Cats with Squirrel tails

Cats with Squirrel tails are not hugely uncommon. Squirrels let their tales droop at the top - real cute I think but not so good perhaps if you are in the show cat business. Squirrels also have plumed tails.

The Squitten is a mutated cat with defective and shortened forelimbs that looks a bit like a squirrel particularly when the cat has a plumed tail. These are squirrel tailed cats I presume.

There is one cat, an extremely rare cat, that has a squirrel tail plus. This is the American Ringtail cat. The tail can fold over in the shape of a ring. In the Ringtail cat the tail is very much like a Husky dog's tail and is due to a benign genetic mutation. By benign I mean the mutation does not cause other nasty disorders.

If cats with squirrel tails are not Squittens they are probably cats with the usual genetic make up (i.e. the tail is not due to a genetic disorder) but the cartilage in the tail is probably a bit less stiff so the tail flops forwards at the end when held high. Although it may be due to a recessive genetic mutation.

Although the term might just mean cats with plumed tails (bushy tails).

Two cats with cartilage that is different and which affects different parts of the anatomy are the American Curl, with Curly ear flaps and the dwarf cats, with short legs. Both conditions are due to genetic mutations.