[PikachuSayBoo]

Dd wants a munchkin cat. I'm quite happy to get another cat and have googled to see what the heck a munchkin cat is and I have alarm bells ringing.

Does anyone have one? Ive read about possible spinal problems but then other websites are saying spinal problems haven't been a problem.

Can they go outside? Can they jump over fences, etc?

Current cats go out. I'm worried it would go out and get stuck somewhere.

Scottish Folds are another ethically dubious breed and neither the GCCF or the FIF will recognise them because of the associated health issues.

The folded ears are the result of a gene which affects the development of both cartilage and bone throughout the body leading to severe arthritis.

iCatCare - Scottish Fold

Re Microchip cat flaps - I don't think you can set them to control which cats can go out because the sensor is only on the outside. When we had kittens who were not allowed out and an old cat who was, we had a set-up with two microchip flaps (we have an inner and outer back door with a small hallway between). The inside flap had the sensor on the inside to keep the kittens in and the outside flap was the right way round to keep strange cats out.

If you just need to keep one cat in and are not worried about visitors you could just fit the flap the wrong way round so the sensor is on the inside.

I should say that it took the kittens about a week to figure out that if they went through the flap on the tail of the big cat they could escape.

Thanks. Might have to lock the cat flap for a while then and escort big cats in and out. Best wait for spring/summer for a new cat then as otherwise older cats may be locked out during the day.

Ah well. Sometimes it's trial and error with meds - there are some that don't completely agree with certain cats.

Scottish Folds have a similar gene mutation to Munchkin cats so suffer from similar problems.
Remind her that currently all black and Tuxedo ( black with white bibs) are very unpopular for no good reasons so they would be the 'unusual' movies to pick from a rescue. Find a disabled one and she will have a hugely unusual cat.
Confession I am the owner of a tail less rescue tuxedo.

If she wants unusual then I can highly recommend a Devon Rex...we have rescue foster cats, a rescue dog and have just got a Devon...very unusual looking, bomb proof, mad and very funny...my teenage girl is totally in love with ours already..I was able to find a very responsible 'breeder' who only breeds to strengthen the Devon line...

We have a new kitten and have invested in a fantastic cat flap called the sure flap dual scan, it lets you choose which cats are allowed out. Its a godsend and allows my older cats to keep to their normal routine, quite expensive but worth it.

My parents cat is a half Scottish fold half BSH. He's got no genetic problems and doesn't have the ears but he is a stunner! Not very bright though!

He is beautiful Toddler, what a handsom face he has.

He's a lovely boy and he doesn't look to have obvious problems, either. I seem to recall that BSH are one of the recommended out-crosses for Folds so good luck to him.

Interestingly, I read the Wikipedia article on Folds and while it's Wikipedia - so doesn't exactly count as original research - I don't recall seeing before quite so many references 'en passant' to ethical and unethical breeding. I would have to ask myself - before taking any cat on - just how a breeder could achieve a genetically stable population when it originated from one cat (or a very few cats) with a genetic blip. I couldn't buy a Fold.

Funny you should say that Cozie. I did extensive research on Devons, and they originate from one cat, Kirlee, born to a farm (working) cat in the 1960s, the suspected sire being a feral who had a ringletted coat and lived in a local tin-mine.

It's a theory that the radiation from the tin mines caused the curly hair mutation. They decided to keep Kirlee as a house pet, because he was so loving and affectionate. However, Cornish Rex came into being at the same time, (tin mines again), and she sold Kirlee . When mated with Cornish, they produced straight haired offspring because the curly haired gene wasn't the same.

They can be susceptible to luxating patella (Little M doesn't, you should see him leap and climb), possibly because of their bull-dog shaped stance, making the front legs appear shorter than the back legs. But extensive out-crossing to certain breeds of cats has widened the gene pool immensely.

I adopted him after doing A LOT of research, and personally think he's part cat, part pixie, with a bit of alien thrown in.

I couldn't adopt a kitten that I knew couldn't jump or be in pain. I think Manx cats have a form of spina bifida, meaning Manx to Manx matings are at best unsuccessful, at worst result in kits that don't survive.

That last is a great concern for me. Clearly, the worst pictures in the ICC guidance on flat faced cats are very extreme, but I do wonder how many of certain litters just don't make it.

All of my cats are rescue. The last one, dh went in and said 'we want something big, male, and bolshy' we got an enormous ginger boy who gives not a single toss about anything, stares down cars, and bit a rottweiler the other day. He is possible part turkish van according to his weird gurgling purr, amazing dense fur and some other characteristics.
He hunts a lot, and brings mice to the chickens . Huuuge personality!

In a Manx x Manx pairing, 25% of kittens would die in utero (the Manx allele is dominant, and lethal in the kittens that are homozygous for it). 50% (the heterozygotes - one Manx allele) would be Manxes, with some degree of tail/spine shortening, and the other 25% are homozygous for the non-Manx allele and have normal tails.

This article is about dogs not cats, but I wonder if flat-faced cat breeds like Persians have such serious problems too? I was quite shocked by the bit about bulldogs only ever breathing comfortably when under anaesthesia.

This is a repeat of the link I posted upthread, Gerund. You'll see that it contains reference to Persians (albeit longhairs) which itself touches on flat faces.

Warning - the link - to brachycephalia - on the Persian page contains a picture which is really not for the fainthearted. Don't click it with any children nearby or if you are not feeling strong.

My apologies. Brachycephaly.

Thank you - I did look at the page before but missed the brachycephaly link. Poor cats

Poor cats indeed. That was one of the causes of the concern I noted upthread.

Oh that is heartbreaking, poor wee cats

A lovely poster on here recently adopted 2 Persians that had been used as breeding machines.

One of them had to have an op. to widen their nostrils, so they can breathe properly.

I thought long and hard about the ethics before buying a pedigree, and it wasn't for his looks (even though he is beautiful) but for the breed's easy-going nature, and friendliness towards other pets. I have a very neurotic and needy Mog who was being left alone during the day, and we felt he needed a companion.

So much needless fashion breeding. It makes me sick.

McCat reminds me of my friend's old boy.

They live on the road to a famous landmark so have tourists walking by all the time. Winston would lie, belly up, on the path and make cute Puss-In-Boots style eyes at them as they walked by.

God help anyone who was fooled by his act. They'd have had hands shredded if they tried. My friend tried to get him off the path whenever possible but even if she warned people, some would still try their luck!

Just for you, BrianCox, How to give strokes and pats to an adorable and floofy be-whiskered beartrap.

Rubbish. Thanks for the compliment! I heard last night that the breeder my two were rescued from is finically giving up and the same rescue will be taking her stud cat. Undoubtedly he will be in bad condition. I offers to pick him up as he is nearer to me than the original rescuer. Was told I couldn't because seeing the 'chicken coupe' that my two (and another 4, rescued at the same time) Would be too upsetting for me. Probably wise as I'd probably want to strangle the woman! The lady who collected them is really scarred by it.