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He Created A New Kind Of Cat
Paul McSorley is so crazy about cats he started his own breed. He calls them Minskins.
To produce the nearly hairless Minskins, the Provincetown, Mass. cat breeder crossed a Sphinx with a Munchkin. Sphinx cats carry a dominant gene for hairlessness with only a light fuzz over most of their torsos. Munchkins are
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He Created A New Kind Of Cat AG WORLD 27-3-22 Paul McSorley is so crazy about cats he started his own breed. He calls them Minskins.
To produce the nearly hairless Minskins, the Provincetown, Mass. cat breeder crossed a Sphinx with a Munchkin. Sphinx cats carry a dominant gene for hairlessness with only a light fuzz over most of their torsos. Munchkins are small cats with a Dachshund-like look. They carry the recessive gene for short legs.
Most new breeds come from a natural mutation that a breeder recognizes and breeds back to create a breed. McSorley developed his concept first and then crossbred the two foundation breeds.
"In the first generation, all the kittens carried the dominant hairless gene, while half carried the short-legged gene," explains McSorley. "Breeding them back to either foundation breed will produce about 25 percent Minskins."
It is the third generation that will breed true to the standard with all offspring both short-legged and hairless. The standard doesn't demand rebreeding to the foundation breed. Allowable outcrosses are Sphinx/Munchkin crosses and short hair breeds. What counts is that the cat demonstrates both genes.
McSorley is in the process of seeking recognition from the International Cat Association (TICA). The Munchkin breed was only recognized in 1995 and then only after what McSorley describes as a "cat fight". He hopes this effort will go smoother.
"I'm intrigued by their unique differences and the art of selective breeding," he says.
By promoting his breed standard, McSorley hopes to avoid problems with sky high prices. He recalls that some early Munchkin breeders tried to cash in on their limited numbers.
He expects that a Minskin sold for breeding might go for $1,500 to $2,500 (comparable pricing to the foundation breeds). However, he is not planning to sell kittens.
"I would sooner place an animal in an established breeding program in exchange for a kitten back in the future," he says. "I am not marketing the cats for sale as much as for expanding the breed."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Paul McSorley, TRT Cattery, 9 Center Street, Provincetown, Mass. 02657 (ph 508 487-6955; website: www.minskin.com).
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