HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Cymric ( , ) is a
breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of
domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...
. Some cat registries consider the Cymric simply a semi-long-haired variety of the Manx breed, rather than a separate breed. Except for the length of fur, in all other respects the two varieties are the same, and kittens of either sort may appear in the same litter. The name comes from ''Cymru'' (), the indigenous
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
name of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, though the breed is not associated with Wales, and the name was possibly given as an attempt to provide a "
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
"-sounding name for the breed. The breed's Manx bloodline originated in the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
, though
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
claims to have developed the long-haired variant. The breed is called the Longhair Manx or a similar name by some registries.


History

According to Isle of Man records, the taillessness trait of the Manx (and ultimately the Cymric) began as a mutation among the island's domestic cat population. Given the island's closed environment and small gene pool, the dominant gene that decided the cats' taillessness was easily passed from one generation to the next, along with the gene for long hair. Long-haired kittens had been born to Manx cats on the Isle of Man, but had always been discarded by breeders as "mutants". Then, in the 1960s, similar kittens were born in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and were intentionally bred. This was the start of the increase of Cymric popularity. It took many years for the Cymric to be recognized as a breed of its own by cat associations. The Manx was recognized in the 1920s, but the Cymric was not shown until the 1960s and did not begin to gain popularity until the mid-1970s. The
Fédération Internationale Féline The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé) (in English "International Feline Federation") is a federation of cat registries. There are currently forty-two member organizations in forty countries. Membership spans Europe, South America, and ...
(FIFe, since 2006),
World Cat Federation The World Cat Federation (WCF) is an international association of cat clubs. It was founded in 1988 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and continues to have a strong presence in Latin America, Western Europe, and in countries of the former USSR. It ...
(WCF),
American Association of Cat Enthusiasts American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
(AACE),A
PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
version i
available
/ref>
Canadian Cat Association The Canadian Cat Association (french: Association Féline Canadienne, CCA-AFC) is a non-profit organization in Canada whose mission is to promote the welfare of all cats in Canada, maintain a registry of pedigreed cats in Canada, and further the ...
(CCA-AFC), and
Australian Cat Federation The Australian Cat Federation (ACF) is an Australian organisation created in 1972. Its goal is to better the breeding of cats, to recognise new breeds, and to keep standards and rules regarding competitions. History The association was creat ...
(ACF), New Zealand Cat Fancy (NZCF),
Southern Africa Cat Council The Southern Africa Cat Council (SACC) is a cat registry and cat fancy organisation based in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded t ...
(SACC),
American Cat Fanciers Association The American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) is an American non-profit organization formed with the intent of allowing greater flexibility in the development of pedigreed cats. The ACFA is a cat registry for purebred, pedigreed cats, experiment ...
(ACFA, of the US East Coast), and
Cat Fanciers' Federation The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
(CFF, in the US Northeast) consider the Cymric a separate breed. The
Cat Aficionado Association The Cat Aficionado Association (CAA) is China's largest registry of pedigreed cats and is recognized internationally in conjunction with American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) as the premiere pedigreed cat registering association in Asia. Headqu ...
(CAA) of China does also, by virtue of the CAA having adopted all the breed standards of its Western partner, ACFA; it is unknown if any Cymric breeders are actually in China.
The International Cat Association The International Cat Association (TICA) is considered the world's largest genetic cat registry. Originally a North American organization, it now has a worldwide presence. The organization has a genetic registry for pedigreed and household pet cat ...
(TICA) recognizes the Cymric by that name but as a variety of Manx, not a separate breed with its own standard. Also simply covering it in their Manx breed standards, the US-based
Cat Fanciers' Association The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) was established in the United States in 1906. The CFA is currently the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats. Originally headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey the CFA moved to Alliance, Ohio in 2010. ...
(CFA), the Co-ordinating Cat Council of Australia (CCCA), and the UK's
Governing Council of the Cat Fancy The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) is a cat registry, established in 1910 and the largest organisation that registers pedigree cats in the United Kingdom. It was formed from a small number of cat clubs which were registering cats a ...
(GCCF) recognize the variety as the long-haired Manx rather than Cymric (the CFA and CCCA call it the Manx Longhair, while GCCF uses the term Semi-longhair Manx Variant). The ACF formerly took this route, calling it the Longhaired Manx, but recognized it as a separate breed (Cymric) at the beginning of 2015, using the GCCF Manx standard (aside from coat length).


Appearance

The Cymric is a muscular, compact, medium to large cat with a sturdy bone structure, weighing between seven and thirteen pounds. They have a cobby body, and an unusually rounded appearance. Cymrics have large and full eyes and have widely spaced ears. Unlike that of the parent Manx breed, the hair of a Cymric is medium-long, dense and well padded over the main body, adding further to the round appearance. All colours and patterns that are accepted for the Manx are accepted for the Cymric (though exactly which qualify varies by organization). In the breed of Cymrics, four different tail types are produced. The "rumpy" is the most valued for
cat show A cat show is a judged event where the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. Both pedigreed and companion (or moggy) cats are admissible, although ...
purposes, and is the only
show cat A show cat (also known as a purebred cat or pedigreed cat) is one that has been judged to be close to the physical ideal for its cat breeds, breed standard at a cat show. Not all pedigreed cats are show cats, many are just pets but the ones with t ...
type in some organizations. This is a cat born entirely tailless. Instead, rumpies often have a dimple at the base of the spine where the tail would be. Next, there are "rumpy-risers". These cats have a short knob of tail that is made up of one to three vertebrae connected to the spine. "Stumpies" have a short tail stump, up to about 1/3 of a normal tail length. Finally, "longies" or "fully tailed" have tails as long or almost as long as an ordinary cat's. It is impossible to predict what tail types will appear in any given litter.


Isle of Man Longhair (tailed variant)

The Isle of Man Longhair is essentially a fully tailed Cymric cat, i.e. a cat of Cymric (and thus Manx) stock, with Cymric features, but without expression of the Manx taillessness gene. It is presently only recognized as a separate breed by the New Zealand Cat Fancy (NZCF) with a breed standard. Coat colours are limited to those acceptable in the British Shorthair, and requires the doubled and thick, long coat of the Cymric. In other international registries, such cats are designated "Tailed Cymric" or "Tailed Manx Longhair", only recognized as breeding stock (they are important as such, since breeding two tailless Manx or Cymrics together results in birth defects), and cannot be show cats.


Health

The gene that gives the Cymric and Manx their unusual tails can also be lethal. Kittens who inherit two copies of the tailless gene die before birth and are reabsorbed in the womb. Since these kittens make up about 25 percent of all kittens, litters are usually small. Even cats who inherit only one copy of the gene can have what is called ''Manx syndrome''. This can cause
spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, me ...
, gaps in the
vertebra The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
e, fused vertebrae, and bowel or bladder dysfunctions. Also, a rabbit-like hop can sometimes be seen in Cymric cats due to the spinal deformity. Not every Cymric with a short spine has problems or Manx syndrome. It is simply an attribute of the Manx gene, and its expression cannot be entirely prevented. As the problems usually become apparent within the first six months of age, Cymric and Manx kittens are usually kept by breeders until older before being made available. Following updated genetic research, both the ACF and (less stringently) the GCCF impose special breeding restrictions on Manx cats (including the Cymric, however named and classified), for
animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
reasons.


References


External links

{{cat nav Cat breeds Cat breeds originating in Canada Cat breeds originating in the Isle of Man Cat breeds and types with suppressed tails