BACK MUNCHKIN HISTORY
Munchkins are distinguished by shortness of the legs. They are sound and healthy cats; through many years of genetic testing and breeding they have proven free of any defect or spinal problems. The breed is being reestablished in long or short coats and a variety of patterns and colors. They maintain their kitten personality for their entire life, making them the perfect choice for the person who desires a kitten that never grows up.
Although the Munchkin is very new from the standpoint of the cat fancy, cats with short legs were know in England in the 1930's and four generations were described in the Veterinary Record in 1944. This line, however, seems to have disappeared during World War II. In 1983 Sandra Hochenedel, then living in Louisiana, was looking for a new cat. What she found was a pregnant black female (later named Blackberry) with short legs living under a pickup truck. In her first litter and each subsequent litter Blackberry passed the trait of short legs on to about half of her kittens. One of Blackberry's sons, Toulouse, was given to a friend named Kay LaFrance who established a colony of Munchkins on her Louisiana plantation. The present Munchkins are descendants of Blackberry and Tououse, although Munchkins have been sited throughout North America and the world.
Description
Munchkins exhibit shortening and mild bowing of the long bones. The spine is unaffected and similar in form and flexibility to that seen in other domestic cats. The short legs do not hamper mobility.
The Munchkin's head is a modified wedge with rounded contours, with a slight muzzle break. The top of the skull is rounded, curving down to a flat forehead. The nose is medium length and the chin is firm. The large walnut-shaped eyes should be set wide apart, giving an open, alert expression. The deeper the eye color, the better. The ears are moderately large and full at the base. They should be set at the corner of the head and should always be erect and alert. Ear furnishings are acceptable in the long hairs.
The Munchkin should be in good condition, welled muscled without excessive obesity or evidence of emaciation. The torso should be deep and moderately broad with medium to substantial boning. The chest is round, through not so much as to appear barrel-shaped. The tail is medium thick, tapering to a rounded tip and is carried in proportion to the body length. The legs should be short, with medium boning. The back legs slightly longer than the front legs.
The Munchkin, presently shown in the New Breed category, can be shown as both long hair and short hair an in all patterns and colors.
Temperament
Although the Munchkin is amusing to watch and the body resembles a ferret more than a cat, the personality is all cat. Several of the Munchkins have shown "Magpie" tendencies, loving to hide caches of small objects such as hair bows and pens under furniture for future play. They readily accept a harness and leash and seem to enjoy taking their owners for walks. The Munchkin is very social and enjoys company.
They get along with other cats, dogs and people. Despite the short legs, the Munchkin is not short changed in either personality or intelligence.
HISTORY of MUNCHKINS
Although the Munchkins have only recently been discovered by the cat fancy, cats with short legs are not new to the scientific world. In the 1944 Veterinary Record (Great Britain), Dr. H. E. Williams-Jones described four generations of cats with short limbs, including an 8-1/2 year old black female reported as having had an extremely healthy life. Her dam, great dam, and some of her progeny were similar in short-legged appearance. The cat's movements were described as ferret-like, but other than the short legs, the cat was reported to be normal in every way. Unfortunately, these cats seem to have disappeared during World War II, not surprising in that many established feline blood lines were markedly depleted and some disappeared completely during this period of deprivation. Available stock was apparently altered and the line was not preserved so far as may be determined.
In the 1956 Zoologischer Anzeiger, Max Egon Theil of Hamburg, Germany, described a cat he had seen in Stalingrad that had unusually short legs but was in no way functionally hindered. This cat was seen playing among its normal siblings and other young cats. At times it was noted to sit on its haunches with its front legs in the air, similar to the alert stance of a rabbit. Because of this behavior, the cat was dubbed the "Stalingrad Kangaroo Cat" by the author. The day before the author was to return to Germany, the cat was taken away by a Russian physician, and there is no further information about the cat available. However, based on the description, this undoubtedly represents the same trait seen previously in Great Britain.
Although the short legged cats from Europe seem to have disappeared, the trait reappeared in New England in the 1970's and in Louisiana in the 1980's. From a pregnant black female short legged cat found by Sandra Hochenedel in 1983, several colonies have been established which now span multiple generations. The breeding data clearly support an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. The cats exhibit shortening and bowing of the long bones similar to that seen in the Dachshund and the Corgi, but no other skeletal changes associated with the gene. The spine is usually indistinguishable from that of other cats.
At this point there is no evidence to suggest that the gene for short legs hampers survival or quality of life, which is consistent with the British and Russian/German reports of these cats. Careful study of the short legged cats is being undertaken by Dr. Solveig Pflueger, a clinical geneticist at Baystate Medical Center and on the faculty of Tufts University School of Medicine, and Dr. David Biller, a veterinary radiologist at Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine, in order to evaluate further the inheritance and expression of the short legged trait and the resultant changes in skeletal structure through the natural lifespan of the cat. The results of these studies will ultimately determine the feasibility of establishing the breed within the cat fancy.