cat with short tail

I have been feeding a stray cat for about a year. He's very smart and hard to catch.he somehow gets the food out of the trap without actually going in. I guess he just uses his paws while internally laughing at me. I've made some progress recently with him and I'm going to give it another go, the sooner he's neutered the better. He's a beautiful Gray cat. As you can see from the photo, his tail is short, it's also twisted with a slight bulge at the tip. His back legs are slightly longer than his front, when he runs it reminds me of a rabbit! He's also pretty big about 15lbs and very muscular,though that could be because he's not fixed yet, all the testosterone in his body? I found a litter of kittens recently, I found homes for them and the mother, but he was definitely the father. One of his boys looked exactly like him same tail and all.just out of curiosity, could he be a specific cat breed or just a domestic short hair with a genetic quirk? He's very sweet, I'm.hoping to find a home for him soon. Thanks for anyone who replies

If he runs like a rabbit, this is prob genetic, and he is of the Manx type-mutation.  I mean, he he didnt had an accident.  Not that Im a great expert on Manx.

However, it seems this mutation isnt unique just once on the island of Manx.  It seems it does happens now and then.

So my guess he is a domestic, whom happen to have this mutation.

In nature this is no advantage, sooner some disadvantage, so they tend to disappear in a couple of generations, unless somebody actively breeds on them - or they are so many with the mutation around, the spread goes on by itself.

That is what I think.

Swelll you could help the kittens and the mom.  I presume at least the mom was a shy semiferal?

And you are counting on finding a home for him?   A shy feral??   HOW are you finding these homes?   I would understand if they were fostered and socialized, but just like that??

The mom was a neighbors cat, they weren't very responsible and never had her fixed. She is a very sweet cat, my vet who runs a cat only clinic, took them and I asked pretty much every person I knew if they were interested in adopting any. Luckily there were only two kittens plus the momma. As for Gray(not a very original name I know). I live in the country and a lot of people have barns, so my vet is helping me look for a suitable home on a farm. He's very friendly, he just wants to be friendly on his terms

Two of mine were feral, timid, scared, came out only at night. It took about 4 months to turn them into snuggle bugs , but now they are happy indoor cats. Theolder they are the harder it is I suppose, but luckily mine were all under a year old when I caught them.I've found homes for about 10 cats in all(i must have a lighted billboard on my house, "sucker lives here"), a few were very feral but with time and patience they all turned into very sweet albeit slightly independent kitties. I didn't just catch them and find homes right away though. I kept each one about three months trying to rehabilitate them,it was slow going but it can happen.Luckily my friends and family members are cat lovers and have adopted a few from me. A lot of people who own farms will readily adopt shy ferals.