rare cat breeds

The Manx is a breed of cat with a naturally occurring mutation that shortens the tail, resulting in a range of tail lengths from normal to tailless. Many Manx have a small 'stub' of a tail, but Manx cats are best known as being entirely tailless; the distinguishing characteristic of the breed. The Manx is a shorthaired breed, while the Cymric is identical to the Manx in all ways apart from having a long coat.

The Manx breed originated before the 1700s on the Isle of Man (hence the name), where they are common. They are called stubbin in the Manx language. Tailless cats were common on the island as long as three hundred years ago.

Folk beliefs claim the Manx Cats came from the Spanish Armada; a ship foundered on Spanish Rock on the coast of the Isle of Man. According to legend, the cats on the ship swam ashore and became an established breed.

The Manx tailless gene is dominant and many breeders mate tailless to tailed cats to avoid problems associated with kittens that inherit two copies of the gene, one from either parent.

The hind legs of a Manx are longer than the front legs, creating a continuous arch from shoulders to rump giving the cat a rounded appearance. Manx kittens are classified according to tail length:
Rumpy - no tail (This is the ideal show cat)
Riser or rumpy riser - stub of cartilage or several vertebrae under the fur, most noticeable when kitten is happy and raising its 'tail'
Stumpy - partial tail, more than a 'riser' but less than 'tailed'
Tailed or longy - complete or near complete tail

The Manx has a double coat with a thick, short under-layer and a longer, coarse outer-layer with guard hairs. The Cymric, known to some cat registries as the long-haired Manx, has a silky-textured double coat of medium length, with britches, belly and neck ruff, tufts of fur between the toes and full ear furnishings. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) considers the Cymric to be a variety of Manx and judges it in the short-hair division, while The International Cat Association (TICA) judges it in the long-hair division. The GCCF does not recognize the Cymric.

Tasman Manx & Tasman Rex
The latest addition to this trio of sister breeds is the Tasman Rex and Tasman Manx. They form a breed group newly recognized by in New Zealand by the NZCF. Curly coated kittens began showing up in purebred Manx litters in New Zealand and test mating to Devon and Cornish Rex showed that this was a new recessive gene. The lines trace back to an outcross to a Persian from the UK, and rexed Persians have been observed in some UK lines but not explored. Breeding continues in NZ and breeders are pursuing breed progression. The breeding program has been spearheaded by Debbie Monro in Morrinsville.