A Tale of No Tail on Tabby Tuesday
When I joined the Kitties Blue family, my new mom knew very little about Manx cats. She knew we originated on the Isle of Mann and that we didn’t have tails. She started doing a bit of research and discovered that Manx cats are not necessarily tailless. We can actually be born with a full tail or a stub of a tail as well.
It is a naturally occurring genetic mutation that gives Manx cats the potential for being born without a tail. This gene is an incomplete dominant gene, and kitties born with it can have any of these tail types. In fact, all of these can occur in the same litter. Manx kitties with no tails, like me, are rumpies. Cats born with stumps, which can be curved, knotted or kinked, are stumpies. Kitties with normal length tails are known as longies.
So that’s a bit of information about Manx cats and tails. Now I want to tell you my pros and cons of not having a tail. For me, the pros far outweigh the cons.
But first, here’s a close up of my butt in this photo where I am playing with Cooper Murphy. As you can see, no tail. I do have a tuft of fur growing where my tail would me.
PROS:
- My fursibs cannot play with or bite my tail, which Cooper Murphy might have tried when we were playing.
- If I ever encounter a little kid, they can’t pull my tail or try to pick me up by it.
- My humans cannot step on my tail.
- My tail cannot be shut in a door or caught under a rocking chair.
- I can spend less time grooming with no tail to wash.
That’s a pretty good list. Can you think of any other pros? Let me know in the comments.
CONS:
- I cannot use my tail to cover my eyes and block out light when I want to nap.
- I cannot wrap my tail around my body to keep warm.
- My humans cannot tell my mood by watching my tail movements. I can wiggle my butt, which makes the tuft of furs move around but that’s not helpful.
As you can see, this is a pretty short list. As with the pros, if you can think of any cons I missed, let me know in the comments.
In the future I will post other facts about the Manx breed and how those things pertain to me.
Purrs and paw-pats, Sawyer
I know petcretary has met a few Manx kitties(In the fur for real…)…but you are the most adorable one, Sawyer! She would love to meet you too…oh and Annabelle. Isn’t Rumpy from Timmy Tomcat’s home also a tailess kitty. Not sure if he is a Manx, though.
I think I read somewhere about tailess kitties have a potential for neurological issues?
That’s a great list of pros and cons, and we don’t think of anything else. You have a cute little butt, Sawyer ! Purrs
Very good tailio (or lack of) info!!
The Florida Furkids with tons of smoochies and love to Mau from Allie
Aww I did not know this information about Manx cats! Very interesting. Mom has looked into a type of cat that can have a long tail or a stubby tail! They are called Highland Lynx’s or Highlanders
You have a cute little rump. My mom likes to try to grab my tail with her toes. The only other con I can think of is that you can’t use your tail to help balance.
Cats do not use their tails to balance. It is a function of the inner ear as with humans.
You are a cutie, you should date Annabelle at Manxnews. 🙂 XO
You have a cute little butt, Sawyer. Do you have the characteristic longer back legs of Manx cats too?
Yes, I do. I pretty much match a Manx profile 100 percent.
Sawyer, it’s pretty cool that you don’t have a tail. It makes you really special.
dood…..thatz a lot oh proz ya got ther….we canna think oh any ta add a long sew grate job !! :)♥♥
We learned a lot about Manx cats! We have another pro: Having no tail means you can’t be expected to dust the floor while sitting!
I didn’t know this. I didn’t know most of the pros and cons either. What an informative post about Manx kitties.
Have a purrfect day. My best to your mom. ♥
We were hoping you’d give us some insight as to what it’s like to be a Manx, Sawyer! I remember learning about the Manx in some of my college courses, and one of the primary issues that was always mentioned was that Manx kitties don’t have tails to help them balance. We’re guessing this isn’t much of a problem for an athlete like you, Sawyer.
P.S. This photo had us MOLing! Talk about an action shot!
Like in humans, cats’ balance is controlled by the inner ear. We do not need our tails to balance, which is why I didn’t mention it. Hugs, Sawyer
I always thought it strange that my professors tended to list lack of balance as a huge con of taillessness in Manx kitties. We sure don’t see any signs of you having trouble, Sawyer, which is because you’re clearly purrfect without a tail! Purrs!
Well, I learned a lot today! I thought all Manx kitties had no tails. And if you ever said Sawyer had no tail, I did not remember that! Either way, he’s still one gorgeous kitty! 😀 <3
Sawyer, I can’t believe I didn’t know you don’t have a tail (or maybe I just forgot–that’s entirely possible too!). I think a tail would just be one more thing to have to keep track of. 🙂
Actually you’re purrfect just the way you are and tails are probably over-rated!
I see your point. When our Floki was a kitten, he would irritate Chris all the time by fighting with his tail and the more Chris was irritated the more he would move his tail and, well, you know. I also have the problem with Frankie at my feet everywhere I go. He needs to be tailless because I am always stepping on it. Thankfully I don’t wear shoes in the house.
Well Sawyer I learned a lot from your post today! I really just thought all Manx kitties had no tail PERIOD not that there were variations – Rumpies, Stumpies and Longies are adorable names. That photo you posted of Coop and you playing is a great picture of your tailless buns! I think it’s cute too that you can “shake your buns” even without having a tail…..tee hee. Thanks for the lesson on Manx kitties. I can’t think of any other GOOD or BAD things about being a Manx but I do know that you certainly managed to find a home in the BESTEST home around!
Love, Teddy
One of my show cat pals is a white Manx named Bing!
We did not know Sawyer had no tail!