#most of the sources about manx syndrome are in reference to it occuring randomly in livestock or humans | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bitchfitch · 3 months ago

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tbh I'm never going to stop being mad about the Manx syndrome that makes Manx cats manxes. It's an easily, Visually identifiable trait that causes the afflicted animal life long discomfort and mobility issues so severe many need specialized care and equipment to give them a normal life. And that isnt even taking into account how many die as kittens or who need to be put down because they'll never have the minimum quality of life needed to subject them to their difficulties.

there's 2 genes that can cause shortened tails/no tail in cats and while it's debatable how ethical the other one is, due to how important tails are for cat communication, the bobtail Gene is at least not devastating to the animals welfare. Unlike Manx syndrome it just causes the kittens to be born with fewer tail vertebrae. All the other vertebrae are unaffected.

Manx syndrome, in the more severe cases, which to be clear are the breed standard and are considered Desirable, cause the back half of the spine to fail to form correctly. This causes the cats to "hop like bunnies" bc their hind legs are partially paralyzed. they have severe nerve issues bc their spinal cord isn't fully encased in bone like it should be. The paralysis effects their guts too, making many of them incontinent or unable to relieve themselves properly. which leads to chronic UTIs and them needing frequent baths. which, they are cats, they do not like baths.

The main defense of the continued intentional breeding of manxes is that it is a naturally occurring mutation, as in its a landrace breed that initially happened on its own in the feral cat population on the island of mann. "if they were able to survive and reproduce under those conditions then surely it's ok" type of argument. A dominant trait spreading through a feral cat population on a small island that has no predators and plenty of small animal prey to eat, is not a defense. it's the law of large numbers.

#Prime was intentionally bred by a breeder who wanted to get rich selling manx cats nc they saw how expensive the kittens were #the kittens are so expensive bc many litters end up like Primes. with 3/5 kittens needing to be put down within weeks or days of being born #Of the two kittens who made it to 6months only Prime was ever deened adoptable. her brother had to stay at the manx specific shelter #and he only made it to a little over a year before he started suffering from kidney failure bc of the constant UTIs #he had perfect. Specialized care and as much resources and attention as he needed and he still didn't get to live his life #Prime's better off obviously but i still have to spend a lot of time on her care and she doesn't get to be a cat in the same #way as her sisters #ie my other two cats who are just random bred shorthairs #cw animal cruelty #most of the sources about manx syndrome are in reference to it occuring randomly in livestock or humans #bc like #it is something that does just happen without any intentional breeding for the trait unfortunately #cats just handle it a lot better for their own reasons #' spina bifida' is the technical term but its called manx syndrome in other animals too

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