Munchkin Cat

Genetic mutation gives the Munchkin cat breed its famously extremely short legs. Relative to a number of different cat breeds, it is a relatively brand new breed, recorded within the Forties and officially identified in 1991. The Munchkin is the first breed of dwarf cat.

After being accepted by The International Cat Association (TICA) as a breed in 1997, much debate about the breed followed, with critics claiming that cats of the breed could develop health and mobility issues. Internationally the Munchkin cat is not registered with the majority of pedigree cat organizations, including the UK's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) as the welfare and health issues of the breed remain unclear. Due to these problems with Munchkin cats health, breeding this breed is banned in several nations.

Breed Creation

Since the 1940s, short-legged cats have also been documented around the world. In 1944, a British veterinary report stated that there were four generations of short-legged cats which were similar to normal cats, except it said, “The only variation is the shortness of the legs.” This line vanished around the Second World War but various other short-legged felines were seen in Russia in 1956 and also the USA in the 1970s.

In 1983, a music teacher in Rayville, La., named Sandra Hochenedel discovered two pregnant cats that had been herd under a truck by a dog.He gave her one of the cats who she named Blackberry and half of her kittens were born short-legged. LaFrance named her kitten Toulouse and Hochenedel gifted a male kitten with short legs from one of Blackberry's litters to a friend, Kay LaFrance of Monroe, Louisiana. The Munchkin breed of today descends from Blackberry and Toulouse's litter.

Registry history

The Munchkin cat was first introduced to the general public in 1991 via a national network televised cat show held by The International Cat Association (TICA) in Davis, Oklahoma. However, the breed would not be officially recognized at that time. Critics predicted that the breed would develop back, hip and leg problems similar to those that plague some dachshunds.For many years, the Munchkin breed was not accepted in feline competitions due to the controversial breeding.[9] Solveig Pflueger, a show judge, geneticist, and chairperson of TICA's Genetics Committee was a strong advocate for the official recognition of the breed. Pflueger was also a breeder of Munchkin cats herself, having been initially sent two cats from Hochenedel.Amidst much controversy, the Munchkin was proposed as a new breed by foundation breeders Laurie Bobskill and Robert Bobskill of Massachusetts and accepted by TICA into its new breed development program in September 1994. Veteran show judge Katherine Crawford resigned in protest, calling the breed an affront to breeders with ethics.The Munchkin breed achieved TICA championship status in May 2003.

Currently, the only registries that fully recognize the breed are TICA, the Southern Africa Cat Council, the Australian Cat Federation, the World Cat Federation, and Catz Incorporated (New Zealand).There is controversy among breeders of pedigree cats as to what genetic mutations are abnormal and potentially disadvantageous to the cat.Katie Lisnik, director of cat protection and policy at the Humane Society of the United States, has said: "Breeding animals for exaggerated physical characteristics, particularly when it compromises overall health, is irresponsible".Several cat registries do not recognize the Munchkin: Fédération Internationale Féline, which refuses to recognize what they consider a breed based on a "genetic disease", achondroplasia.The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy likewise refuses to recognize the breed, considering this breed and others like it to be "unacceptable" because they are based on an "abnormal structure or development".The breed is also not recognized by the Cat Fanciers' Association.

Welfare concern

Countries and territories which have banned its breeding include the Netherlands (2014), which bans the breeding of all animals with genetic diseases, id Victoria (Australia). Munchkin cats are considered "malformed animals" by the Australian Capital Territory (a territory of Australia), and the deliberate breeding of the breed is viewed by the government there as "unacceptable" due to the "genetic health problems associated with such breeding".

Legal restrictions have also been placed on Munchkin cross-breeds such as the bambino.

Characteristics

While their short legs do not inhibit their running and jumping abilities, some sources state their leaping abilities are limited by their condition.

Because they are often used as outcrosses, Munchkins have characteristics similar to normal domestic cats. This cat is small to medium in size with a moderate body type and a medium-plush coat. Munchkin males weigh on average 6–9 pounds (2.7–4.1 kg) and are generally larger than females, which weigh about 4–8 pounds (1.8–3.6 kg) on average. The hind legs can become a bit longer than the front, providing a small improvement from the shoulder into the tail. Munchkin legs may be slightly bowed, but too much bowing is a disqualification in the show ring. Legs that are cow-hocked are also penalized.

The Munchkin can be found in all coat colors and patterns. There’s also a long-haired variety, represented in a separate Munchkin Longhair class. The short-haired type has a medium-plush coat and the long-haired has a semi-long silky coat. The TICA rules on outcrossing states that any domestic cat that is not already part of a recognised breed can be used. A likeness to other breeds is grounds for disqualification. Unproven Munchkins cannot be presented.

In 2014, a Munchkin cat named Lilieput in Napa, California, was recognized as the world’s shortest statured living cat by Guinness World Records. It measures 5.25 inches (133 mm) tall.

Health

The mutation responsible for the Munchkin’s characteristic short legs is a chondrodysplasia. The Munchkin cat has a higher prevalence of lordosis  and pectus excavatum (hollowed chest).

(Compared with other feline breeds, munchkin cats are more likely to suffer from severe osteoarthritis as their short legs influence their activity levels and their behavior.) 4 X-rays are not always needed to diagnose osteoarthritis, but determining the severity may call for them for a cat.

Due to health concerns, many pedigree cat associations worldwide have refused to recognize the Munchkin cat.

Genetics

In the Munchkin cat, the autosomal dominant mutation responsible for chondrodysplasia is known. Only heterozygous cats can survive.

Punnet squares — with the M being the dominant Munchkin gene and the m being the recessive normal gene — can be used to indicate the odds of a specific pairing producing a short-legged cat.

Mating two standard Munchkins

There will be a 25% chance that any given kitten conceived during this mating will not gestate, a 25% chance that it will be normal, and a 50% chance that it will be short-legged.

Breeding a standard or non-standard Munchkin with a regular feline

Each kitten produced from this mating has a 0% chance of being homozygous at the Munchkin allele, a 50% chance of being a normal non-standard (long legged) Munchkin, and a 50% chance of being a standard (short legged) Munchkin.

Derived breeds

There has been a subsequent attempt to create new, derived breeds through crossbreeding of Munchkin with other breeds; most of these are not recognised by any of the major registries. Experimental hybrids (these are all dwarf cats):

Bambino, a mostly-hairless dwarf cat, a hybrid of the Munchkin and Sphynx breeds. Registry: Rare and Exotic Feline Registry (REFR) In 2019, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority ordered a couple to stop breeding the Bambino due to welfare concerns.

Dwelf: A hybrid of the Munchkin, Sphynx and American Curl, centered on defining characteristics from the three breeds: Shortened legs, hairless, curled ears. It is recognised by REFR.

Genetta — a cross between the Munchkin, Bengal and occasionally the Ocicat breeds, with a spotted, striped or marbled coat. It is recognised by REFR.

Kinkalow ( itd is between Munchkin and American Curl which has short legs and curled ears It is recognized by REFR.

Lambkin (or Nanus Rex) A cross between aMunchkin and Selkirk Rex with short legs and a curly fur. It is recognised by the REFR.

MinskinMunchkin, Burmese, Sphynx and Devon Rex ancestry, short legs, bald or nearly bald skin, point coloration. Its homologous group is formally acknowledged by REFR[33] and to some degree by The International Cat Association (TICA) since 2018.

Minuet (or Napoleon): a cross of Munchkin and Persian (or, less commonly, Himalayan or Exotic Shorthair) with short legs and brachycephaly (“peke-face,” also common for the latter breeds). Coat length and color will be different from bloodline to bloodline. TICA fully recognized breed[36] (experimental since 2001) The Napoleon name still lives on at REFR.

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