What is a Munchkin?

Munchkins are self-assured, curious, confident and out-going cats. Unfortunately, the munchkin has been labelled as many things including mutant sausages and dachshunds of the cat world. To those who own and love a munchkin cat, they are a joy. The munchkin is a wonderful breed, unhampered by their unique genetic make-up. They are amusing to watch and are playful. They have above average intelligence. The munchkin is not the only cat with short legs; the jaguarundi, is a small South American cat with a slender, elongated body and short legs. In spite of their short legs, they can run very fast. Climbing and jumping is not a problem for these agile cats. They are easily trained to walk on a harness. My boy, Howie, enjoys (and expects) a walk around the garden everyday. During these walks, he loves digging in the soft sand, creating huge holes. Like a dog, he scratches among leaves with all four feet. He is amusing to watch.

The munchkins of today have all originated from America. In 1983, Sandra Hochenedel, of Louisiana, found two cats hiding under an abandoned truck, having been chased by a neighbours dog. She rescued the cats and took them home, only later noticing that they both had shorter than normal legs. She kept the black cat and found a home for the blue one. This black female passed on her unique short-legged genes to her offspring. Sandra gave a short-legged male to her friend, Kay Le France. Since La France’s cats were allowed out and free to roam, before long a small population of munchkins occurred. Cats in love care little about leg length and the munchkins have no trouble competing with its long legged rivals for mating opportunities.

The early breeders named them after the little people of Munchkin land from ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Where did they come from originally? It has been said that in 1930 in England where the dwarf cat was observed and documented by Veterinarian, Dr William Jones. Four generations were described, including an eight year old female, who was having an extremely healthy life. Her progeny were similar in appearance. Sadly, these cats disappeared during World War II. They were reported to be found in Stalingrad in 1953. This cat was called the stalingrad kangaroo cat due to its tendency to sit up like an alert rabbit. These cats died out without being established as a breed.

The munchkin is actually a dwarf rather than a miniature cat. In this type of feline dwardism called hereditary feline chrondrodysplasia, with only the limbs being shorter than that of a normal cat. Dwarfism occurs in many species, including humans. The gene responsible is dominant and causes the shortening of the long bones in the legs. Munchkins do not breed true, that is, they do not consistently breed short-legged kittens. Litters of kittens born to either a male or female munchkin are, on average, half short-legged. These are the true munchkins. The long-legged (non) munchkin offspring are non-standard and do not possess the munchkin gene. Because of their appealing characteristics, including good head type, temperament and conformation, long-legged (non) munchkin are often used in munchkin breeding programmes; however, most are found homes as pets.

The munchkin has a breed standard, which includes both a short-hair and long-hair type. The short-hair standard calls for a medium resilient coat with all weather texture and lustrous appearance. The long hair standard calls for a semi-long hair coat of moderate density with an all weather texture. The long-hair sports a full flowing tail plume and longer hair on the neck, ruff and britches.

The munchkin is a new breed here in Australia. It is currently being bred with the domestic cats of various body, head types and patterns. It is likely to take some time until uniformity is achieved among munchkins in Australia.

For those of us who own and love these little rug huggers, the future is bright.