Manx Question.

[DarntheCat]

I am getting conflicting information about Manx Cats, and I am curious. Manx Rumpy or NST can, or can not breed another Rumpy or NST Manx? Is this the same for Japanese Bobtail or American Bobtail? I am not breeding, just curious. I do have a boy Manx, and a girl American Bob. They are both complete (not fixxed). They have not mated and don't think they would. They show no interest in one another except to play. P.S. They never leave the house so they do not interact with other cats(other than my fixxed cats).

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi, I was just watching Cats 101 on Animal Planet earlier tonight and they had Manx cats on there. I think that they said that two Manx Rumpy's shouldn't breed because it could cause spinal problems.

I looked it up and here's what it said: The Manx tail-less gene is dominant and highly penetrant; kittens from Manx parents are generally born without any tail. Having two copies of the gene is semi-lethal and kittens are usually spontaneously aborted before birth.[1][2] This means that tail-less cats can carry only one copy of the gene. Because of the danger of having two copies of the tail-less gene, breeders have to be careful about breeding two tail-less Manxes together.[3] Problems can be avoided by breeding tail-less cats with tailed ones and this breeding practice is responsible for the decreasing occurrence of spinal problems in recent years.

I got the above information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_(cat).

Here's some info about Japanese Bobtails and American Bobtails:

Like the Japanese Bobtail, the Manx came about as the result of a natural mutation occurring in a gene pool limited by the borders of an island. That is where the similarity begins -- and ends. The Manx is a heavy-bodied and muscular cat, with no tail at all (in the show specimen). The Japanese Bobtail is a tall, elegant, refined cat in appearance, with just a "puff" or a "pom" of a tail.

The genetics differ as well. The Manx gene is a dominant, which is lethal in the homozygous form. Since all living Manx are thus heterozygous, any Manx litter can produce tailless (rumpy), partly-tailed (stumpy), or fully-tailed kittens. The Manx gene is also linked to genetic problems such as spinal bifida, and hip, pelvic, and anal abnormalities. In contrast, the Japanese Bobtail gene is recessive -- two Japanese Bobtails, bred together, will always produce kittens which are more or less bobtailed. The Japanese Bobtail gene is also not linked to any other form of spinal or bone abnormality.

Less is known about the American Bobtail, as the breed is still in development, but it is believed to be a variant of the Manx gene, and no relation to the Japanese Bobtail. It is being developed as a large, shaggy, semi-longhaired breed with a tail which is about half the length of a normal tail.

I got the above info from http://fanciers.com/breed-faqs/japanese-bobtail-faq.html. I hope this helps.:)

[DarntheCat]

I was not sure, it shouldn't be a problem anyway but I was concerned. Again Thanks!