Manx Cat Health Problems

The famous Manx cat is perhaps known to have some health problems associated with its genotype. This should not be unexpected because where there is a genetic mutation that alters the appearance of a cat it, there may be medical problems that are not immediately apparent from the appearance.

In the case of the Manx cat, when the "Manx gene" is inherited from both parents (homozygous) it results in the death of the offspring in the womb. In Manx to Manx matings 25% of the potential litter is lost in womb during fetal development.

Accordingly, in breeding the Manx you cannot breed Manx to Manx and the offspring is a heterozygote (carries one Manx gene).

The shortened tail is what we see as a consequence of the presence of the Manx gene. However, the gene affects other parts of the cat's anatomy causing Manx cat health problems (Manx Syndrome).

Spina bifida

This is a malformation of the vertebrae and spinal cord. The neural tube (the precursor to the central nervous system in the embryo) is not fused together. Skin can cover the defect. The medical condition can result in fecal incontinence and urine incontinence (in some cats). Other health problems caused by this condition are:

• hind limb weakness and/or incoordination
• constipation and megacolon
• hopping instead of running

Other spinal cord defects

• cavitation
• syringomyelia
• brain deformities
• hemivertebrae

Atresia ani

This refers to "imperforate anus". A membrane covers the anal opening. Surgery rectifies it as I understand the condition.

Rectal prolapse

Spinal defects can lead to straining when going to the toilet which in turn can cause rectal prolapse. In layman's terms this means rectal tissue is forced to the exterior at the anus. This condition requires immediate veterinary treatment.

Corneal dystrophy

This Manx cat health problem "exists in an inbred line of Manx" cats.  This is an autosomal recessive trait meaning not sex linked and an inherited recessive gene causes the problem. The symptoms are central cornea edema (swelling) at four months of age and ulceration of the cornea later.

Pyoderma

Pyoderma may affect the dimple where the tail should be. Pyoderma is a bacterial infection of the skin. The dimple should be kept clean. If it develops the hair should be trimmed and a local antibiotic (cream) applied to the area.

Arthritis

Some cats can suffer from arthritis. I am not sure how prevalent this is or how much more common over the average. Arthritis can affect all cats, purebred can random bred.

Although I am writing about Manx cat health problems meaning the purebred cat, it would seem reasonable to presume that these conditions can affect random bred cats affected by the Manx gene.

Source: Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats ISBN 0-9634124-0-X

Tonkinese Health

There are few health problems reported for the Tonkinese. The foremost book on cat breed health and genetic diseases in cat breeds says that Tonkinese cats have a low resistance to upper respiratory diseases (also called URIs). Upper respiratory diseases are one of most common cat illnesses.

Tonkinese - photo by julicath/Cath (On- Off ;-))

The Tonkinese may be sensitive to "certain vaccines". Finally, this excellent book says that when anesthetizing the Tonkinese for whatever medical reason it is best to use gas rather than intravenous injections. Anesthetizing a cat carries risk of injury and death, please note.

It would seem then that this cat escapes the rather more extensive list of genetically inherited health problems associated with the Siamese and to a lesser extent the Burmese. The Tonkinese is a Siamese/Burmese hybrid.

I am a little surprised, accordingly. You might like to see the page on genetic diseases in purebred cats to see what I mean.

Source: page 181 of Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats - ISBN 0-9634124-0-X

Animal Shelter Conspiracy USA

In the USA I allege that there is a conspiracy to supply cat and dog carcasses to pet food manufacturers which is the reason why the kill rate is so high at no kill animal shelters.

You don't have to look far to find high kill rates, particularly of cats at shelters. They still call then no kill shelters bizarrely. Yesterday I wrote an article about a lack of proper assessment of cat and dog temperament at shelters, referring to the Jackson County Animal Control Shelter where 80% of cats are "euthanised". I know that this is not untypical.

The obvious reason why such a high percentage of cats are killed at shelters in the USA is because there are not enough people willing to adopt unwanted cats.

But that seems simplistic to me and there are enough people. When there is no proper feline temperament profiling and a lack of networking and coordination. I make the argument in this post that there is no need to kill any cats on the grounds of temperament because if the cat's temperament is unsuitable for living with people it must be suitable for living as a feral cat - without people! In which case the cat could be neutered and placed with a feral colony. That is probably not politically correct but it is technically correct.

Some shelters are genuinely no kill - no cats are killed. If they can do why not the rest? There would seem to be only a small number who achieve this perfect score - 100% cats saved.

A shelter has to find an outlet for a cat. If there is no outlet for a living cat, there is an outlet for a dead one: pet food or some other manufacturing process.

It makes financial sense. This possibility is never talked about except by me and it is a highly unpleasant argument. I recall a visitor to my site saying that he had seen lorries taking dead cats for processing so even if there is not a statewide or nationwide conspiracy to kill cats for profit, it does go on somewhere.

When the numbers of killed cats and dogs are as high as they are nationwide (4-10 million?) and when the situation never changes no matter how cogent the arguments are, I have to come to the conclusion that there is a hidden agenda, an underlying reason that is not in the equation that we can see. This hidden agenda is the conspiracy to sell cat carcasses for profit to the manufacturing industry and the first choice is the pet food manufacturers as we know that pet food is made from rendered down dead animals from any source.

Can someone from the animal shelter business come forward and make a comment to tell me that I am writing a load of rubbish?

Trap Neuter Return Works

The skeptics, the cat haters, the bird conservationists etc. decry trap neuter, return (TNR) as a failed method to manage the feral cat problem. Are they are problem? I am not sure.

Anyway, the fact is that TNR is the only humane and sensible way of managing and limiting the feral cat population and it is effective when carried sufficiently inclusively.

There is a nice story in an online newspaper that confirms this. It concerns the the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. Fairfax county is in the state of Virginia, USA (thanks for that Dorothy!).

Since they introduced TNR into the municipality in 2008, the Fairfax County Animal Shelter has seen "a significant decrease" in the number of cats dealt with by their foster care programme.

In 2011 they handled less than half the number of feral kittens than they did in 2010. And over the period 2008 to 2011 there has been a 41% drop in "bottle-fed kittens" entering the shelter.

1,800 feral cats have been TNRed since 2008 by a volunteer force of 300. It is wonderful that people of the county get involved and make this program work. I think it has to be a community event to make it work. Lone people working in isolation are fantastic and I admire then tremendously but it needs something more inclusive as I mentioned to make TNR work effectively.

By "inclusive" I mean to TNR all the cats in area not isolated pockets. That appears to prevent migration of cats from one area to another.

Please click for the original story. This is where it is:


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Protein Requirements For Cats

What are the protein requirements for cats? Adult cats need twice the amount of protein as dogs. If their diet is low in protein, break down of muscle occurs (called muscle catabolism). Two amino acids are also needed by cats. These are arginine and taurine. Meat contains an adequate supply of arginine. It would seem therefore to be hard to deprive a cat of arginine unless the diet is specially formulated and defective in this essential amino acid.

On the contrary, it is quite easy for a cat's diet to be deficient in taurine. Cats have a limited ability to synthesise taurine whereas most animals can synthesise it meaning manufacture it. Cats therefore need to ingest it in their diet. Foods that contain taurine are meat, milk and fish (particularly shellfish). Feline milk (colostrum) contains high concentrations of taurine.

What is taurine needed for?

Answer: bile acid conjugation and felinine biosynthesis. Felinine is an amino acid in the cat's urine. It is formed in the kidney and excreted in the urine. Its function is unknown but may be used in marking territory.

High concentrations of taurine are found in the cat's heart, retinal and brain tissues. A deficiency of taurine can result in central retinal degeneration and blindness, heart disease - dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), reproductive failure and neonatal abnormalities.

Retinal damage due to taurine deficiency can be rectified on reintroducing taurine into the diet provided the changes are slight.

Also reversible by introducing taurine into a cat's diet is dilated cardiomyopathy.  Although the disease can be fatal.

Mothers who are a deficient in taurine often reabsorb their kittens or the kitten is stillborn or perhaps have a low birth weight. Kittens have low survival rates, poor growth rates and can have abnormalities.