Sunday, July 27, 2008

CAMERA CRITTERS - PURRFECT KITTY AND MANX CAT MYTHS


I am a confirmed dog lover, but sometimes even I crumble for the cat. This dear little pure white one with sparkling green eyes meowed his hello and proceeded to pose for several photos. He was rewarded with a tummy, under chin, and behind the ears tickle. I hope to see him again as he's so photogenic.

He's not a Manx cat, a stubbin. They as you may recall from another cat post are cats with no tails. Lots of myths and legends surround the origin of the Manx cat. Here is one for today. The rest will follow. Even with the tale, there are variants on the myth.

The Manx cat was invited onto Noah's ark to avoid the great flood. He refused the offer having found food and shelter on land and thought he would be safe from the flood. Only when the rising waters became so high the Manx cat fearing for his life ran to the Ark. Noah by this time had given up on the Manx cat and started to shut the door. The Manx cat jumped towards the closing door. Thrusting his way through the tiniest gap, he managed to squeeze almost all of himself through. Alas, his tail was not so fortunate. Poor Manx cat's tail was severed as Noah slammed the Ark's door shut leaving the cat now without a tail. Forever more no Manx cat was born with a tail on the Isle Of Man

Is that myth not just the cat's whiskers! So have you seen or owned a Manx cat?

For more camera critters see MISTY DAWN Camera critters.

55 comments:

Roan said...

What a beautiful white kitty, and I really enjoyed hearing the legend.

i beati said...

he is great I too am a dog lover first but cats have invaded. !!

ratmammy said...

majority of cats in japan have no tails, or have stubs.. always wondered about that! we believe our cat alice was part manx.. she had really long hind legs and a shorter than average tail, as if someone cut the tip off!

Rhea said...

That's a cool myth! Beautiful kitty! I love the white hair and green eyes.

I'm a dog person also, but kitties have a place in my heart as well.

bobbie said...

I am definitely a dog person, but I can admire the cat's beauty.

Jim Klenke said...

Beautiful looking cat, and a pretty good story. Just the run of the mill cats here, nothing special, well they are special to me.

Hilda said...

If I didn't have a full-time job, I think the house would be overrun with dogs and cats! I like both.

I don't think I've seen a pure white cat in ages. He's pretty — and must know you quite well.

Hilda said...

Oh, and thank you for the story! I love stores too. :)

Andrea said...

Beautiful cat. Nice post.

Indrani said...

Myths are always so interesting, thanks for sharing that. I too have a soft corner for cats. :)

Anonymous said...

Pretty white cat. Great legend of the Manx cat! So unusual that they have no tails - I guess they don't miss their tails if they have never really had them.

Anonymous said...

Do you do animal portraits? I notice you have many birds and animals. Dixie my cat would be very happy if you stopped by with a camera.

Carletta said...

Cute white kitty who looks ready to have his tummy rubbed!

I loved the myth of the Manx. I've never had one but have always wanted one.

Rambling Woods said...

I enjoyed the legend..from one who has only had cats..smile.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Babooshka: What a funny story, you must have made that up. LOL
Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

Aww that's a cute cat! I love cats when they look like that.

My critter is posted HERE. Please stop by if you have some time. Happy weekends!

Rob said...

Really? I never knew there were cats without tails. I supose it all makes sense, noah did give the cat ample warning, though.

melanie said...

Moi j'ai eu un chat blanc aux yeux bleus. Je ne suis pas à l'aise avec les chiens, mais j'adore les chats surtout quand ils sont caressants, ronronnants ...

Louis la Vache said...

What a pose that cat is in! :-)

david mcmahon said...

That's a great tail, er, tale!

Lilli & Nevada said...

He is beautiful

Christy said...

Very cute kitty.

pts said...

VERY NICE!

DrowseyMonkey-Photos said...

Awww, I love cats. This one looks like a real model! :)

Kyanite said...

Very interesting legend.
I'm still looking for that litle Manx cat statue I once owned.

Isadora said...

:) Very easy to become a cat lover. All you have to do is get one. Yupp, that's what happened to me too. This little one reminds me that I saw my Gigi lieing on the window sill sunning her white belly.

Maria Verivaki said...

i'm a confirmed cat lover - and i lvoed the story of the manx cat

Anonymous said...

Looks like a sweet mog.

me ann my camera said...

This is a very handsome cat! Thanks for the interesting story of the Manx cat.
ann

Janet said...

Beautiful cat...never heard the Manx Cat legends before, although we had a cat that had kittens with no tails.

Anonymous said...

Nice picture and lovely cat. I love them! Hope to see some more of him.
Thank you for the visit!
Julián Igue.
http://hima-town.aminus3.com/

JAMJARSUPERSTAR said...

Ha ha oldest pun in the book with "purrfect" surely? Still it's such a cute moggy.
Ciao

Scarlet x

Berleen said...

Beautiful picture... and story! I've heard that one before, I believe, along with other Manx explanations!

Unknown said...

Hi, Babooshka!

Very interesting blog with nice pictures!

Greetings from Lisbon.
JM
(dog lover here too)

lv2scpbk said...

Yes, I used to own several manx cats. Their legs are shorter in front than in the back sort of like a rabbit. And, they have no tails.

Ewiczka said...

pretty kitty ;)

come to my blog:
http://god-is-saying-nothing.blogspot.com/

i'm saying "HI!" from Poland :))

Eki said...

when i first looked at this picture, i thought, how come a manx cat has a tail? but then, when i began to read your commentary, i realized that it was not the famous manx cat. but it still is a beautiful shot, Babooshka.

I'm not particularly a cat person, but have adopted two of them (one from a friend who had too many and needed a home for some of them, and one a stray kitten i saved from the street.)

Gretchen said...

Like you, I'm a dog lover but there are some cats out there that just pull you in.

Lapa37 said...

Great story to go with a great photo.Yes I have seen and owned a manx cat well I had several once my cat cad her litter of kittens all of her babies were born tailess.I was there to watch the birth of each and every one of them.It was so cool

DAB said...

B, ypur'e so good at telling tails (tales) sorry couldn't resist it. TFX

Marie Reed said...

My son Noah will just love this 'tail'

Virginia said...

I am a dog lover myself, but I do have a "grandkitty" named Kittykins. She's a blue point Himalayian and quite the princess. We get along fine. Your white cat photo is great today1

threesidesofcrazy said...

what a cutie!!

Voz do meu Coração said...

What wonderful cat, in fact, all the photos are very beautiful, congratulations.

Dragonstar said...

What a pose! But then, cats are naturals at posing. I love the story of the missing tails.

Marie said...

Beautiful cat! Nice post :)

Knoxville Girl said...

The cat, of course, is saying, come closer, minion, and attend to my every need. Put that camera down and rub my tummy.

marley said...

What a cutie! I like the story. Even I, a non believer, want this to be true!

GMG said...

Hi Babooshka!
Sorry for the delay in replying these last weeks, but unfortunately it wasn’t due to some summer holidays… ;))
Thanks for your comments on Blogtrotter, now at the MoMA for Art and New York lovers! Hope you enjoy and wish you a great week! I’ll try to get back here to enjoy your pictures with some more time during the week!

Cath said...

I love that cat! Isn't s/he gorgeous? And the tale of the manx cat is brilliant. Very plausible!
I've seen manx cats - never owned one.

Misty DawnS said...

That cat is absolutely gorgeous! WOW - what a true beauty! I love the Manx cat myth - I had never heard that before and enjoyed reading it.

AppleDebbie said...

Gorgeous photo! (I enjoyed reading the Manx cat myth too.)

D said...

Lovely kitty. Great story - It's just like a cat to be independent and almost miss the boat!
Thanks for your visit to my blog.

Anak Dokan said...

Cutie..cutie..cutie..

Shutterspy said...

I'm more a dog person, but I do like cats too. It's a lovely picture. I like the movement you've captured :)

I like the story of Noah :)

Here's a bit of simplified genetics: Manx cats carry a tailess gene which is dominant. Let T=tailess gene and t=tailed gene and therefore let TT=homozygous tailess, Tt=heterozygous tailess, tt=homozygous tailed.

TT cats will be rejected by the mother's womb and so will not survive, thus to breed, we will only have Tt and tt cats.

Tt+Tt=25% TT (dead), 50% Tt (tailess), 25% tt (tailed)
Tt+tt=50% Tt (tailess), 50% tt (tailed)
tt+tt=100% tt (tailed)

But of course it's far more complicated, because genes can skip generations and can rely on other factors and probability is a rough guide with anything, e.g. it's possible to roll a dice six times and end up with the number 2 each time, whereas probability dictates that it's likely you will only get it once :)

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