Cymric

Black / seal, blue / grey-slate/ cinnamon / cinnamon, fawn / fawn, red, white, 
Special coloured, colourpoint cats are unusual.

Solid / plain, tabby / striped,, bicolour, tricolour

Mid-length

Any colour

The Cymric is a little round ball - from the shape of their eyes to the curvature of their backs, their rounded heads, and obviously accentuated by their lack of a tail - every single part of their body is round. Their hind legs are also significantly longer than their front ones, which gives them an excellent jumping ability. Their fur is composed of a dense undercoat and a mid-length outer coat.
Their lack of a tail is characteristic of the breed, but only some Cymrics are anurous (tailless). There are 4 subtypes, depending on their length of tail:

• The Rumpy: No caudal nor sacral vertebrae and thus the Rumpy has no tail at all! There is a small groove where a tail would normally be found. 
• The Riser (or Rumpy-Riser): 1 to 3 sacral vertebrae and a small "bump" of cartilage where the tail normally is normally found. 
• The Stumpy: 1 to 3 caudal vertebrae which give the Stumpy a short tail.
• The Longy: long, sometimes even totally normal tail.

Affectionate. They are generally very good company.

They love to play! Daily play sessions are key, and they love to show off their hunting skills.

Generally an adaptable breed, Cymric can be very gentle and calm.

A very intelligent breed. They learn quickly, whether that is tricks you teach them yourself, or things they learn on their own!

It can take them a while to trust a new person. But by being respectful and giving them time, they do come around.

Generally a sociable breed, they prefer the presence of their owners over independence.

The Longhair Manx doesn’t generally meow to get people’s attention. They’ll make other noises instead.

Despite being a remarkable jumper and sprinter, they generally only have moderate energy levels.

In theory, they’re far too attached to their owners to run away, but there are always exceptions!

Quite a greedy breed, Cymric normally prefer to stuff their faces rather than exercise.

They can cohabit with other cats, however they must be given time to get along with one another, or at least tolerate each other!

The Longhair Manx can get on very well with dogs as long as they are properly introduced.

This beautiful tailless cat can show good patience with children...as long as they’re well supervised!

Despite their ability to jump and run, they enjoy the company of elderly people, particularly if they’re given plenty of attention.

The Longhair Manx loses an average amount of hair.

Perhaps because they mature slowly, they can sometimes surpass records in terms of their longevity, on average reaching 15 years of age.

Surprisingly tough, they’re a relative sturdy and healthy breed. However they can suffer from Manx Syndrome.

The Cymric has a genetic predisposition towards being overweight.

• Manx Syndrome: when the mutated gene shortens the spine too much, severe abnormalities appear in the spine and spinal cord, such as spina bifida, but also in the bladder, intestines and hind legs ... Manx that suffer from this disease have significantly shortened life expectancies (5 years maximum).
• Megacolon: With this disease, the colon is no longer able to contract to eliminate stool, and therefore the cat loses the ability to defecate. It can be part of Manx Syndrome.
• Corneal dystrophy: eye malformation 
• The Cymric can also develop the same diseases as other non-pedigree cats. 
• They are also susceptible to dental diseases (gingivitis and tartar). Dental care is recommended.

The Manx gene (M), is a dominant gene, and thus expresses itself as soon as it is present. However, all tailless cats have only one mutated gene, with their other allele coding for a full length tail (m). Thus they are [Mm]. When the mutated gene is completely absent [mm], their tail is simply normal. On the other hand, an [MM] kitten will have so many changes to their spine and spinal cord that they will not survive. The gene is therefore lethal, which makes raising the breed rather difficult.
When breeding Manx cats, it is important to never couple two Rumpys, because the risk of having kittens with Manx Syndrome is very high (30% risk).
Cymrics can breed with other Cymrics, Manx, British Shorthairs and British Longhairs.

The word Cymric comes from the Welsh name for Wales (Cymru). Yet, the tailless cat is not Welsh. It comes from the Isle of Man, a tiny island between Ireland and England. The first few small cats arrived there by boat very early in the history of the island. Some of these cats were short-haired, but others were long-haired. When the Manx gene spread, it is likely that some of the first members of the Manx breed, if not long haired themselves, were most likely carriers of the recessive long haired gene.

However, it took a long time for the Cymric be officially recognised as a breed. In fact, some Canadian breeders claim to be responsible for its creation. While there may be some truth to this claim, it is not fully accepted. The various cat associations still do not agree on the classification of this breed’s status. Cymric are more rare than their shorter-haired counterparts!