My roommate apparently told another roommate that she thinks Tildrum is obese. Given that I’d just been noticing how much bigger Tildrum is than Mogget, this had me worried, because I had been thinking that perhaps Mogget wasn’t eating enough but that Tildrum—slight chunk that he is—was just normal. (Mogget, when you get him wet, is smaller than Tildrum, which is surprising given that Mogget is 6 months older. But since they’re both almost full-grown, I hope it’s just that Mogget comes from smaller-cat genes.)

Anyway, so I’ve been researching Manx cats tonight, trying to be sure that Tildrum is indeed just matching breed characteristics–his mother was definitely at least part Manx, a little calico sweetheart, and he was the only full-tailed kitten in the three I saw. One was a stumpy and one didn’t have a tail at all. In fact, I could have adopted his brother instead, who looked exactly like Mogget but with only a stumpy tail, but I figured that would be a little confusing.

(The picture is of Tildrum and his little family before I adopted him. His sister is on the right, the little calico—who had no tail. His brother is on the left, the little black one with a white patch. I’m almost positive that he had more white on him when I saw him in person, which might mean I’m thinking of a different kitten altogether, which might be the little ears in the back. But I think those belong to the mama cat–she seems bigger than anyone else. Tildrum is the little black spot with copper eyes in the center. It’s so hard photographing black cats. I rarely feel satisfied with anything I’ve taken of him lately.)

My discovery: Not only is Tildrum right on with Manx conformation—their longer hind legs and powerful jumping ability call for much more musclier, and therefore heavier, hindends—but I find out he totally would clean up in competition, if he had no tail. 🙂 The breed requirements listed on that page are pretty much Tildrum to a T—minus the no-tail requirement. That especially includes the “surprisingly heavy when lifted.” He’s a dense little one.

Which of course makes me go back to wondering if Mogget is dense enough. But that’s a research project for another day.