Permissible
- All colour varieties and patterns including all colour varieties with white
- Any amount of white
No breeder is on record here yet. Portugal’s FIFe member club does not list this breed in its breeder directory at all, so an absence here says nothing about whether anyone breeds it in Portugal.
Medium-sized longhaired tailless cat, the longhaired version of the Manx. Round body with powerful hindquarters.
Longhaired kittens have always appeared in Manx litters. Recognized as a separate breed in the 1960s-70s. Named after Cymru, the Welsh name for Wales. Same tailless mutation as Manx.
Generally described as gentle, loyal, intelligent, playful and devoted.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
Breed reference from The Cat API.
Drawn from sources, not opinion: The Cat API; Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW), compiled with veterinary surgeons, citing Deforest & Basrur 1979 (Canadian Veterinary Journal) and Robinson 1993 (Journal of Heredity) among other peer-reviewed sources; FIFe breed standard. An empty column means we hold nothing for that side, not that there is nothing to say.
The Cymric standard is published by the FIFe (Fédération Internationale Féline), the international federation of pedigree-cat clubs, and it is what show judges apply. This section sums up what it says about coat and colour. It does not assess any one animal: use it to know what to ask the breeder.
Medium length double coat.
Soft and silky overcoat.
Undercoat soft and thick, well-padded all over the body.
Gradually longer from shoulders to rump with a tendency to a frill and knickerbockers.
Permissible
Shortened from FIFe standard CYM — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source. FIFe lists this standard’s last modification as 2026. Text read on 31 Aug 2026.
The colour varieties FIFe recognises for this breed are listed, with their EMS codes, in the table at the end of its standard. FIFe describes each colour group in the General Part of its standards.
The colours and patterns the standard admits, and what it prefers, discourages or disqualifies in each. An accepted colour says nothing about health. Quotations from the FIFe are in English, as the standard publishes them; the headings are ours.
Known hereditary risks for the Cymric breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
1 condition documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Documented in this breed, but no source says how many of its dogs carry or have them. That is a gap in the evidence, not a sign they are rare.
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the Cymric in general; any individual animal can differ.
Cymric is the longhaired variant of the Manx and carries the same autosomal dominant 'M' gene responsible for taillessness. The same mutation frequently disrupts development of the sacral and caudal spinal cord and vertebrae, producing a spectrum of spina bifida-type defects. Reported signs include an abnormal hopping gait, urinary and faecal incontinence, loss of sensation around the perineum, and (in stumpy-tailed cats) painful arthritis in the tail stump. A 1979 study found 7 of 44 Manx kittens (16%), all completely tailless 'rumpy' cats, affected. Severely affected kittens can die in utero or require early euthanasia. Homozygous cats (two copies of the mutant gene) do not survive to birth.
What to ask for
No DNA test for degree of expression exists. Diagnosis of the spinal defects is by veterinary neurological examination, radiography, myelography or MRI. Tail length/type (rumpy, rumpy-riser, stumpy, or fully tailed) can be assessed on physical examination but does not reliably predict which cats will have spinal cord involvement.
Cymric is the longhaired variant of the Manx and carries the same autosomal dominant 'M' gene responsible for taillessness. The same mutation frequently disrupts development of the sacral and caudal spinal cord and vertebrae, producing a spectrum of spina bifida-type defects. Reported signs include an abnormal hopping gait, urinary and faecal incontinence, loss of sensation around the perineum, and (in stumpy-tailed cats) painful arthritis in the tail stump. A 1979 study found 7 of 44 Manx kittens (16%), all completely tailless 'rumpy' cats, affected. Severely affected kittens can die in utero or require early euthanasia. Homozygous cats (two copies of the mutant gene) do not survive to birth.
What to ask for
No DNA test for degree of expression exists. Diagnosis of the spinal defects is by veterinary neurological examination, radiography, myelography or MRI. Tail length/type (rumpy, rumpy-riser, stumpy, or fully tailed) can be assessed on physical examination but does not reliably predict which cats will have spinal cord involvement.