Munchkin cats and how I got mine.

In a previous post someone wondered what happened to the so
called "Munchkin cats". Actually I'm not real sure myself but I
believe that I have a cat that may be part Munchkin.
I got her about 4 years ago in Florida while on vacation
there. I live in WA. While visiting my father at a flea market where
he worked I noticed a group of stray cats at a video store next door.
I walked over on our last day there and noticed two small black and
white cats that kept following me around. I picked one of them up and
noticed that she had a few problems, one was that her eyes were half
covered by her third membrane but she could still see. I put her down
and then noticed her smaller sibling cowering behind her. This small
girl looked very strange. She looks like a feline Daschund! She has a
long stout body with VERY short stubby legs. She also has a small head
on top of a thick neck. (My husband affectionately calls her
"Pinhead.") It was quite obvious to us that this small cat definitely
came from the rather shallow end of the gene pool. In addition to her
strange shape she is also extremely visually impaired. Like her sister
her nictating membrane never fully retracted and when we got her she
could not see at all. She was blind and starving because the other
cats would not let her eat or drink with them. I assume that she was
living off what her sister left behind. I asked inside the video
store and the clerk pointed out mom and her other siblings. Only the
sister also had any eye problems. The rest of the family were normal
size and shape as well. I just could not leave this small helpless
little one to starve and my husband said we could take her home. I
asked the clerk and she agreed that I could take her with me but she
warned me that she was about 6 months old and she thought that she
might be pregnant. She wasn't pregnant but her belly was very bloated
from starvation. When I got her home here in WA I quickly took her to
my vet and we got her up to speed again. I had surgery done on her
eyes only to find that her corneas had a white filmy coloring to them
that can only be removed with transplants. She also has some dark
opaque areas on her corneas as well. She can see light and dark and
vague shapes out of the white opaque areas and nothing out of the dark
areas. My vet says she thinks it would be like looking through rice
paper.
In addition to these problems she has a weak immune system (
she's almost died twice from a common cold) and I had to have her back
claws removed because she kept ripping up the back of her neck because
of a reoccurring skin fungus. It broke my heart to have to de claw her
back feet ( I detest de clawing except for medical reasons) but I
could see no other way to prevent her from doing more damage to
herself. She already has bald areas on the back of her neck because of
the scratching.
So you can see that she is one unusual looking kitty. Nothing
bothers my Domino however. She has fantastic hearing, and an appetite
to match! Because of her disabilities she doesn't like strangers but I
guess that's understandable in her case. She's my baby and I love her
more than anything. I wouldn't trade her for any other kitty in the
world. I don't know if she actually has any Munchkin in her but my vet
says she probably does as she exhibits a lot of problems relative to
that species.
Sorry for the long-winded post!

Love Cynthia and Domino!
My compassion for something is not based on my
estimation of it's intelligence. -- 'Gillian Taylor'
Star Trek: The Voyage Home

I have been aware of the Munchkin breed for years, I even have one myself
now, and the problems you mention are not in any way associated with the
Munchkin breed. It is also very unlikely that you could have found a Munchkin
or even Munchkin mix cat as a stray 4 years ago. At that time, they were not
only rare, but Very expensive. They are more common now, and some are sold
quite cheaply, so there may be a few lost Munchkins recently, but not likely
years ago. Munchkins are in fact one of the Healthiest of the registered cat
breeds. They have a wide genetic base as they allow outcrosses to domestic
cats, and the gene pool is expanding. This is probably one of the most
studied breeds of cats around today, and no health problems have been found
to date that are in any way associated with this Breed (although some
ailments can affect cats of any breed or lack of breed.) It is likely the
conditions that your cat was rescued from that caused the health problems you
mentioned (fungus, etc.)

BTW, my Munchkin (spayed female, I am not a breeder of these cats so I have no
special interest to promote them, only the truth) is Very active and gets
around very well. (I know you didn't say otherwise, but just so anyone who
reads this will know that any myths spread about Munchkins having trouble
getting around is simply not true.) She grooms herself well, runs, jumps,
climbs, and is a very smart and terrific cat.

In article <74ftko$bai$1...@news-2.news.gte.net>,

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own

I think Munchkinism(?) is a naturally occuring mutation. So its possible
that even though buying a Munchkin cat was expensive, one could have
occurred in the wild. Of course, other explanations are possible. Maybe
the cat has a genetic mutation which manifests itself outwardly like
munchkinism(again,?) but also is tied to other problems.

You are right though in that the defect is confined to that one trait and is
apparently not damaging to the spine. I think it can occurs in most cat
breeds. So Munchkin cats are a varied lot but all said to be healthy. I
don't think its fair to equate it with "Twisty Cats" situation. When it
comes to breeding, I'll take my plain-looking (to other folks!) free alley
cats over any other breed any time, but that's just personal preference.
The Twisty Cats thing crosses the line.

My cat was rather "munchkin-y". She was a grey short-haired "trash can
kitty" that I adopted from the local shelter. When she walked down my
stairs, her belly would drag bottom, and this was before she became too fat!
Tiny little legs... cute as could be. She had to be put to sleep a couple
of months ago, though, due to FUS. She was only four.

-- spooks
I haven't lost my mind, it's backed up on disk somewhere...

Champ wrote in message <74kkq9$8mm$1...@winter.news.rcn.net>...

Munchkins originally appeared in a small town in Louisiana called Rayville. A
lady noticed a stray with the stunted legs and brought to her vet and had her
checked out. The cat was fine except for her short legs, but it was pregnant.
Once the kittens were born, it was discovered that two of those kittens were
also short-legged. That was the beginning of the breed.

Nikki

Champ wrote:

Yes, it was a naturally occuring mutation, but there are very few "foundling"
Munchkins, I did not say that it was impossible to find a Munchkin, just VERY
unlikely to have found one 4 years ago. The Munchkin breed is based on a few
foundling Munchkins, plus many domestic shorthair and domestic longhair
outcrosses. BTW, I took in a stray cat that had very short legs, but it was
not a Munchkin cat. There Are cats with short legs, but the Munchkin gene is
a dominant one. This stray cat with short legs had apparently fathered a
litter of kittens, and none of the kittens had his short legs. I also know of
Munchkin cat breeders who have acquired cats for their breeding program that
have short legs but are not Munchkins, these short-legged non-munchkin cats
do not have the same inheritance as the dominant Munchkin gene, and do not
seem to produce any more short-legged kittens when bred with a Munchkin than
any long-legged domestic cat would. (2 Munchkins bred together will produce
more Munchkin/short- leg kittens than a Munchkin bred to an outcross (even
those outcrosses that appear to have short legs, but not the result of the
Munchkin gene), which may be stating the obvious.)

In article <74kkq9$8mm$1...@winter.news.rcn.net>,

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------

In article <74ie4g$29n$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,> THANK-YOU! I only have one thing to add to your good words on munchkins.

They are or aren't munchkins.They can't be half.Their short legs are what
set them apart from any other breed.There are longlegged munchkins BUT,they
are only called munchkins because they are born of the same litter as
munchkins.You can't tell them from a domestic cat.They will not produce more
munchkins unless bred to a munchkin..The munchkin gene is or it isn't.If it
is they will be short...Friend to all!! cat lover!!