Friendly, active, curious cat with a reserved attitude to strangers. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. ", "This is my American Ringtail cat named Pepsi.". I'm so glad that I called the number in the newspaper. Health and welfare of cats with curled tails or unusual tail carriage. When Susan Manley found him, he was a 2-day-old kitten who needed to be bottle-fed in order to survive. The ringtails would move into the miners' and settlers' encampments and become accepted by humans in much the same way that some early domestic cats were theorized to have done. They are fascinated with water, toys of all sorts, bags and boxes and love to climb. The back is highly flexible and long. The muscles in the tail are both larger and stronger at the base than those found in cats without ringtails. Some breeds of cat have been developed from genetic defects that have resulted in a curled tail or a tail with a strange angle (and one that lacks the normal range of motions for a cat). All Rights Reserved. The American Ringtail Cat (also known as the Ringtail Sing-a-Ling) is a fairly new experimental breed that started with a rescued cat named Solomon in 1998. Our work is not Public Domain. The American Ringtail cats like to communicate with voice and special bonding with their owners. She never tries to leave our yard to go to the neighbours or on the road. This is Soloman, photos courtesy of Ring-tailed Housecats Homepage. The ringtail is a small carnivore belonging to the raccoon family, about the same size as a domestic cat and looking like a small fox with a tail like a raccoon. The American Ringtail is an experimental cat breed that derived from a California cat named Solomon. You can find stripes on all over the body such as legs, tail and neck. After consulting with Dr. Leslie Lyons, a geneticist at UC Davis and Dr. Solveig Pflueger who is on the genetics board at TICA, Susan decided to breed Solomon to a mixed-breed cat possessing the Oriental look and a loving, outgoing personality named Audrey Catburn. This agility is attributed to their balancing beam-like tails and unique ankle joints, which are flexible and can rotate 180 degrees. All eye colors are accepted. Susan Manley hopes to have this future breed resemble its founder Soloman. Their playful nature and urge to climb require it. The American Ringtail named for its curled over tail. Their toys will be found in "catches" around the house including under the couch, in the magazine rack and probably your sock drawer if you let them. All our advice is freely accessible to everyone, wherever you are in the world. Please consider making a contribution, big or small, to keep our content free, accurate and relevant. In 1998 a two-day-old kitten was found underneath a temporary classroom of Washington High in Fremont, California. Support International Cat Care from as little £3, Sign up to our monthly newsletter and free e-magazine Intelligent Cat Care, Reg Charity 1117342 (England and Wales) Place Farm, Chilmark Road, Tisbury, Wiltshire, SP3 6LW. At this time no approval has been asked to use other breeds as outcrosses. She has all of the traits that have been described above. I answered a want-ad about a calico kitten in the newspaper that was long haired with a unique tail. Click Yes to help us continue to make these improvements. They are communicative with their owners and make small trilling greeting sounds when talked to (the source of the "sing-a-ling" in the breed name.) Zoe Bird the Ringtail cat at 14 years old—"This is Zoe, I got her from a reserve, she lived under a shed with the rest of her litter. She plays like a dog, her favourite game is to get you to chase her so she can chase you back. The American Ringtail also puts its tail to more use than other cats. Body Type: Long, lean muscular foreign to Oriental type. I couldn't have picked a more awesome cat, even cat haters love her! My family members searched online and figured out that she was even more special than what I had originally thought. The coat is short. A litter born in 2000 to one of Solomon's daughters, however, contained perfect ringtails. After some research Susan found that no other cats, both purebred and mixed-breed, share this trait with Solomon, particularly in the local area of Fremont, California. Susan Manley's niece took this kitten home with her and it was given to Susan to raise because of the care needed to hand raise such a young kitten. I got her at 5 months old and she is now over a year old and weighs about 10 lbs. 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