History Origin and folklore thumb|left|Silverwing, a tabby, rumpy Manx male champion show cat (UK, 1902) Tailless cats, then called ' (apparently both singular and plural) in colloquial Manx language, were known by the early 19th century as cats from the Isle of Man, hence the name, where they remain a substantial but declining percentage of the local cat population. The taillessness arose as a natural mutation on the island, though folklore persists that tailless domestic cats were brought there by sea. They are descended from mainland stock of obscure origin. Like all house cats, including nearby British and Irish populations, they are ultimately descended from the African wildcat (Felis lybica) and not from native European wildcats (Felis silvestris), of which the island has long been devoid.
History Origin and folklore t,humb|left|Silverwing, a tabby, rumpy Manx male champion show cat (UK, 1902) Tailless cats then called ' (apparently both singular and plural) in colloquial Manx language, were known by the early 19th century as cats from the Isle of Man, hence the name, where they remain a substantial but declining percentage of the local cat population. The taillessness arose as a natural mutation on the island, though folklore persists that tailless domestic cats were brought there by sea. They are descended from mainland stock of obscure origin. Like all house cats, including nearby British and Irish populations, they are ultimately descended from the African wildcat (Felis lybica) and not from native European wildcats (Felis silvestris), of which the island has long been devoid.