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SHORT HAIRED CATS

SHORT-HAIRED MANX

The tail-less cat. Or ‘Rumpy’ as it is often called, from the Isle of Man, is a cat on its own. Whilst having the same main characteristics as the varieties classified as the British Short-hairs, the Manx must be quite definitely without a tail; that is, where the tail should start there should be a decided hollow and no trace of a rudimentary tail. Cats without tails are also known in Japan and Malaya. Legend has it that the first tail-less cats appeared on the Isle on Man after the wreck of a galleon from the Spanish Armada close to the coast, but no actual proof of this can be traced. Another legend is that warriors fighting the Irish who invaded the Isle of Man took to killing the cats to use their beautifully bushy tails to decorate their helmets, in imitation of the invaders, who wore plumes in theirs. Tired of having her kittens killed for their tails, one wise old female cat went to the top of the highest mountain to have her next litter, and shortly after their birth she bit off the tails, thus thwarting the warriors. The females of each succeeding generation were told the secret and in time all the cats were born without tails, and the Manx cats became an established breed.
It is quite difficult to breed Manx true; if two Manx cats were mated together they may produce kittens with tails, kittens with stumps and kittens without tails. A continuance of breeding Manx to Manx seems to produce a lethal factor with the kittens dying before or shortly after birth. Tail-lessness, depth of flank and high back legs help to give this breed its characteristic ‘rabbity’ gait which is more of a hop than a walk. Roundness of the rump is essential for a good show specimen, with very high hindquarters and a short back. To find out if a cat is a true tail-less one, it is possible to place the blunt end of the thumb into the recess or hollow at the end of the backbone, where other cats would have the beginning of their tails. The vertebrae end there and do to continue down the tail as with all the other breeds, where the tail is the continuation of the backbone and can be clearly felt as the hand travels down the back and along the tail. Although other cats utilise their tails when jumping from a height, the Manx seems to be able to jump just as well without one.
The Manx should have a ‘double’ coat, the top coat being soft and open with a thick undercoat, but many Manx cats shown today seem to fail on this point. All colours and markings are accepted for the breed, but it is essential that the coat is short, and no long-haired specimen may be considered a real Manx. The head should be large and round with broad cheeks, with the nose slightly longer than that of the normal British cat. The ears must be wide at the base and slightly pointed at the ends, not rounded as in the British type.
Manx make very intelligent and amusing pets. They are certainly different and most distinctive looking.

Standard

Tail-lessness, height of hindquarters, shortness of back and depth of flank are essentials. The coat must be ‘double’, soft and open like that of a rabbit, with a soft, thick undercoat. Great attention should be paid to roundness of rump – as round as an orange being the ideal.
Scale of Points Points

Tail-lessness 15
Height of hindquarters 15
Shortness of back 15
Roundness of rump 10
Depth of flank 10
Double coat 10
Head and ears 10
Colour and markings 5
Eyes 5
Condition 5

Tail-lessness must be absolute in a show specimen. There should be a decided hollow at the end of the backbone, where in the ordinary cat the tail would begin. The hindquarters in a Manx cannot be too high, and the back cannot be too short, as there must be great depth of flank. The head is round and large, but it is not a snubby or Persian type. The nose is longish, but the cheeks being very prominent do away with any snipiness, which is a bad fault. The ears are rather wide at base, tapering slightly off to a point. Eye colour is of very secondary consideration, and must only be taken into account when all other points are equal. When that is so, it follows the ideal for the British cats, namely, blue for Whites and amber or orange for Blacks, Oranges, Tortoiseshells, etc. All colours of Manx are recognised, and here again, as in eye-colour, marking and colour must only be taken into account when all other points are equal. Finally gait, arising from the combination referred to in the opening sentence of the official Standard, is of primary importance.