History Edit

Appearance Edit

Variants (sub-breeds) Edit

Health and genetics Edit

Behaviour Edit

As with all cat breeds, the cat fancy has arrived through observation at a variety of widely held generalisations about the Manx breed as a whole. The Manx is considered a social and gregarious cat, and very attached to humans, but also shy of strangers. The breed is said to be highly intelligent, playful, and in its behaviour reminiscent of dogs. For example, like some Maine Coons and a few other breeds, Manx cats often learn to fetch small thrown objects. They may also follow their owners about like puppies, and are believed to be better able to learn simple verbal commands than most cats.[citation needed] Many of these views of the breed are not known to have a very long history. Lane's early and experienced account of the temperament of this "variety, which is quaint and interesting" is simply that they were "docile, good-tempered and sociable", and that a prize specimen should be "an alert, active animal of much power and energetic character."[20] Manx are prized as hunters, known to take down larger prey (e.g. adult rats) even when they are young, and were thus long in demand[citation needed] for working roles like farm cat (Manx: lughder or lugher 'mouser', from lugh 'mouse')[14]:507 and ship's cat (screeberagh or screeberey[14]:138 loosely 'scratcher, scratchy-one', from screebagh or screebey 'scratching, scratchy, scraping').[14]:662–3 Use for on-board rodent control may have spread Manx cats to ports in other countries.[citation needed] Although all cats, including the great cats, may use both rear legs simultaneously to propel the body forward especially when moving quickly, Manx cats are often said to move with more of a rabbit-like hop than a stride, even when not running.[citation needed]

In popular culture Edit

References Edit