What does "mutation" mean when talking about cat breeds?
I was looking for a certain breed of cat when i saw that the American Curl is a mutation rather then having a natural or crossbreed origin.
Public Comments
1. it means someone bred two cats, and the genes of one of the babies somehow mutated(like a mistake in its coding) and the genes coded for curly fur instead of straight.So instead of the cat purposely being bred, the American curl came from one kitten having a gene mutation(extra gene, missing a gene, wrong gene) that caused its fur to curl.
2. It's just like the sphinx or singapura. A desirable genetic happenstance was observed and then breeding techniques were used to introduce the characteristic into a stable breed. It's not always perfect. My Oriental Short Hair is a designer breed but his head didn't form properly and he only has one eye. It happens with a certain percentage of these types of kittens.
3. A "mutation" can be any feature in a cat that cannot be attributed to an original wild cat. This can be anything from colouration to a physical characteristic such as the mashed in face of the poor Persian Cat.
4. Yes it is - mutation means a kitten is born that is very different looking then the parents. Some examples of a natural mutation in cats that have become breeds (because someone spotted the mutation and bred for it) are:
Manx (tail-less)
Cornish, German, Devon, and Selkirk Rex cats - all with curly coats and waves. Selkirks come in both long and short hair versions - the other are shorthair only.
Scottish Folds - ears that fold down
American Curl - ears that fold back
Sphynx - hairless
5. A mutation is a natural happening in a cat which can then pass that mutation on to their offspring.
Things like the curl is a mutation, so are the extra toes on polydactyls, and the short legs on the Munchkins, the curly coat on the Rex's and the lack of tails on the Manx.
A crossbreed origin is breeding two cats to get specific kittens who can then pass that on with all their kittens. The Siamese/Persian cross made the Himalayan, that's a crossbreed origin of a breed. Crossing one of each cat from these two breeds produces the same result each time.
With a mutation, the result shows up occasionally though all the kittens will be carrying the gene for it, so then breeding two cats who CARRY the mutation will result in kittens who will also show the result nearly every time.
