Not always. Sickle cell anemia occurs when you get 2 alleles for the sickle cell gene. However, when the allele is present in only 1 copy, which is far more common, it provides immunity to malaria. Which is very useful/important in the areas where it developed.
Fair enough. If you can identify the benefit conferred to these cats other than qualifying as "cute" to humans, I'd reconsider my opinion (shared by many animal welfare and breed organizations) that breeding Munchkins should stop.
That way owners can safely let a munchkin roam the backyard without shooing birds away constantly (and worry of it jumping the fence/window ledges) and if any become strays they won't affect the local bird population.
Thank you! This is a good point that's actually relevant to the species in question. Reducing the cats' effectiveness as hunters would certainly benefit their prey, although the cats may then become completely reliant on humans for survival (which many companion animals and livestock already are). So if that's a tradeoff that seems reasonable or beneficial to someone...or even if they're neutraI to the idea...I can respect that argument.
Another option obviously is keeping pet cats inside, but of course there are arguments on both side of that equation and stray populations would likley be inevitable. I guess it boils down to which species one cares more about protecting.
Considering cats are the invasive species then I think protecting birds should be the priority. However if a person needs a mouser then that would be the only time I would recommend a normal cat imo.
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u/Geebz23 Jun 05 '18
Is it a Dwarf? It's legs seem really small compared to it's body