Why don't Manx cats have tails?

Search: manx

Why: On Farmville (!!!), my Manx kitty doesn't have a tail.

(I am Mr. Bananagrabber for Halloween.)

Answer: They have a genetic mutation of the spine!

The Manx is a breed of cat with a naturally occurring mutation of the spine. This mutation 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.

They come in all colors and can have long or short hair.

The Manx breed originated on the Isle of Man, hence the name. It is called stubbin or katy Manninagh in the Manx language. Tailless cats were common on the island up to 300 years ago. Tails of origin:

• When it began to rain, Noah closed the door of the ark and accidentally cut the Manx's tail off.
• The Manx is a "cabbit" - the offspring of a cat and a rabbit. This is why it has no tail and long hind legs and moves with a hop rather than a stride.
  

Source: Manx.com

The More You Know: The spine-tail mutation is caused by a dominant gene, but tail length is random throughout a litter of kittens in a Manx to non-Manx breeding. Manx cats are classified according to proportional tail length as kittens. Get a load of these names:

• Rumpy or dimply rumpy - With no tail at all, though often a tuft of hair where the tail would have grown
• Riser or rumpy riser – With a bump of cartilage under the fur, most noticeable when the animal is happy and raising its tail end
• Stumpy – With a partial tail of vestigial, fused vertebrae, up to about an inch long

• Stubby – With a short tail of non-fused bones, up to about half an average cat tail
• Longy or tailed – With a near-complete, normal tail