I acquired Manx Cats by Stuart A. Kallen many years ago as a library discard. I had totally forgotten that I owned it. With an upcoming trip to the Isle of Man, this book is perfectly timed. As a slim juvenile read of only 24 pages, it was extremely light on text but had several adorable photos of Manx cats and kittens, which was the real reason I fished this book out of the discards box. How could I resist a cover like that?
Kallen covered the basics in the most simplistic and general terms, such as feline domestication and Manx cat characteristics, care, feeding and breeding. A single-page glossary and pronunciation guide was at the end.
My favourite part of the book covered the names of cats based on tail size, or lack thereof:
“Some Manx cats have more of a tail than others. Manx cats with no tail are called ‘rumpies.’ Manx cats with a tiny tail are called ‘risers.’ Manx cats with an even longer tail are called ‘stumpies.’ And Manx cats with the longest tails are called ‘longies.'”