In the nineteen eighty-third year in the United States (Louisiana) a new breed appeared - short-legged cats (munchkin). These are surprisingly sociable, friendly and affectionate creatures. They are very attached to their master. The main feature of this rather rare breed is shortened limbs. Moreover, all other bones of the skeleton are completely normal. This phenomenon is due to mutation.
Sometimes these funny animals are called "dachshund cats". With their movements they are a bit like ferrets. They can have both long and short hair of a wide variety of colors. Seeing once, you will never forget how short-legged cats look. Their appearance amazes everyone. When the animal lies, it is no different from an ordinary cat, but as soon as he gets up, his short legs immediately catch his eye. This is perhaps his only difference from other breeds. This physiological feature does not in the least prevent the baby from enjoying life.
There are two varieties of these animals - they are long-haired and short-haired. In Germany, short-legged cats were called "kangaroos" for their peculiarity - to sit down in a "column" and inspect their territory. In this position, they can be for a long time. A short-legged cat, the price of which exceeds 30,000 rubles, is still not very common in Russia.
The birth of the munchkins is dictated by the presence in the genotype of achondroplasia, the dominant gene. If at least one parent belongs to this breed, then there will be short-legged cats in the litter. It is believed that they should be born as many as ordinary animals were born, but this happens very rarely.
Short limbs in no way affected the mental development and intelligence of the animal. Sometimes such not grown feline representatives are called dwarfs, but this is not correct. In true dwarfs, all parts of the body are reduced.
Munchkins are lively and funny animals. They love games very much. They jump poorly, but run well, crawl through trees and climb into narrow crevices. If there are other animals in your house, then you can be sure: munchkin will certainly become a leader. Short-legged cats get along well with dogs, like to play with children.
There is another variety of these amazing creatures. This is a bambino, a short-legged cat, whose photo you can see in our article. Adorable babies bred by crossing Canadian Sphinxes and Manchkins. The breed was founded by Elena Chernova, curator of the Sphinx Center. In 2005, the first bambino were registered in our country. This can be considered a major event, as Russian felinologists rarely manage to become the founders of a new breed.
In the United States, the development of this species is very slow - large sphinx breeders pose obstacles, and in addition, there is still no necessary number of supporters of this breed who are ready to invest in this population.
Bambino possess incredible grace and plasticity, which is more reminiscent of the grace of a predator (for example, marten). Animals are endowed with high intelligence. Simple commands are very easy to learn, they well remember the daily routine set by the owner. They are friendly to people, in the family they often single out one person. The character is cheerful, lively, active. They get along well with other pets, and the children are delighted with these babies.