相信大家会比较关心曼基康骨骼方面的知识，矮脚猫的骨骼究竟是否健康？
译文一，来自英国动物福利大学联盟：https://www.ufaw.org.uk/cats/munchkin-limb-deformity

Related terms: achondroplasia, chondrodysplasia
相关术语：软骨发育不全症，软骨发育不良
Outline: Due to a deleterious genetic mutation, the limb bones of Munchkin cats fail to grow normally. Because of their resulting short legs, the behaviour of these cats is affected and they may be predisposed to painful osteoarthritis. A proportion of kittens born to Munchkin parents dies prior to birth because of this serious genetic mutation. Many breed clubs refuse to recognise this breed. We suggest that, because of risks to quality of life, cats with this abnormality should not be used for breeding.
概述：由于一种有害的基因突变，曼基康猫的四肢骨不能正常生长。由于他们的短腿，这些猫的行为受到影响，他们可能倾向于疼痛性骨性关节炎。由于这种严重的基因突变，有一部分比例的小猫在出生前（胚胎期）就夭折了。许多协会拒绝承认这一品种。我们认为，由于生活质量的风险，这种畸形的猫不应该用于繁殖。

Munchkins have difficulty in moving normally, and thus behaving as other cats. It is hard to assess the effect this has on welfare. When it leads to osteoarthritis, the condition causes pain and further dysfunction.
曼基康猫很难像其他猫那样正常地活动，很难评估这样对猫咪福利的影响。当它导致骨关节炎时，这种情况会导致疼痛和进一步的功能障碍。

The di****lities caused by these abnormalities are present from birth. Affected cats can adapt and may learn how to minimise the impact of the abnormalities on their movement to some extent. However, when joint degeneration occurs this is likely to cause pain and further di****lity. Osteoarthritis can be treated with painkillers but side effects from the drugs are quite common, especially when concurrent disease is present (Ramsey 2011).
由这些骨骼异常引起的残疾从出生就存在。受影响的猫可以适应，并可以学习如何尽量减少骨骼异常对他们在运动上的影响。然而，当关节变性发生时，这很可能引起疼痛和进一步残疾。骨关节炎可以用止痛药治疗，但药物的副作用是相当普遍的，尤其是当有并发症的时候。（这里有些词翻译的可能有问题，毕竟不是专业学兽医的，还请了解这方面知识的大神指教）

什么鬼

不是说短腿并不是有病基因么……

The Munchkin deformity is thought to be caused by a dominant, lethal gene with variable penetration. Kittens in which both copies of the gene are of the abnormal form are thought to die before birth. Animals with only one copy (ie those that are heterozygous) show the deformity.
通常认为曼基康...（这句不懂）。携带两份显性基因的小猫会在出生前就会死掉，携带一份基因的个体则会表现出矮脚的性状。

Many pedigree cat associations around the world have refused to recognise the Munchkin (http://www.gccfcats.org/pdf/health.pdf) but their breeding is being encouraged by some organisations. The breed has been advocated by some because of the qualities of its coat and personality but there is no evidence that these features are directly linked to the limb deformity and so breeding from Munchkin-derived cats with normal legs may preserve these neutral or beneficial characteristics while eliminating the deformity that has no benefit for the affected cats. However, since the genetic basis of this problem has not been well defined there may be risks with this approach. It may therefore be safer to avoid breeding even from cats with apparently normal conformations that have been born to Munchkin parents.
世界上许多血统猫协会拒绝承认曼基康猫，但是仍有一些协会鼓励繁殖曼基康猫。该品种因其华丽的皮毛，和亲人的性格备受一些支持者的青睐，但没有证据表明这些特质和短腿有直接的关联，在曼基康的衍生猫种中，那些不具备短腿特征的猫（长腿曼基康）一样会保留这些中性的或是有益的特质。然而，由于这些遗传学的理论基础还不完备，所以即使是曼基康和曼基康生出来的长脚猫也会存在风险。更安全的做法是避免用那些父母都是曼基康猫的长脚猫进行繁育。

The fact that similar deformities are well established and accepted (by some) in other domestic breeds (for example in dogs, Basset hounds and Dachshunds) has been used to justify the creation and perpetuation of Munchkin cats Others have argued against this, for example: “…our consensus is that the basic design of the domestic cat is fundamentally sound. Why mess with it?” Because of possible adverse effects on quality of life we suggest that cats with the Munchkin abnormality should not be used for breeding.
事实上其他的家养品种中，已经存在并被人们所接受的一些品种也有类似于曼基康猫这种骨骼的异常（比如巴塞特猎犬和腊肠犬）。这些类型的宠物经常被拿来去证明创造、并延续曼基康这个品种的合理性。一些人则针锋相对，比如 “我们的共识是家猫（身体）的基本的结构已经足够合理，为什么要去改变它？”由于可能对生活质量产生不利影响，我们建议，曼基康这种骨骼异常的猫不应用于繁育。

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bianca_Waud_haase/publication/303356089_Digging_for_known_genetic_mutations_underlying_inherited_bone_and_cartilage_characteristics_and_disorders_in_the_dog_and_cat/links/57d72c2508ae5f03b494e2a9/Digging-for-known-genetic-mutations-underlying-inherited-bone-and-cartilage-characteristics-and-disorders-in-the-dog-and-cat.pdf
第二篇文献来自这里，有兴趣同学可以阅读原文，我翻译的难免有所偏差。

支持大大

不支持