Manx are prized as skilled hunters, and thus have often been sought by farmers with rodent problems, and been a preferred ship's cat breed.

[11][12] Kayt, used as both a masculine and feminine noun, is also encountered as cayt,[13] and depending on the exact construction, it may be lenited as chayt or gayt.

[citation needed] Regardless of the genetic and historical reality, there are various fanciful Lamarckian folktales that seek to explain why the Manx has a truncated tail.

In one of them, the biblical Noah closed the door of the Ark when it began to rain, and accidentally cut off the tail of the Manx cat who had almost been left behind.

[19] Another genetically impossible account claimed that the Manx was the hybrid offspring of a cat and a rabbit, purporting to explain why it has no or little tail, long hind legs and a sometimes hopping gait.

Populations of tailless cats also exist in a few other places in Europe, most notably Cornwall,[5] only 250 miles (400 km) from the Isle of Man.

In that era, few shows provided a Manx division, and exhibited specimens were usually entered under the "Any Other Variety" class, where they often could not compete well unless "exceptionally good in size and markings".

[24] As with the sometimes-tail-suppressed Schipperke dog and Old English Sheepdog, tail suppression does not "breed true" in Manx cats.

The Japanese Bobtail has a markedly different appearance from the Manx, and is characterized by almond-shaped eyes, a triangular face, long ears, and lean body, like many other Asian breeds.

[5] Manx are medium-sized cats, broad-chested with sloping shoulders and flat sides, and in show condition are firmly muscular and lean, neither bulky nor fatty.

The long-haired Manx, known to some cat registries as the Cymric, has a silky-textured double coat of medium length, with "breeches" (i.e. a distinct jump in fur length at the hocks giving the appearance of old-fashioned, baggy, knee-length pants[31] ) belly ruff and neck ruff, tufts of fur between the toes and full "ear furnishings" (hairs in ears).

Lane wrote in 1903 that the Manx "to the best of my knowledge, information and belief, does not include any long-haired specimens", in his detailed chapter on the breed.

[citation needed] Widely divergent Manx specimens, including even a colour-point, blue-eyed, long-haired variant of evident Himalayan ancestry, have been celebrated on Isle of Man postage stamps since the 1980s, and recent publications often show marbled and spotted varieties.

New Zealand Cat Fancy (NZCF) does likewise for colour and markings, but requires a double-coat and other Manx-specific features that GCCF does not.

All of these additional terms beyond "Tasman Manx" appear to be "recognised", even promulgated by NZCF[42] but without breed standards, and even the permissive Catz registry does not include them as of July 2014[update].

It can seriously damage the spinal cord and the nerves, causing a form of spina bifida, as well as problems with the bowels, bladder, and digestion.

In one report, it was shown to affect about 30% of Manx cats studied, but nearly all of those cases were rumpies, which exhibit the most extreme phenotype.

[9] Feline expert Roger Tabor has stated: "Only the fact that the Manx is a historic breed stops us being as critical of this dangerous gene as of other more recent selected abnormalities.

It is a condition in which, due to absence of a tail, the smooth muscle that normally contracts to push stools toward the rectum loses its ability to do so.

[49] Mutations in orthologs of this gene have been shown to cause tail-loss defects in a number of other species, notably the mouse.

[52] The project aims to answer four questions:[54] One desired result of this research is the development of tests that can be used to keep the breed healthy by identifying cats which should not be bred.

[58] After the initial fundraising goal was reached in December 2015,[60] the first cat sequenced was a purebred Manx calico rumpy named Bonnag, selected because the registry of this dam (breeding female) and her kittens in the British Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) aids controlled study of a specific bloodline.

[57] Bonnag's samples were sent for sequencing in April 2016,[57] with raw gene sequence results received by MCGP in August 2016; the laborious process of genome assembly has begun, to be followed by comparison with previously collected cat genomic data from 99 Lives, and eventual peer-reviewed publication of the results in a scientific journal.

[58] MCGP has already identified the location of the mutation responsible for suppression of Bonnag's tail, the deletion of a single bit of genetic data among 2.8 billion making up the genome.

[58] The selected second sample is from a kitten that had to be euthanised for Manx syndrome, and it is hoped that this new sequence can identify the genetic specifics of the condition and why it only affects some offspring.

Lane's early and experienced account of the temperament of this "variety, which is quaint and interesting" is simply that they were "docile, good-tempered and sociable", and that a prize specimen should be "an alert, active animal of much power and energetic character.

"[19] Manx are prized as hunters, known to take down larger prey (e.g. adult rats) even when they are young, and were thus long in demand[citation needed] for working roles like farm cat (Manx: lughder or lugher 'mouser', from lugh 'mouse')[14]: 507  and ship's cat (screeberagh or screeberey[14]: 138  loosely 'scratcher, scratchy-one', from screebagh or screebey 'scratching, scratchy, scraping').

The breed figures on numerous Isle of Man postage stamps, including a 2011 series of six that reproduce the art from Victorian era Manx cat postcards,[69][70] a 1996 one-stamp decorative sheetlet, one stamp in a 1994 tourism 10-stamp booklet, a 1996 five-stamp series of Manx cats around the world, and a 1989 set of the breed in various coat patterns, plus two high-value definitives of 1983 and 1989.

The Norton Manx motorcycle line (1947–1962, Norton Motors Ltd.), though ostensibly named after the Isle of Man TT road race (which the brand dominated for decades, until the 1970s), was long promoted with Manx cat badges, in the forms of both enameled metal pins and sew-on patches.

Designed by Bob Buragas, the hand-launched biplane model is constructed of balsa wood, features a very short tail (thus the name), has a 32.5 inch wingspan (in versions IV and V), can accommodate .19 to .35 engine sizes, and can be modified with a Dumas Spectrum "combat" wing.