One of my cat's kittens was born without a tail, and neither the mother cat nor the daddy cat have a bobbed tail. Is this a birth defect or something? I've heard of cats being born without tails if they were Minx, but neither of the parent kitties were, or have any Minx blood in them.
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No tail
- Thread starter k1tty
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It is Manx that are bob-tailed but it can also be a genetic defect if the parents are not bob-tailed, but then maybe you don't know who the tom was that mated with your female?
I have cared for kittens that came from domestic cats that had either a little stump (stumpies) or no tail at all (rumpies). It is considered a birth defect but it usually doesn't affect the kitten's development. Sometimes a kitten born without a tail will have bladder and bowel problems because of the shortened spine (the tail is just an extension of the spine) and therefore shortened nerves going to the bladder and bowel. Apart from being a bit different and extra cute, your kitten will most likely be fine.
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- #5
When my cat was in heat, there was a gray and white tom cat up at our house all the time, and three of the kittens are gray and white (my cat's orange), so I'm guessing that it's the father. It was the big fluffy kind of cat, with a full, rather long tail, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Manx.
We rescued a mom Manx and her litters a few months back. All kittens had stumpies except one that had a full tail. So full tailed cats can have Manx genes in their background. Frankly I don't know enough genetics to tell you if it is a recessive trait that can appear in future generations.
This is very true. My cat The Sammycat is one of those that has a small bladder and bowel problem. Sometimes he doesn't know when he has to go and use the box and will wet himself before he realizes that he has done so. On occassions he will leave a present outside the litterbox and I will just clean it up since he can't help it.Originally Posted by Kumbulu
I have cared for kittens that came from domestic cats that had either a little stump (stumpies) or no tail at all (rumpies). It is considered a birth defect but it usually doesn't affect the kitten's development. Sometimes a kitten born without a tail will have bladder and bowel problems because of the shortened spine (the tail is just an extension of the spine) and therefore shortened nerves going to the bladder and bowel. Apart from being a bit different and extra cute, your kitten will most likely be fine.
I have had a few of my so-called "friends" suggest to me that I get rid of him because of this defect
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Yes, I'm going to take her and her sister to the vet to get spayed as soon as Rosie stops nursing her kittens.
