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Cats and dogs · room 3 of 7 · 1950 to today

Strange cats

Hairless, folded, short-legged, tailless, curly, six-toed and part-wild cats: where each came from, what the gene does, and whether it should be bred.

Every dogEvery catStrange catsFat catsPurse dogsUgly dogsWhere pets come from
For little learners (K–5)

Some cats look strange because one tiny change in their genes changed their fur, ears, legs or tail. Some of those changes hurt the cat. Talk about it: is a cute look worth it if it hurts?

1966 to today

Hairless cats

biologyhistory

The Sphynx began with a hairless kitten named Prune, born in Toronto in 1966, and later with hairless strays from Minnesota. Its hairlessness comes from a recessive gene; the Russian Donskoy (1987) carries a different, dominant one. A Sphynx is not truly bald: it has a fine peach fuzz, oily skin that needs washing, and it gets sunburned and cold.

Hairless cats are not hypoallergenic: the main cat allergen comes from saliva and skin, not hair.

Sources: Cat Fanciers' Association, Sphynx; TICA, Donskoy
Dmitry Makeev · Wikimedia Commons
1961 to today

The Scottish Fold: a cute fold with a cost

biologyeconomics

Every Scottish Fold descends from Susie, a white barn cat with folded ears found in Tayside, Scotland, in 1961. The gene that folds the ear cartilage acts on cartilage everywhere in the body, causing osteochondrodysplasia: thickened, painful joints, especially in the legs and tail. Every folded cat is affected to some degree. Britain's main cat club stopped registering folds in the early 1970s, and Flanders, in Belgium, banned breeding and selling folded-ear cats from 1 October 2021.

A trait people find adorable can be a disease. Ask whether a look is chosen for the animal or for the owner.

Sources: FECAVA: Flanders bans breeding and trading of folded-ear cats (2021); International Cat Care, cat advice (search: Scottish Fold)
Victor Grigas · Wikimedia Commons
1983 to today

Short legs: the Munchkin

biologyhistory

In 1983 a Louisiana music teacher found a short-legged stray she named Blackberry; her kittens founded the Munchkin. The short-leg gene works like the one in Dachshunds and Corgis. TICA accepts the breed; the CFA and Britain's GCCF do not, because of concerns about spine curvature and arthritis. Owners and breeders say their cats run and play normally; welfare groups say the risk is not worth the look.

This is a live debate: students can weigh breeders' evidence against veterinary concerns.

Sources: TICA, Munchkin; International Cat Care, cat advice (search: Munchkin)
Tasy Hong · Wikimedia Commons
Centuries

No tail on the Isle of Man

biologyhistory

The Manx cat comes from the Isle of Man, between Britain and Ireland. Its taillessness is caused by a dominant gene; a kitten with two copies dies before birth, and some Manx suffer "Manx syndrome", with spine, bladder and bowel defects. An island legend says the Manx was last onto Noah's ark and the door shut on its tail.

Island populations are small, so one unusual gene can spread through a whole cat population: a natural experiment in genetics.

Sources: Cat Fanciers' Association, Manx
TheEaterofCorn · Wikimedia Commons
1950 to today

Curly cats: the Rexes

biology

Curly coats turned up by chance in several places: a kitten named Kallibunker in Cornwall (1950), a stray named Kirlee in Devon (1960), a Montana shelter cat (1987, the Selkirk Rex) and an Oregon barn cat (1982, the LaPerm). Each curl comes from a different gene, which breeders proved by crossing them: Cornish and Devon parents make straight-coated kittens.

Each Rex is a living lesson in recessive and dominant genes.

Sources: Cat Fanciers' Association, Cornish Rex; Cat Fanciers' Association, Devon Rex
Alexandre Gonçalves · Wikimedia Commons
2010 to today

The "werewolf cat"

biologyhistory

The Lykoi (from the Greek for wolf) began with patchy-coated kittens born to feral cats in Tennessee around 2010. Veterinarians first checked them for disease and found a natural mutation that leaves some hair follicles empty. The coat changes with the seasons, and the cats can molt almost bald.

A brand-new breed shows how breeds start today: a surprising kitten, a health check, and a decision to breed for the trait.

Sources: TICA, Lykoi
1930s to today

Six toes in Key West

historybiology

At the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida, nearly 60 cats roam the grounds; about half have extra toes, and the rest carry the gene. Some descend from Snow White, a white six-toed cat a ship's captain gave the writer. Sailors once prized polydactyl cats as lucky mousers. Following Hemingway's habit, the museum names its cats after famous people.

Extra toes (polydactyly) come from a dominant gene; they are usually harmless.

Sources: Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, our cats
Wknight94 · Wikimedia Commons
1960s to today

Part wild: Bengals and Savannahs

biologyeconomicstrade & commercialization

Bengals come from crossing house cats with the Asian leopard cat; Savannahs (1986) from crossing them with the African serval. Early generations, called F1 to F3, are part wild: big, jumpy, strong-willed, and in males usually sterile. Some states ban them: Georgia, Hawaii, Nebraska and Rhode Island are listed as banning Savannahs outright; New York, Massachusetts and others allow only later generations, and cities such as New York City, Denver and Seattle have their own bans. Secondary guides list Florida as allowing all generations; check the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and local rules before buying.

A cat that is part wild may escape and hunt wildlife; that is why Hawaii, an island full of native birds, bans them.

Sources: Hepper, are Savannah cats legal (secondary summary, 2025); Florida FWC, captive wildlife rules
Jason Douglas · Wikimedia Commons
A debate

Breeding for strange: the ethics

economicsbiology

Folded ears, flat faces, short legs and no tails are all traits linked to health problems, and all are bred on purpose because buyers like them. Veterinary groups in Europe urge breeding for health first, and some governments now restrict the worst traits. Breeders answer that careful screening, honest records and owner choice can keep cats healthy, and that bans push buyers to unregulated sellers.

Ask: who benefits from this look, and who pays for it, the owner, the breeder or the cat.

Sources: FECAVA, breeding healthy pets; International Cat Care, breeding for health
Heikki Siltala from catza.net · Wikimedia Commons
Watch and look

Picture gallery

Tap a picture to enlarge it. Every picture is public domain or openly licensed, credited below, and kept on our own server.

Dmitry Makeev · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rama · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr
Dmitry Makeev · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Shannon Badiee · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dmitry Makeev · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dmitry Makeev · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Victor Grigas · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Unknown author · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
TheNightmareOfRosguill · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
Polishchuk.pavlo. · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
TheEaterofCorn · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
For classes

Lessons, drawer and quiz

Lessons on newSchoolWorks.com

Heredity and Evolution: A Copy That SlipsPreviewHeredity and Evolution: Punnett squaresPreviewHeredity and Evolution: Counselor at the ChartPreviewHeredity and Evolution: From gene to proteinPreview

Drawer: Friendly Beasts: Every dog, every cat

Quiz: Take the quiz (6 questions)

Game: The market game

Also see: Every cat: the catalog · Breeding gallery

Read beside this room

Fiction

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (the Cheshire Cat)
Lewis Carroll, 1865 · grades 3-5 and up
A grinning cat that vanishes until only the grin is left.
The Black Cat
Edgar Allan Poe, 1843 · grades 9-12 and up
A horror story of guilt and a cat. Disturbing: for older readers.

Free classics link to Project Gutenberg or the Tall Museum; books in copyright are named so you can find them at a library.

← Every catQR code CDS9F2CDS9F2Fat cats →
Next door · Museum VI, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Next door in STEM

Hairless, folded, tailless: each is one changed gene. "A copy that slips" explains how.

The Mammal HallSTEM hall · for students
STEM lessons for this gallery

Peas, beans and factors (grade 7)PreviewA copy that slips (grade 7)PreviewMendel's peasPreviewPunnett squaresPreviewThe coin-flip crossPreviewMeiosis, Mendel and the chi-square test (AP)Preview

Drawer: Friendly Beasts: Next door in STEM

NGSS: HS-LS3-1 HS-LS3-3 MS-LS3-1 MS-LS3-2