Manx Grooming

About the Manx

The Manx is the tailless cat from the Isle of Man, and the taillessness comes from a dominant mutation that shortens the spine. It has been established on the island for centuries.

The coat is straightforward: a short, dense, plush double coat with a noticeably thick undercoat, which sheds a great deal and mats very little. A comb once a week covers it.

What makes this page worth writing is that the missing tail is not a cosmetic detail. In the more affected cats the same spinal shortening affects the nerves serving the back end, which can mean reduced bowel and bladder control and a rear the cat cannot keep clean. And the tail site itself can be genuinely painful to touch. Both are things a groomer needs telling, because neither is guessable and one of them will get somebody scratched.

The tail types, and what they tell you

Manx cats are not all completely tailless, and the terms are worth knowing because they correlate loosely with how much care the back end needs.

A rumpy has no tail at all, with a dimple where it would attach. This is the show type.

A rumpy riser has a small rise of cartilage or a few vertebrae at the base, felt rather than seen.

A stumpy has a short, often kinked, partial tail.

A longy has a tail of normal or near normal length, and these are ordinary healthy cats that are simply not shown.

All four appear in the same litters. The gene is dominant and two copies are lethal before birth, so Manx are always bred to tailed cats.

The loose correlation worth knowing: the more extreme the shortening, the higher the chance of associated spinal problems, so rumpies as a group carry more risk than stumpies. It is a tendency rather than a rule, and plenty of rumpies are entirely healthy.

There is also a longhaired variety, the Cymric, which is the same cat with a semi long coat and needs combing every few days rather than weekly, plus real attention to the britches and rear.

Manx syndrome, and why the rear is a standing job

The mutation shortens the spine, and in the more affected cats it also affects the spinal cord and the nerves running to the back end. That collection of problems is called Manx syndrome, and it usually shows in kittenhood, which is why responsible breeders hold kittens until they are certain.

What it can produce: reduced or absent bowel and bladder control, constipation, an abnormal gait, and reduced sensation at the rear.

Most Manx are not seriously affected. But a meaningful minority have some degree of it, and the grooming consequences follow directly.

A cat with reduced control or sensation at the back end cannot keep itself clean there in the way a normal cat does, and it may not be aware that it needs to. So the sanitary area and the hair around it need checking and cleaning regularly, and keeping it trimmed short is a standing request rather than an occasional tidy.

The absent tail compounds this. A tail lifts and holds coat clear of the area; a rumpy has nothing to do that, so the region is more enclosed than on a normal cat and stays damper.

Wipe and dry the area as part of the weekly routine, and watch for redness or soreness.

Any straining, incontinence, constipation or a change in how the cat moves is a veterinary matter and not a grooming one.

The tail site, which is a handling warning

This is the thing a groomer will not guess and that gets people scratched.

On some Manx, particularly rumpy risers and stumpies, the shortened tail ends in exposed or compressed nerve endings, or in fused and arthritic vertebrae. Pressure on that spot can be sharply painful.

Practically, that means the base of the rump on a Manx is not an area to press, grip, lean on or scrub, and a cat that whips round when somebody touches it there is in pain rather than being difficult.

Handle the area gently, use a comb rather than pressure, and never lift or restrain a Manx with a hand over the rump.

Say this explicitly to a groomer. Most will handle a cat by steadying the hindquarters without thinking about it, which is entirely normal practice and wrong here.

It is also worth checking as the cat ages. Arthritic change at a fused tail site is a recognized problem in older Manx and can develop into a genuine chronic pain issue, sometimes needing surgical removal of the remnant. A previously tolerant cat that starts objecting to being touched at the rear is telling you something has changed.

A rumpy with a clean dimple and no remnant generally has none of this, which is one practical argument in its favor.

The coat, the shedding and the rest

The coat is genuinely easy and it is the least of the work. Short, plush and standing slightly away from the body, with an undercoat dense enough that people are surprised by how much hair comes off a shorthaired cat.

A fine comb through to the skin once a week, then a rubber curry or glove worked against the lie to lift the loose undercoat. Five to ten minutes.

It sheds heavily, with a heavier drop at the seasonal changes, so twice a week through spring. That reduces hairballs as well, since combed hair is never swallowed.

Matting is uncommon and localized when it happens, usually behind the ears, in the armpits and around the rear on a cat that cannot reach.

Bathing is rarely needed. Nails every three to four weeks. Ears want a weekly look.

Do not clip the coat as routine: it is a functional double coat, and cat skin is thin. Trimming the rear is different and is encouraged.

On build: a Manx has longer hind legs than front, a short compact back and a rounded rump, which gives the characteristic rabbit like gait. That is normal. What is not normal is a hopping gait using both back legs together, stiffness, or reluctance to jump, all of which are worth a veterinary look.

Temperament is generally placid, dog like and people oriented, which makes most of them straightforward to handle.

What to tell your groomer

Say the cat is a Manx and say do not press or grip the rump, because the tail site can be genuinely painful and steadying a cat by the hindquarters is ordinary practice everywhere else.

Say which type it is, rumpy through to longy, and whether the cat has any continence or mobility problems.

Ask for the sanitary area and the surrounding hair kept trimmed short as a standing request at every visit, not a one off.

Say if you have a Cymric, the longhaired variety, since that is a longer appointment with real combing in it.

Ask for a deshedding comb and glove rather than a slicker used hard, and mention the coat sheds more than it looks like it should.

And ask whether they take cats and keep them away from dogs.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Manx