Genetic
Ironie of Korrigan
The gene responsible for causing short legs is autosomal - ie spontaneous and not due to human manipulation - and dominant - ie that parents transmit to their children however only one parent is Munchin. We call this gene "M" when its standard (short legs) and "m" when it isn’t (long legs). All standard Munchkins have both genes: "Mm". A non-standard munchkin is "mm". A kitten with the gene "M" in duplicate - "MM" will not be viable. In weddings between two standard Munchkins, we obtain according to statistics:
What is a kitten non-viable? This is a kitten that doesn’t develop fully. It happens this kitten borns, but only in very rare cases - and in this case, it will not survive: it will be an stillborn kitten. Most of the time, the embryo does not develop in utero. When litters from a cross between two Munchkins "Mm", the number of kittens is often lower than a normal litter because of the 25% stillborn or non-developped kittens. So it’s common to have a full litter "Mm". Korrigan Josephine has given us four standard kittens when she was mated with a male "Mm". Same for Chipie's Betty Boop. Our next litter born of parents "Mm" will take place in 2014. For all our other litters, we coupled a cat "Mm" and a cat "mm" (a domestic cat). Statistically, we have:
Why use domestic cats or non-standard Munchkins in the breeding program? Because the first known Munchkin - Blackberry - is also the grandmother of all the Munchkins in the world. If we cross continuously Munchkins "Mm" between them, it would lead us to loss of genetic diversity, as well as a significant inbreeding. The domestic cat opens the way to a genetic variability. This is an "opening of blood".
- 50% of Munchkins kittens
- 25% non-standard kittens
- 25 % non-viable kittens
What is a kitten non-viable? This is a kitten that doesn’t develop fully. It happens this kitten borns, but only in very rare cases - and in this case, it will not survive: it will be an stillborn kitten. Most of the time, the embryo does not develop in utero. When litters from a cross between two Munchkins "Mm", the number of kittens is often lower than a normal litter because of the 25% stillborn or non-developped kittens. So it’s common to have a full litter "Mm". Korrigan Josephine has given us four standard kittens when she was mated with a male "Mm". Same for Chipie's Betty Boop. Our next litter born of parents "Mm" will take place in 2014. For all our other litters, we coupled a cat "Mm" and a cat "mm" (a domestic cat). Statistically, we have:
- 50% of Munchkins kittens
- 50% non-standard kittens
Why use domestic cats or non-standard Munchkins in the breeding program? Because the first known Munchkin - Blackberry - is also the grandmother of all the Munchkins in the world. If we cross continuously Munchkins "Mm" between them, it would lead us to loss of genetic diversity, as well as a significant inbreeding. The domestic cat opens the way to a genetic variability. This is an "opening of blood".
© Korrigan Cattery 2016-2017 - Toute reproduction interdite
