Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1894 — TAILLESS CATS. [ARTICLE]

TAILLESS CATS.

A Colony of Queer Felines at Long Beach, N. J. At Long Beach, N, J., there is the only tribe of tailless cats in the country. The cats are born that way. Early in this century a large English brig was wrecked on this part or the Jersey coast. She became a total wreck, but the sailors' lives were saved and so were a lot of cats. These’feiines came from the Isle of Man, and belonged to a curious breed found on that island and known as Manx cats. At first the animals were quite tame and frequented the vicinity of the lighthouse, where they nightly held open-air concerts that "were not harmonious enough to merit the appreciation of the light-keepers, and ultimate ly resulted in their being driven away. The felines took to the woods and managed to subsist during the first, winter on birds, thousands of which lived in the swamps. The cats increased rapidly in number, and in a few years small packs of them could be found almost anywhere in Barnegat’s woods. Their out-door life made them savage, and the breed seems to have increased in both size and courage, for eventually they became so fierce that they would show fight toward anyone who invaded their homes. They are curious-looking creatures. Their front legs being shorter than their hind legs causes them to make big jumps as they go about, yet it is said they can easily outrun an ordinary dog. Their tails are missing close tithe body.