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Two pregnant Munchkins were picked up by Sandra Hochenedal in Rayville, Louisiana, USA 1982, subsequently named Blackberry and Blueberry. She kept Blackberry and found Blueberry a home in Monroe, LA. She later gave a kitten to Kay LaFrance, who had a colony of Munchkins, at her Bed and Breakfast. When kittens were born the short legged ones were called "Babylegs".
Sandra contacted Dr. Solveig Pflueger, the Chief of Medical Genetics at Baystate Medical Center, and TICA's Chair of the Genetic committee, and who specializes in dwarfism in human children, she agreed to breed them to see if they could aid the research in studying dwarfism in children.
May 1, 1995 the cats became eligible to compete in TICA (The International Cat Association) in the New Breed and Color Category. In Jaunary of 1995 there were 230 registered Munchkins. In February 2002 the breed was advanced to compete in Championship status. As of April 25, 2008 we have 3,697 Munchkin and 1,356 Munchkin Longhair.
The traditional Munchkin breed is very popular as pets, however they still face controversy in the showhalls. One of the reasons is because breeders have come up with "Designer Cats" borrowing from the Munchkin the gene for dwarfism, now the world has several varieties of short-legged breeds, two accepted by TICA in classes other than experiemental, The Napoleon, registration only, a Persian group hybrid, and the Minskin, now able to present at TICA shows in the PNB (Preliminary New Breed) group. Other popular Munchkin hybrids include, Bambino, a totally hairless dwarf, Kinkalow, a dwarf with ears that curls backwards, Skookums, curly coat derived from the LaPerm breed, and several others not quite so well known.
Why do people want so many different varieties of dwarfs, I can not explain this fascination other than their personality and appealing looks. Maybe they are as close as well can get to Cat Fairies.
For more information on Munchkins please visit www. munchkins. com
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