A visitor to PoC would like some input on whether his cat carries the American Ringtail genes or indeed whether his cat has a genuine ringtail. The tail is certainly curly or corkscrew. The cat’s name is Pippi and she was adopted with this curly tail.
Thank you very much for visiting, asking and allowing me to discuss this on PoC. I don’t know your name, by the way.
This is the original comment:
We just adopted an 8-week old kitten from our local pound. She has kind of a “ringed” tail, but in her case its more like a true corkscrew or a pig’s tail. Its straight (normal) for the first half then makes a series of 90-degree turns to the right. Three in total, so that her tail almost forms a “square”. Its the darndest thing! Otherwise, she’s a normal tawny brown tabby. Seems perfectly healthy, tail doesn’t bother her (we can touch it, move it, she doesn’t complain — doesn’t seem broken or anything). We’ll see what the vet says. Because of laws in California, she’s scheduled to be spayed in 3 weeks tho….
I asked for photos. Here are the pictures with some annotations by me.
The owner goes on to remark:
I’m wondering if her tail is truly in the ring-tail suite of genes as her’s is SO curly. Kind of makes right-angle turns! Also, she can move it “normally” from the base and she can twitch the tip, but the two turned portions don’t seem to move at all really. So definitely not the “fully functional” tail of the Am. Ringtail. She (Pippi) is about 8-9 weeks old, and EXTREMELY sweet and affectionate. She climbs right up on my chest and will curl up and go to sleep in the crook of my neck. She also comes to us when we call to her and is very talkative too! (Of course, we’re totally smitten with her. lol)
Anyhow, I’m just wondering if her genes are of any value (I mean biologically, of course, not financially!) to the Am. RT folks or the researcher studying cats. Well, any advice or info on these genes you can provide would be most welcome. Thanks!
My thoughts:
You can see what I am thinking. My best guess is that the tail is either kinked or broken (before adoption) and healed in perhaps two places or deformed. The fact that it does not move in these places would indicate that there is some nerve damage, but that is probably a rather crude assessment.
The original Siamese cats often had kinked tails and still do in the Far East. However, the indicators are that this is a injured or deformed tail that is not a problem for Pippi.
I don’t know the history. Is this a rescue cat? If so it would make it more likely that the tail was injured when Pippi was a small kitten or was born with a deformed tail.
I do not believe that Pippi is a genuine ringtail cat but I could be incorrect. Sorry. See a page on curly tail cat.
Thanks, Sarah. Good to know. It does sound like there’s some variability in those genes. Fascinating. Since Pippi was from the pound, I know nothing about her parentage, litter mates or rearing. Just one of those pet mysteries, I guess! Thanks.
Oh, and I forgot to mention. Pippi can use/move her tail like a normal cat from the base (side-to-side swish, up an down, etc.) and I’ve seen the tip move (quiver type movement). Also her tail puffs up like a normal one along its whole length (demonstrated when she met our dog today, lol!) But the middle section doesn’t show any real movement. So maybe in vitro damage??? Well, whatever. Her tail is only a tiny fraction of all the things we love about her!!! 🙂
Wow! Thanks for all the info! I’m Cat Braun, btw, Pippi’s new person. And, I agree she’s not in the Am. Ring-tail class, for sure, cuz her tail def does not “curl” or go “up and over.” Nor can it be straightened. I originally thought her tail had a break in it or a dislocated vertebrae. But, now I think not b/c it makes a very specific 90-degree turn in THREE places (and all in the same direction too). First turn is 1/2 way down her tail, 2nd turn is another 1/2 down (towards the tip) and last turn is another 1/2 down near the very tip (you can’t see that one in the pix since she’s so tiny, her fur hides it). Maybe I’ll wet her tail fur down and try a pic of it that way. I can’t imagine these three perfectly spaced turns arose from a break. Also, there’s no swelling or lumpiness (or pain) at any of the turns. I can run my hand along them and she doesn’t mind at all. Her tail just kind of stretches out then recoils back — a bit like a Slinky — lol! 🙂 Anyhow, I am still inclined to believe its genetic. Tho it could also be due to crowding in the womb or something like that. We’ll see what our cat vet says. I’ll post any info I get. Sorry about typos — Pipp’s “helping” me type! And, yeah, she’s a super sweetheart of a kitten! jkk ,.