How To Tell If My Cat Was Born Without A Tail

[fatgalruru]

Hello,
i got my girl when she was 3 months old. I know she is a snowshoe. She didnt have a tail when i got her which makes me believe she is mixed with Manx. Is there a way i can tell if she was born without a tail or if something happened to her after birth? She didnt have any scabbing at the end of her tail when i got her. Thanks for the help!

 

[Willowy]

Usually if their tails were cut, there's a small naked scar patch at the very end. That's how people can tell if a dog is a natural bobtail or was docked as a neonate. I'm sure cats are the same.

To me, her tail looks natural. It seems to taper at the end which doesn't happen when a tail is cut---the cut end is very blunt.

And the bobtail gene is fairly common in the general cat population. It doesn't mean she has any Manx background (Manx are fairly rare and unlikely to be running around loose). So my guess is that she's a natural bobtail .

 

[lutece]

Cute kitty! I would describe your kitty as a seal point and white bobtailed domestic shorthair. Most cats are not any particular breed.

I don't think there is any way at this time to know for sure if a short tail like that is natural. I had a "bobtailed" cat many years ago whose tail was chewed off by his mother shortly after he was born (we think she confused his tail with the umbilical cord), and he didn't have any kind of scar on the end of his tail nub. His tail was similar to a stumpy Manx or natural bobtailed cat. However it's possible that if a cat's tail is amputated later on, there would be a scar as W Willowy describes. It would probably depend on how early it happened and how the injury healed.

Bobtailed cats do appear in the general cat population and aren't necessarily related to Manx or any other specific short-tailed breed. There are several different known genes that can cause short and/or kinked tails, and I'm sure there are many more genes that are yet unknown.

I also want to say that these pictures are a great example of how much a pointed cat can darken as it grows up. There is really a dramatic difference in coat color between the kitten and adult pictures!

 

[fatgalruru]

Usually if their tails were cut, there's a small naked scar patch at the very end. That's how people can tell if a dog is a natural bobtail or was docked as a neonate. I'm sure cats are the same.

To me, her tail looks natural. It seems to taper at the end which doesn't happen when a tail is cut---the cut end is very blunt.

And the bobtail gene is fairly common in the general cat population. It doesn't mean she has any Manx background (Manx are fairly rare and unlikely to be running around loose). So my guess is that she's a natural bobtail .

Thanks! this is helpful!

 

[fatgalruru]

Cute kitty! I would describe your kitty as a seal point and white bobtailed domestic shorthair. Most cats are not any particular breed.

I don't think there is any way at this time to know for sure if a short tail like that is natural. I had a "bobtailed" cat many years ago whose tail was chewed off by his mother shortly after he was born (we think she confused his tail with the umbilical cord), and he didn't have any kind of scar on the end of his tail nub. His tail was similar to a stumpy Manx or natural bobtailed cat. However it's possible that if a cat's tail is amputated later on, there would be a scar as W Willowy describes. It would probably depend on how early it happened and how the injury healed.

Bobtailed cats do appear in the general cat population and aren't necessarily related to Manx or any other specific short-tailed breed. There are several different known genes that can cause short and/or kinked tails, and I'm sure there are many more genes that are yet unknown.

I also want to say that these pictures are a great example of how much a pointed cat can darken as it grows up. There is really a dramatic difference in coat color between the kitten and adult pictures!

Thanks for the info! Makes more sense that she is a bobtail vs a manx. I didnt know about bob tails i just assume they were all linked to manx. Seeing her color change has been really fun. When i got her she was almost completely white and so skinny. she gets darker and darker every year it is so cute! She looks like a completely different cat now.