Manx

The Manx is the world's most recognizable cat, one that makes itself known not by what it has, but by what it lacks: a tail. Where in other cats the tail begins, in a true Manx there is only a slight hollow — a complete absence of a tail, in English described by the word rumpy. This is a round, compact cat of a surprisingly massive silhouette: a rounded back, a broad chest, and clearly longer hind legs than front ones, on account of which it moves with a characteristic, rabbit-like hop. This concise, circular build makes the Manx look like a living ball of fur — and like a cat that came from the hand of a designer with a very concrete, minimalist intention.

Where a cat without a tail came from is explained by two tales — one true, the other far funnier. The true one is geographical: the Manx comes from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, where on a small, cut-off scrap of land the natural mutation of taillessness had no way to disperse and, from generation to generation, fixed itself in the local cat population. And the funnier one is a local legend: it holds that the Manx simply arrived late for Noah's ark and caught its tail in the closing door when it jumped inside at the last moment. The islanders of Man tell it with disarming seriousness to this day — and it is no wonder, because it fits this cat perfectly: the Manx really does give the impression of having lost its tail running after something far more important.

That more important something turned out, as feline history has it, to be a human — because the Manx is one of the most dog-like cats there are. It attaches itself to the family with a devotion a dog would not be ashamed of: it follows its people from room to room, greets them at the door, and likes to be at the center of household life. Many Manx can be taught to play fetch and willingly play at retrieving toys, and some even have the dog-like habit of burying their treasures. Added to this is the heritage of generations of island hunters: the Manx is an excellent hunter with a lightning reflex, alert and intelligent, that uses its powerful hindquarters for surprisingly high and accurate jumps. This is a quick, devoted, and character-full cat — a companion in every inch.

Before you succumb to its charm, however, one must honestly speak of the other side of the same gene that took the Manx's tail. Taillessness in this breed comes from a mutation affecting the whole spine — and in some cats leads to the so-called Manx syndrome: developmental defects of the spine and spinal cord that can cause neurological problems and troubles with the intestines and bladder. Precisely for this reason, responsible breeding is here absolutely crucial: conscious breeders carefully pair the cats so as to minimize the risk, and when buying a kitten, one must choose only such places. This is a beautiful and wonderful cat — but a cat worth loving with full, open knowledge of what its health requires.

Because the Manx is proof that exceptionality and vulnerability often go hand in hand: an extraordinary, round, tailless cat with a dog's heart that needs a caretaker conscious both of its charm and of its needs.

Love it with open eyes — care for its weight, its spine, and a good breeder — and it will repay you the way only a Manx can: following you step by step for its whole life, faithful as the dog it, deep in its heart, partly is. Because this cat really did once lose a tail — but it looks as if in return it found a human. You.