Munchkins are small to medium sized cats with a moderate "semi-foreign" body type. A male Munchkin typically weighs between 3 to 4 kg and is usually larger than a female, which typically weighs between 1 to 3.5 kg. The short legs of the Munchkin may be slightly bowed or cow-hocked (which render these animals of poor show quality). Also, the hind legs can be slightly longer than the front, but these have no noticeable adverse affect on the animal. According to the Animal Planet TV show there are three types of legs on Munchkins: standard, super-short, and 'rug hugger'.

Portrait of a Munchkin

For TICA cat shows, they are separated by fur length into two groups: The Munchkin and Munchkin Longhair. The short-haired variety has a medium-plush coat while the Long-haired has a semi-long silky coat. The Munchkin comes in many colors and coat patterns. This variety stems from the adoption of the 'outcross' program, across the breeding participants. This allows Munchkins to be bred with many domestic cats that don't already belong to a recognized breed.

So, Munchkins are a healthy and hearty cat that in general suffer from the same common health problems as other cats. Some proof of this was provided In 1995, when several Breeders had their oldest Munchkins X-rayed and examined for signs of joint or bone problems. No problems were found!

It is interesting that despite incompatibly issues when inter-breeding Munchkin cats (leading to none Munchkin cat traits in many of the offspring), there have nevertheless been some amazing cross bred animals. These are just some of the cross 'breeds' that have been produced:

• The Skookum cat is a Munchkin cross with the curly coated LaPerm
• The Minskin cat is a Munchkin cross with the smooth coated hairless Sphynx.
• The Lambkin cat is a Munchkin cross with the 'kiss' curly coated Selkirk Rex
• The Napoleon cat is a Munchkin cross with the Persian
• The Genetta is a Munchkin cross with the Bengal

By the way, Munchkins were named after the little people in the 'Wizard of Oz'. But we guess you guessed that already...
But did you know that 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' was written by L. Frank Baum in April 1900 (I just looked it up). Now you remember Dorothys companion the dog 'Toto',but theres a little known cat in the story too....

                DOROTHY
Aunt Em, Miss Gulch hit Toto right over the
back with a rake just because she says he
gets in her garden and chases her nasty old
cat every day.

		AUNT EM
Seventy --  Dorothy, please!

		DOROTHY
Oh, but he doesn't do it every day -- just
once or twice a week.  And he can't catch
her old cat, anyway. And now she says she's
gonna get the sheriff, and --

		AUNT EM
Dorothy!  Dorothy!  We're busy!

		DOROTHY
Oh -- all right.

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