An ordinary cat on very short legs: playful and sociable, but whether such cats should be bred is a debate.
The Munchkin has an ordinary cat's body and head, but very short legs. The breed began in 1983 in Louisiana (USA) with a stray cat full of kittens. It is playful, curious and quick, and likes to sit up to look around. Those short legs come from one gene that makes the long leg bones grow short, thick and a little bent. It runs and plays just fine, but jumps less high than other cats. Vets and welfare groups worry about its joints and back as it gets older. There is still little research on this, and that is why some registries do not recognise the breed.
Sweet and attached to its people.
Most like a lap and a cuddle.
Often stays as playful as a kitten all its life.
Lively and quick: despite its short legs it races around the house.
Usually not a talker. It mostly meows when it wants something.
Clever and easy to handle. It can learn to fetch.
Usually friendly with visitors.
Often good with children who handle it kindly.
Usually gets on with a friendly dog.
Usually happy to share its home with other cats.
Often does not like long days alone.
Often happy indoors, or with a safe garden or balcony.
A Munchkin is a miniature cat.
No. Its body and head are normal cat size; only the legs are short. A cat that looks like a shrunken version of another breed is even disqualified at shows.
Short legs don't bother a Munchkin at all.
Not quite. Munchkins run, play and climb, and registries such as TICA say they move well. But even fans agree they jump less high. Vets warn that the bent bones may lead to painful joints later in life. No long-term study has settled it yet.
Munchkins have the same short legs as a dachshund.
No. Their short legs come from a different gene, UGDH. In short-legged dogs and in people with dwarfism other genes are involved.
Short-legged cats had been seen before, in Britain and in Russia, but those lines died out. In 1983 music teacher Sandra Hochenedel in Louisiana took in a pregnant stray called Blackberry. About half of her kittens had short legs. The breed grew from those cats, crossed with ordinary house cats. In 2020 scientists found the cause: a change in one gene.
A British vet describes four generations of short-legged 'kangaroo cats'. The line dies out during the Second World War.
A German zoologist sees a short-legged 'Stalingrad kangaroo cat' in Russia.
Sandra Hochenedel finds Blackberry, a pregnant stray, under a truck in Rayville, Louisiana. Half of her kittens have short legs.
Munchkins are shown to the public for the first time, at a cat show in the United States.
America's registry TICA takes the Munchkin into its programme for new breeds.
Catz in New Zealand registers Munchkins. In 2003 they may also compete for championships there.
Lilieput, a Munchkin from California, is named the shortest living cat in the world: 13.34 cm tall.
Two research teams find the Munchkin gene: a change in UGDH that disturbs cartilage growth in the legs.
The Dutch risk bureau BuRO advises the government to ban keeping cats with short, bent front legs. It is advice, not law.
A medium-sized, muscular body that stands low to the ground. Because the hind legs are a little longer, its back rises gently towards the tail.
A Munchkin with semi-long, silky hair, a small ruff, 'britches' and a plumed tail. Otherwise the same cat, with the same short-leg gene.
Recognition: Recognised by TICA, WCF and Australia's ACF.
Not every kitten from Munchkin parents gets short legs. A kitten with ordinary legs does not have the gene. Breeders call it a 'non-standard' Munchkin.
Recognition: Not shown. WCF only registers them for breeding.
Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).
Black(n)
White(w)
Red classic tabby(d 22)
Blue silver spotted tabby(as 24)
Blue and white(a 03)
Black tortie and white(f 03)Mink and sepia are not named in any standard, but fall under 'all colours'.
A Munchkin may come in almost any colour, with or without white. Only amber, a Norwegian Forest Cat colour, is ruled out by Australia's ACF and France's LOOF.
The breed is named after the Munchkins, the little people in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
That was the height of Lilieput, a Munchkin named the world's shortest living cat in 2014.
Munchkins often sit up on their hind legs, like a meerkat, to get a better view.
Munchkins like to pick up small shiny things and hide them to play with later.
Earlier short-legged cats were called 'kangaroo cats', because they liked to sit up so much.
No study has measured how long a Munchkin lives. Breed profiles say about 12 to 15 years. Take it as a rough guide.
Every short-legged Munchkin has the UGDH gene that makes the long leg bones grow short, thick and a little bent. It can walk, run and play, but jumps less high, and washing itself is harder. How bent the legs are differs from cat to cat. A kitten that gets the gene from both parents does not survive; that is why a short-legged Munchkin always has one copy.
How it is found: It shows from birth; X-rays show how short and bent the bones are. A DNA test also exists.
Stiff, sore joints: the cat jumps less, walks stiffly and may not like being touched. Vets expect Munchkins to have a higher risk, but how often it happens has not been studied. A lean weight and pain relief help.
How it is found: X-rays, or a trial of pain relief.
Sometimes a disc presses on the spinal cord, so the hind legs become weak. How often this happens in Munchkins is not known; in cats in general it is rare. Weak hind legs or back pain? Then see the vet straight away.
How it is found: No test in advance; an MRI or CT scan when the cat shows signs.
Brush the short coat once a week, the long coat more often against mats. With its short legs it cannot groom itself as well, so help it with claws and ears too.
It plays and runs a lot by itself. Give it toys, scratching posts, a cat tree with low steps and a litter box with a low edge.
Keep it lean: every extra kilo puts more strain on its short legs and joints.
Cats hide pain. Has it stopped jumping, or does it walk stiffly? Then ask the vet about pain relief.
Nothing suggests a Munchkin causes fewer allergies than other cats. So do not count on it.
Checked on 21 October 2026
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