MANX CATS. 8i 



to have seen a white or many black, though one of the best 

 that has come under my notice was the latter colour. I 

 have examined a number of specimens sent for exhibition 

 at the Crystal Palace and other cat shows, and found in 

 some a very short, thin, twisted tail, in others a mere excres- 

 cence,and somewith an appendage morelike a knob. These I 

 have taken as having been operated upon when young, the 

 tail being removed, but this may not be the case, as Mr. St. 

 George Mivart in his very valuable book on the cat, men- 

 tions a case where a female cat had her tail so injured by the 

 passage of a cart-wheel over it, that her master judged it 

 best to have it cut off near the base. Since then she has had 

 two litters of kittens, and in each litter one or more of the 

 kittens had a stu7np of tail, while their brothers and sisters 

 had tails of the usual length. But were there no Manx cats in 

 the neighbourhood, is a query. This case is analogous to 

 the statement that the short-tailed sheep-dog was produced 

 from parents that had had their tails amputated ; and yet 

 this is now an estabHshed breed. Also a small black breed 

 of dogs from the Netherlands, which is now very fashion- 

 able. They are called " Chipperkes," and have no tails, 

 at least when exhibited. Mr. St. George Mivart further 

 states that Mr. Bartlett told him, as he has so stated to 

 myself, that in the Isle of Man the cats have tails of dif- 

 ferent lengths, from nothing up to ten inches. I have also 

 been informed on good authority that the Fox Terrier dogs, 

 which invariably have (as a matter of fashion) their tails 

 cut short, sometimes have puppies with much shorter tails 

 than the original breed ; but this does not appear to take 

 effect on sheep, whose tails are generally cut off. I can- 

 not, myself, come to the same conclusion as to the origin of 

 the Manx cat. Be this as it may, one thing is certain : that 

 cross-bred Manx with other cats often have young that are 

 tailless. As a proof of this, Mr. Herbert Young, of Harrogate, 

 has had in his possession a very fine red female long-haired 

 tailless cat, that was bred between the Manx and a Persian. 

 Another case showing the strong prepotency of the Manx cat. 

 Mr. Hodgkin, of Eridge, some time ago had a female 



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