Character of the cat
This amazing breed of cats with short legs has a good and flexible character. The animal is very calm, which allows it to quickly get along with other pets. Like some Siberian breeds, short-legged cats are completely devoid of aggression, tolerate the attention of loving dogs, but can stand up for themselves if they are attacked by a more aggressive cat.
Very beautiful cats with short legs are friendly to children, which makes them the best nannies. A pet will never bite your baby. Short-legged cats endure all manipulations of an older child with steadfastness.
A distinctive feature of animals of this breed is curiosity. We can say that the munchkin cat is the champion of curiosity, since he must sniff and examine everything. He is not afraid of new people. A friendly dachshund cat strives to get to know a stranger better. Almost instantly he will offer up his plump belly for scratching.
Even a small cat with short legs adapts very quickly to a variety of conditions. He will feel great in a home or a large hotel, as well as in a special carrier during a long trip.
A small kitten will not object too much to long walks on a harness. The animal of this breed simply loves secrets. The most favorite trick of a pet is to hide something in the most secluded corner without the owner noticing. Adult short-legged cats climb curtains, but they cannot jump very high. And remember that they will not catch mice in the house.
Buying a kitten abroad
There is also no clear answer to the question of how much munchkin cats cost abroad. The price starts from 500 US dollars and tends to infinity. While collecting material for the review, the author had to deal with a breeder from the UK who wanted to sell a cute, grown-up color-point munchkin for as much as 3,500 pounds sterling, which, when converted into rubles at today's exchange rate, is equivalent to more than 260 thousand.
At the same time, the seller emphasized that he planned to keep the cat for himself, but if someone offers the optimal amount, then a sale is possible...
Prices on ad sites are more affordable. But again, you need to clarify whether the baby will have a pedigree and what the delivery cost will be. Also keep in mind that a responsible breeder will never give you a kitten under 3-4 months old.
Gallery: munchkin cat (25 photos)
How to choose the right munchkin
Typically, kittens are completely ready to go to their permanent home in a new home at the age of 2 months. After all, from this period of life they can cope perfectly well without a mother. Since this breed is very young, it is not easy to find a nursery that specializes in breeding them. This means that there is practically no chance of acquiring the most ordinary and mongrel cat.
It should be noted that short-legged cats are not cheap. This is due to the fact that only a few kittens with short legs can be born in a litter. However, according to experts, Munchkin cats with long legs are no different from their short-legged littermates. Therefore, they must receive the appropriate documents, and can also become participants in mating with short-legged animals.
Each kitten's leg should be straight and the fur should not be tousled. In addition, you should check if the kitten has discharge from the eyes. The cat, which has such an interesting name, can have a variety of colors and two types of coat. There is no need to purchase a small animal. Today, the Munchkin cat breed standard categorically does not allow animals that show signs of aggression to be bred. You should not buy kittens that are overly shy.
Cost of a munchkin cat in Moscow and throughout Russia
The Munchkin breed still remains relatively rare in our country, and a rare product does not come cheap. Here are some examples of prices from leading Russian nurseries:
- “Murmulet” (Moscow) - 40,000–50,000 rubles;
- Supermunchkin (St. Petersburg) - 27,000 rubles;
- Sunny Fairies (Moscow) - 25,000–30,000 rubles.
In regional nurseries, the cost of a purebred munchkin is approximately the same as in Moscow - 20–40 thousand rubles. It should be taken into account that resolving delivery issues also, as a rule, falls on the shoulders of the buyer (about another 5,000 rubles).
It is worth noting that the indicated prices apply to cats and cats for castration, and specimens approved for breeding will cost more, and breeders do not sell them to everyone.
A kitten for castration is not a marriage
For those who get a purebred pet for the first time, this fact often raises doubts and questions: why is the kitten sold for castration or already neutered? Does this mean I am buying a breeding match?
In reality, there is no question of any marriage. The animal is castrated (or a clause about this is written in the contract) so that the buyer does not engage in uncontrolled breeding of cats. Why? The point here is not only and not so much about competition (although it cannot be done without it).
The position of felinologists is this: only a professional who has undergone special training has the right to engage in breeding. In addition, by breeding “half-pedigreed” pussies without documents, unfortunate breeders sell them at the lowest prices or cannot sell them at all and place them in “good hands” for free.
If the hands are not very kind, the animal ends up on the street and dies.
What to feed a munchkin and how to properly care for it
There are very few cat breeds in the world that can have short or long hair. That is why the frequency of animal care largely depends on the growth of your beloved pet.
A cat whose legs are each the same shape and length must be brushed daily with a furminator to avoid the appearance of a large number of tangles. Animals that have unusually beautiful short hair need to be brushed once every 7 days with a special brush.
Pets, which you can name as you wish, live well in apartments and do not need daily walking. However, if your beloved cat lives in a private home, he will be very pleased to walk on the green grass. In addition, fresh air is very beneficial for cats.
Kittens eat often. This is why you need to feed small pets at least 6 times a day with wet, high-calorie food. It is better to choose super-premium food. Already adult pets eat little. In this case, it is necessary to give the cat food 4 times a day.
Cottage cheese, lamb, milk, and chicken eggs should be included in the animal’s diet every day. But experts do not recommend offering raw fish to your cat.
Origin story
It is difficult to say where cats with short legs came from, but rumors about such animals have been circulating since the 18th century. Most often, such animals were considered underdeveloped for a number of reasons.
The Munchkin breed appeared in the thirties of the last century, but the war completely destroyed the animals bred by breeders, which stopped the experiments.
The ancestor of the real short-legged munchkin cat was Brambleclaw, Sandra Hochenedel's pet. A music teacher took in a stray cat and assumed that the short legs were the consequences of a hard street life.
When Ezhevichka had the same “low” kittens, Sandra turned to felinologists. It turned out that the cat and her offspring are carriers of a rare spontaneous mutation, the achondroplasia gene, that’s what the DNA section responsible for tiny limbs is called. The peculiarity of the breed is that it is highly dominant, so the selection of animals was not difficult.
In 1995, the breed was officially recognized.
Today the munchkin Albert is considered the most popular in the world. This cat has his own Instagram with half a million followers.
