Cat welfare groups in the UK are in an uproar over Alby, the Munchkin Cat.
Munchkins have evidently been bred in the US for the last two decades, and have extra-short legs to keep them from jumping up on things and jumping out of yards.
Yesterday he was at the centre of a storm as cat welfare groups branded the breed “deformed and freakish”. … [A] Cat Association spokewoman said: “They are a mutation.”
Which is kind of a dumb quote, because, heck, pretty much all breeds of cat (and dogs) are either mutations or the results of breeding programs. And, let’s face it, there are lots of pets that could be defined as “deformed and freakish.” Any number of yip-yap dogs, for example.
I can appreciate the aesthetic concerns — I think chihuahuas, frankly, are an affront to the dignity of dogs, if not mammals as a whole. Still, the RSPCA has no problem with Alby, since he doesn’t seem to suffer any pain or distress. And I can see circumstances where a Munchkin cat (though I would never own one) would have an easier life as a pet than another cat breed.
(Via Blogatelle)
You’re so right. Look at most show Persians – they have been bred to have flatter and flatter faces as that is the desired quality (read: deformity). These cats have to have their eyes wiped constantly because of their shortened nasal passages. No one seems to be up in arms about that though.
I have a kittie that has short legs. She just does. She jumps just fine (although she is not so short as this one)
I have to say that they will probably eventually be like dachsunds… those who buy them will pay big bucks to get surguries done to correct the problems they owners paid for… people are wierd.
Weren’t dachshunds bred to be able to go down animal burrows? At least I can see a use for such breeding, and appreciate it (even if I would never own a dachsie).
What is the difference between breading a dog to go down hole – a trait no longer needed and breading a cat that doesn’t jump over a fence – a desirable trait for an indoor/outdoor cat who live near trafic?
I’m not sure I can articulate the difference in how it strikes me, which probably means it’s not rational. It just seems that way to me.
The RCPSA could be tending to more worse cases than kicking up nothing about a cat bred to have short legs. I bet with the time they have spent trying to make an issue about the cats breed animals have been forced to inbreed and produce no doubt a unhealthy cat or dog for that matter. Really though if the cat was in pain and in a bad enviroment yeah then there would be an issue but no doubt the breeder has ensured the cat has no issues like all good cat and dog breeders should do, yeah the cat is possibly prone to back and leg issues when its older but then thats up to the owner to folk out hundreds of pounds to pay the vet bills. If you ask me the cat in the image looks perfectly healthy and in a good enviroment and if the owner has chosen the Munchkin as a pet so be it, its nothing to do with the RSPCA unless its being abused or something. And I don’t believe its right to use the term ‘scum’ for a cat breed, its only like a disabled child with no legs or arms….
But I don’t see the RSPCA kicking off about Puggles and other designer dog breeds that are being bred just for the likes of Paris Hilton. There are a lot more needy animals than this…
The “mutie scum” was a reference to many old X-Men comics … 🙂