Another gorgeous looking Manx Cat. This is the show type of Manx Cat – tailless, nicely rounded body. He leans forward like a hatchback car. He’s pretty fast too. He’s athletic and a good jumper because of the powerful hind quarters.
There is a lot of myth and legend surrounding the Manx Cat. This is probably because of the breed’s long history (several hundred years) and isolation on a small island (33 miles x 13 miles) off the English coast between England and Ireland (lots if legends there). As mentioned the Isle of Man used to be a place for smugglers to offload their goods from boats. It is said that a tailless cat jumped of a ship wreck in 1806. Another mentions a ship wreck of 1600 and so on. It is still not clear if the Manx was imported to the the Island from mainland continental Europe (as it is now) or the mutation took place on the island.
We adopted a Manx cat (he adopted us as well) at our cottage in Nakamun Park, Alberta, Canada. He is a an orange tabby cat as per your photo. His father was dropped off on a cold January day in 1996 and subsequently, because of his aggressive behaviour and health issues, we were forced to put him down. Thereafter, a local mother cat gave birth to several kittens, 2 Manx. They grew but the cottage was only a weekend retreat as we worked in Edmonton. We began feeding the kittens and trying to befriend them which we did. We retired in 2008 and 2010 respectively and the cat was adopted. He was neutered in 1997 and is an outdoor cat (even in minus 30 temperatures) but recently he is allowed inside when it is cold. He is very affectionate and loves to watch TV from the couch.
Thanks William for telling us about your Manx. I found your story fascinating.