People search for "cat body type genetic mutations". So I feel that I should provide a response to what is an enquiry by internet surfers.
The thing is though, that there are no genetic mutations in the cat world, wild or domestic or in between (feral) which cause a change in the body type of the cat. By body type I am referring to the cat fancy's idea of what body type means - for example, cobby or foreign etc. See this page: Cat Body Types for a full description.
Sure, genetic mutations alter aspects of the cats body on very rare occasions (one in a million perhaps) but not the entire body type. By this I mean the overall shape and size of the cat's body.
Examples of where a genetic mutation has changed an element of the cat's body are:
These genetic mutations have resulted in the creation of new breeds of cat. Variations in cat body type originate in natural evolution, individual cat differences, the sex of the cat and importantly selective breeding by cat breeders.
A classic case of selective breeding that controls cat body type is the teacup cats. These are very small. Breeders breed small cat to small cat and create smaller and smaller cats and fix that trait.
From Cat Body Type Genetic Mutations to Home Page
The thing is though, that there are no genetic mutations in the cat world, wild or domestic or in between (feral) which cause a change in the body type of the cat. By body type I am referring to the cat fancy's idea of what body type means - for example, cobby or foreign etc. See this page: Cat Body Types for a full description.
Sure, genetic mutations alter aspects of the cats body on very rare occasions (one in a million perhaps) but not the entire body type. By this I mean the overall shape and size of the cat's body.
Examples of where a genetic mutation has changed an element of the cat's body are:
- Manx - lack of tail
- American Curl - ear flaps that curl backwards
- American Ringtail - curly tail
- Scottish Fold - ear flaps that are folded flat to the head
- Dwarf Cats - short legs
- The Rex cats - curly coat (Rex cats are e.g. Cornish Rex, Devon Rex and LaPerm as three examples only. There are more.
- Sphynx - lack of hair
- Peterbald - balding cat!
These genetic mutations have resulted in the creation of new breeds of cat. Variations in cat body type originate in natural evolution, individual cat differences, the sex of the cat and importantly selective breeding by cat breeders.
A classic case of selective breeding that controls cat body type is the teacup cats. These are very small. Breeders breed small cat to small cat and create smaller and smaller cats and fix that trait.
From Cat Body Type Genetic Mutations to Home Page
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are always welcome.