Fact check: Bullycats are healthy according to the breeder. True or false?

Quick jump to the answer: False! These cats are inherently unhealthy. Please read on. Bullycats are in the news because they are to a certain extent the feline equivalent of the notorious American XL bully dog. It almost appears as if the breeder has decided to latch onto a popular trend (which has been outlawed in England and Wales through new legislation) and decided to breed the cat equivalent. Her name is Bella Jones. She runs and owns her breeding cattery called Bullycats UK.

She has responded to the recent social media chatter and news media reporting that Bullycats are inherently unhealthy with exaggerated features due to extreme breeding by saying that they are HEALTHY. Is she telling the truth? I am afraid not. Far from it. Please read on about the true name of this breed. I am being critical but I hope respectful. I believe in respecting others but they have to earn it sometimes.

Bambino or Dwelf

Well, I know what this breed is. She doesn’t tell us. She describes the cat as a Bullycat. But that is not a formal cat breed in the cat fancy. That is a commercial name and the real name of this cat breed in my opinion is the Bambino (ironically). I have also seen pictures of another similar breed called the Dwelf. This is the same as the Bambino except for curled back ears due to the presence of American Curl genes. The Bullycat may also be a Dwelf. This is unclear at this time as Bella Jones does not explain. I can’t find her website at the moment.

Here is a picture of a Bambino’s chest and legs from a breeder in Russia. This looks very similar the Bullycat. And very much the legs of a dwarf cat.

The word ‘bambino’ means baby in Italian and conjures up an image of a sweet cuddly child almost exact opposite to the image of a Bullycat.

But the point is this: the Bambino is a hybrid dwarf cat. It is a result of a matting between the Munchkin (the founding dwarf cat from which all dwarf cats are made) and the hairless Sphynx which is a normal-sized purebred cat.

Inherited diseases

And we know from long experience that the dwarf cats are likely to inherit a couple of diseases namely lordosis and pectus excavatum. The former is an inward curvature of the spine. The spine drops inwards around the shoulder blades and causes misalignment in the thoracic region of the spine.

The latter, also a congenital deformity refers to a narrowing of the chest cavity. It is narrower from the top to bottom and the sternum is displaced upwards.

Those are the two at least potential inherited diseases, I would argue, that the Bullycats inherit. Breeders try and minimise the impact of these diseases but they are there.

In addition to that, of course, there’s the wrinkled skin which can harbour skin problems and the fact that the cat is hairless means that they are unprotected by their normal coat which means they are full-time indoor cats.

A hairless cat owner has the additional maintenance burden of having to wash the skin regularly as it becomes grimy due to the skin oils attracting dirt. The cat can become smelly. These sebaceous gland oils should be enahancing the coat which does not exist.

When you think about it, it is entirely wrong to deprive a cat of one of their most prized assets: their beautiful coat. It is cruel the truth be known.

Should not be created

There are many people who argue that there is no place in the world for a cat with such profound deficiencies. There is an argument that the normal-size Sphynx should not be created because anatomical it’s too defective. It’s just wrong. And there’s the additional issue of the exploitation of the cat. It is bred to attract the attention of people who are possible not ideal cat caregivers.

In Germany hairless cats are banned as I recall as our Persians. Anything that is extreme bred with anatomical defects are banned in Germany according to my research. The same in Holland.

The same standards should happen in the UK and this breed shouldn’t exist. That would be the better outcome for all animal advocates.

Misrepresentation

So, my fact check article tells me that Bella Jones is misrepresenting the truth and telling a porky pie when she says that Bullycats are “happy and healthy”. Well, they might be fairly happy but I can’t endorse the healthy claim. Sorry. She says they are like any other family pet. They are not I am afraid. Many experts have decried them.

Exploitation

The truth is that domestic cats should look like domestic cats; the type of cat we know and love. They should be normal and loved and cherished and not moulded into a weird shape and appearance to catch the eye of people seeking to adopt an unusual cat, a sort of status symbol. Or to create a social media channel where they can exploit the cat as is the case with Saul Ramirez on Instagram (‘bullbinos’), the source of Bullycat pictures published on the Daily Mail website. I am not even sure that these are genuine Bullycats. It seems to me that Bella Jones wants to keep the location of her cattery quiet. Perhaps she understood that there’d be criticism.

Appearance trumps health

Sadly, people are very interested in appearance; even an ugly appearance is attractive. In fact, people are more interested in appearance than in health. That was made amply apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic when many people adopted the French Bulldog because of their appearance while totally ignoring the fact that this is the unhealthiest dog breed in the world. I’m sure many of them have abandoned their dogs finding that they are too expensive to keep because it veterinary bills or insurance.