Munchkin Cats

The Munchkin cat is a relatively new breed created by a random mutation that produced a cat with extremely short legs. Munchkins have short or long coats in a wide variety of colors. Surprisingly, because of their short stature munchkins are particularly adept at climbing and jumping. They are usually raised as indoor cats, although they are reported to be extremely active, agile and fast runners. Those who have spent time around barns have proven to be extremely good hunters. The mutation only affects the length of the legs. The breed was begun in 1983 when Sandra Hochenedel found an extremely short-legged black cat living under a trailer in Louisiana. The cat, Blackberry, was pregnant and half of her kittens were born short-legged. One of Blackberry's kittens, a tomcat named Tolouse, became the father of a breeding program and helped establish the breed in North America. The Munchkin breed is not recognised by all registering associations and is specifically banned by the Fédération Internationale Féline FIFe and other European registries, but it is accepted by The International Cat Association (TICA). The munchkin gene is an autosomal dominant one. Thus far to date, there have been no viable kittens that are homozygous for the munchkin gene possibly because of gene lethality. Kittens that are heterozygous for the munchkin gene will be 'standard' munchkins.