h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

HOW THE MANX CAT LOST HER TAIL
Many of the cats at the Sanctuary are Manx Rumpies (completely tailless), Stumpies (the mere hint of a stump), or Rumpy Risers (having a small piece of bone or cartilage at the end of the spine). Manx cats probably originated from a mutation which occurred hundreds of years ago and the gene did not die out as the Island is geographically protected.

There are many folk tales and myths as to why Manx cats have no tail, here is one taken from 'Manx Fairy Tales' by Sophia Morrison published in 1926.

Noah was calling the animals into the Ark, there was one cat who was out mousing and took no notice when he was calling to her. She was a good mouser, but this time she had trouble to find a mouse and she took a notion that she wouldn't go into the Ark without one.

So at last, when Noah had all the animals safe inside, and he saw the rain beginning to fall, and no sign of her coming in, he said:

'Who's out is out, and who's in is in!'

And with that he was just closing the door when the cat came running up, half-drowned - that's why cats hate the water - and just squeezed in in time. But Noah had slammed the door as she ran in and it cut off her tail, so she got in without it and that is why Manx cats have no tail to this day. The cat said:

Be bo bend it,
My tail's ended
And I'll go to Man
And get copper nails,
And mend it.


MYTHS
There are many myths about how the Manx Cat lost her tail. Here are a few :

When the Scandinavians invaded Man in the early 9th century, the warriors wanted to decorate their helmets with furry tails, so the mother cats bit off their kittens' tails to prevent this happening.

In 1588 a ship from the Spanish Armada foundered on rocks off the coast of the Island, and tailless cats swam ashore. However, there are no records of this event or cats without tails in Spain.

Trust you to know everything there is to know about cats Tig !!!!!!! hahahahaha Am I surprised ? NO !!! Love Pinky xxxxx