MA XX CATS. 



247 



At one time, we may presume, the Manx 

 cat was kept pure in the Isle of Man ; but, 

 alas ! the natives, with an eye to the main 

 chance, have been led into manufacturing a 

 spurious article, and many more tailless cats 

 and kittens than ever were born have been 

 sold to tourists eager to carry home some 

 souvenir of the island to their friends on the 

 mainland. I have been told that the landing 

 pier is a frequent resort of dealers in so-called 

 Manx cats, where the unwary traveller is way- 

 laid and sold ! On some out-of-the-way farms 

 on the island I believe none but tailless cats 

 have been kept for generations, and some 

 genuine specimens may thus be picked up, if 

 the tourist gives himself the trouble to go off 

 the beaten tracks. 



The following letters which appeared in Our 

 Cats, in the issue of June 3Oth, 1900, will be 

 read with interest. They were written by two 

 gentlemen of prominent position in the Isle 

 of Man, but as they did not wish to be identi- 

 fied as authorities on cats their names were 

 not given : 



[LETTER I.] 



Castletown, Isle of Man, 



1 2th July, 1898. 



I received yesterday your letter respecting Manx 

 cats. I fear I am unable to aid you much in your 

 inquiries as to the Manx cat, for any personal in- 

 formation I can give. 



When I was a boy there was a kind of tradition 

 that the tailless cat was brought here by the Spanish 

 Armada. We have a headland called " Spanish 

 Head," where it has been believed that some tailless 

 cats escaped and took refuge here, and that from 

 such cats all the so-called Manx cats have been 

 derived. During my life I have frequently met 

 persons who have travelled in Spain, and I think I 

 have always asked from such persons if they had 

 ever met with tailless cats there, but I never met 

 anyone who had seen them. I never heard any other 

 (traditional) origin of the Manx cat alleged. They 

 are very common here, but not so common as cats 

 with tails. Both cats with and cats without tails 

 associate together. In my own house we have always 

 kept cats, and in almost every litter of kittens there 

 are some with and some without tails. I have two 

 tailless cats now one is a kitten of a few weeks old. 

 It has no sign of a tail, but is (as designated here) a 

 pure rumpy. The mother is one also, but she has 

 a little fur tuft. I have frequently seen kittens 



having a very small " rudimentary tail," such as one 

 or two bones. 



I have seen, I think, Manx cats of most of the 

 colours mentioned by you, but the most common are 

 the grey or tabby. 



I have never heard of wild cats found here, and I 

 do not think there is any tradition about them. 



A few years ago I had a very fine torn cat (bred in 

 my own house), black all over, and with no sign of 

 a tail. I lost it. I presume it was stolen by some 

 tripper. Trippers are frequently on the look-out for 

 Manx cats, and I fear that many tailed kittens are 

 deprived^of their tails to meet the demand. 



[LETTER II.] 



Ramsey, 



i /th July, 1898. 



Thank you for letting me see the interesting 

 letters about Manx cats. I suppose the Society 

 wants to have a standard by which to judge them. 

 . . . I am sure we should all be interested to hear 

 what they have to say on the subject, and we may 

 be able to add some general information. 



To take the questions in order I should say that 

 grey tabby (barred, not spotted) is the most natural 

 and correct, if one may so speak. I think it is cer- 

 tainly most common. I have known tortoiseshell, 

 black-and-white, black, white, and perhaps others, 

 which I now forget. The eye, so far as I know, is 

 the same as in the common English tabby. 



Certainly we have cats with tails the rumpy being 

 the rare form. Perhaps one in a litter, and one or two 

 of them with half-tails. 



As to what they are supposed to be, I have of 

 course heard the Spanish Armada story. My own 

 belief is that they have originated in a sport, e.g. as 

 we find in dogs and fowls, and have been perpetuated 

 as curiosities, and in modern times on account of 

 their commercial value. 



I do not know that there is any type which can be 

 said to be more true than another with regard to size 

 and shape of head, etc. The height at the hind legs 

 is perhaps more apparent than real, caused by the 

 abrupt ending, without the falling tail as in ordinary 

 cats. 



Professor Owen made a preparation, which may be 

 seen at the British Museum, showing the bones (if any) 

 of the tail. I think in a perfect specimen there 

 should be no bones. Of course, there are all degress 

 of stumps. 



It is only of recent years that any English 

 fanciers have tried to breed true Manx 

 cats. Miss Samuel has been very success- 

 ful in establishing a strain which again 

 and again breeds true to type. The " Golf- 



