This is what it feels like to live with a long-haired dwarf cat

This video on Twitter gives you a very distinct feel for what it’s like to live with a super-cute long-haired dwarf cat. It’s pretty awesome if you are into cuteness. The breed of cat that we see is probably a Munchkin. You can read about this cat breed by clicking on this link. There’s two main points about this breed. They are, as you can see, incredibly cute. They are also controversial. A lot of people have started to question whether breeders should take advantage of genetic mutations which cause defects in a cat. The Munchkin has a normal-sized body but very short legs. You probably know that by now. The problem really is that they may suffer from a couple of health issues which you can also read about by clicking on this link.

Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

I don’t want to spoil the party because I genuinely like the cuteness of this cat. However, there is a genuine issue about breeding them. The Cat Fanciers’ Association disagrees with them and won’t accept them for their registry. That’s quite a tough decision because I am sure that they want to have as many cat breeds as they can on their registry. The dwarf cat breeds didn’t really take off because of this problem. There are many dwarf breeds because the foundation cat, the Munchkin, has been hybridized with other non-dwarf cats to create hybrid versions of the Munchkin. You can read about the full list of dwarf cat breeds by clicking on this link.

From @felirafelira: “??Reindeer : Heyyy, why don’t you care about me?” #catsofinstagram pic.twitter.com/PHXTKnV2Rl
— Cats of Instagram (@catsofinstagram) January 11, 2021

In time, this video will stop working. I won’t know when that moment comes but if the video above doesn’t work I apologise. This is because the video is embedded on this website from another website.

Cute but a different reality

Whether you are attracted to dwarf cats or not depends on your attitude towards adopting cats such as the Munchkin. I sometimes feel that I’m on my own in mildly criticising the breeders of these cats. I don’t think people are interested in that sort of criticism but I think they should be. Ultimately it comes down to cat welfare and that must be a first priority. I just think there’s an apathy about ensuring that cat breeders set very high standards. I don’t think breeders should be allowed to breed any cat until we have dealt with the unwanted cat problem. A huge problem. And certainly there is no real place in the cat world for domestic cats born out of genetic mutations which creates defective anatomy. It just seems wrong. Doesn’t it seem wrong to you? You wouldn’t allow it to happen with people but then cats aren’t people but we treat them as people. Humans are contradictory on the issue of cat breeding. We should be consistent.

It has always surprised me, to be perfectly honest, that the cat associations aren’t regulated by governments. Yes, it means more curtailment of freedoms but it also means better standards. You can’t rely on cat associations, or almost any other organisation, to self-police themselves to a high standard. They are driven by self-interest. I believe in enforceable regulations to improve standards. This is what the French believe, funnily enough. But you can get bogged down in red tape and bureaucracy with that attitude. That’s the downside. I just don’t think people can set high enough standards. It’s dawning on people now that some of these popular cat breeds with peculiar appearances are unacceptable in the modern world. It’s time to take action and for a change.