Here's a detailed photographic study of the best-known of the Twisties, our darling Flipper. After the Associated Press story in 1998 which said that the Twisty Kats "were forced to hop or crawl", we received numerous emails from concerned folks who believed this article. It is simply not true. Other prestigious and well-known periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Post have printed much more correct articles.
All the Twisty Kats walk--but they can also sit up like rabbits or kangeroos.
In writing the original newspaper article, the reporter (Richard Duncan) merely quoted a highly inaccurate and inflammatory petition being circulated online. Mr. Duncan's first article said, "The Citizens of the United States against Cat Cruelty and Abuse accuse Karma Farms of purposely inbreeding a 'new breed' of cat--one that is incapable of walking on all fours and must crawl or hop around on its hind legs." (Italics mine) But the Texas AP wire story did not credit this libelous statement to the petition and stated as a fact that the Twisty Cats couldn't walk. The Associated Press didn't even bother to make one telephone call to verify its facts before putting this lie on the wire for release to the world.
So we took Flipper to our local newspaper office and let the whole staff see, pet and enjoy her. The Marshall News Messenger ran Richard Duncan's second article on November 28, 1998 on its front page with the below picture of Flipper and I, and the headline "Breeder says crooked-leg cats cool". The story clearly stated that "Flipper does walk and jump much like other cats..." And Flip got studio pictures which the photographer, Les Hassell, was kind enough to allow us to use here.
So far these unique cats--Flipper and her kittens which still live at Karma Farms, Sergeant Pepper, Lucy in the Sky and Eleanor Rigby--have appeared in countless newspapers, TV news and news magazine shows worldwide, Fox's Pet Week, Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and Victoria Speir and Flipper flew to LA and appeared on a segment of The Leeza Show. Vickie has spoken on TV and a number of radio talk shows around the world. Channel 11 in Dallas videoed Sarge and Flipper jumping a measured 3'2" with ease and grace.
And how about the two of Flipper's Twisty kittens who now live in Oregon? Both Ripley Blue and Joey are now neutered and are happy, healthy and loved. Both grew up to be lovely and unique cats. By the way, for those of you who have been led to believe that either of these Twisties is owned by Tammy Daane or that Tammy's Bigfoot Farms breeds Twisties, you'd better get your facts straight. Bigfoot Farms DOES NOT breed Twisties. Flipper's Twisty kittens are owned by other parties in Oregon, totally unrelated to Bigfoot Farms. Want to see what Flip's kittens look like as adult cats? Here's a Twisty Kat page with the kittens all grown up: Flipper's Kitten's at Age 5
Want more Twisty Kat info? Here is a letter we drafted to answer inquiries:
Thanks for your comments. Please excuse the form letter, but we are really a working horse farm and simply don't have time to personally respond to all the emails we have received. These range from supportive and kind, to thoughtful, curious, and even philosophical to downright evil. So far, malicious parties have threatened to burn our house, kill our cats, and bothered everyone who they can find that is in any way associated with us. Sadly, Animal Welfare and Animal Rights are two entirely different things these days. We have countered this assault on our home and precious cats by opening our home to TV and other media, showing every cat to any media people or representatives of humane organizations who have asked to see them. They KNOW we love and care for our cats, and that there is no cruelty to animals of any kind going on at Karma Farms.
The original Twisty Kat page is not online at this time. If you have seen this page recently, it is on a PIRATED, possibly illegal site, used without our permission and altered from its original form by people who wish to harm us, our cats, and our farm. It would sadden you to hear what some of these crazies have said--and perhaps have done. Eleven of our cats vanished one weekend in August of 1998, while I was at the hospital in Galveston shortly after all the media "flap" about the Kats began. These "humaniacs" and their various Animal Rights groups have their own agenda which includes attempting to stop the breeding of all domestic pets and livestock. We strongly suggest that you research the goals of any such group that requests your money or support.
We DO NOT sell Twisties. Unlike what many have heard, especially in an AP story which was picked up by many newspapers around the world, our Twisty Kats are not "forced to hop or crawl"; they walk, run and jump--as well as sit up like squirrels or rabbits when they chose. They have excellent mobility. They simply can't jump as high as normal cats. But they do jump well--they spend much of their time posed on couch arms or end tables which they jumped up onto with ease. Sarge and Flipper did a measured 3'2" jump for Dallas Channel 11 on video since all this publicity began. They jump up on the beds and the couch backs every day.
Pets are NOT created by natural selection; they are created through selective breeding. How long do you think a chihuahua or a Munchkin would make it in the wild? Virtually ALL English bulldogs are born by c-section because their jaws are too huge to pass through the birth canal. Just take a long look at our pet breeds today and find even ONE developed by a geneticist to improve its survivability in the wild.
Nature has little to do with how we breed our pets. Read the histories of the various recognized breeds, and you will find that they were created by man for his purposes--from providing amusement to killing each other in pit fights. The same is true of our domestic livestock which were bred for human needs and desires, not to benefit the animal or to improve on its physiology for suvival in the wild.
We are certainly NOT calling the Twisties a new breed at this time. We bred the single litter of Twisty kittens because their dam, Flipper, who has the Twisty factor, was so admired by so many visitors as well as our family. Flipper is neutered as are all her Twisty offspring except Sarge and Lucy. They are never mistreated--they don't even go outside. They are our pets, and we love them and enjoy them tremendously.
We are not "breeding" them. We reproduced a favorite pet, neutered her and kept or placed the resulting kittens, all of which are now neutered except the before mentioned two. The litter was born at a vet's and have been examined regularly since birth. They are in no way in pain or unhappy, and are 6 years old in March of 2004. Flipper is still purr-fectly healthy and happy as she nears 8 years old.
Whether or not we ever choose to breed our unneutered Twisties will be our choice. We are enjoying them as our personal pets while we study
these cats' adaptations and on-going health and are NOT producing them for sale at this time.
But if we did choose raise another, would these "kangeroo cats" be different than many other cat breeds? Do people feel compelled to write to breeders of the many well-known breeds which are are not "normal" cats like Munchkins, Sphinx or Manx with peculiarities such as short front legs, hairless or tailless? Many well-known breeds have inherent problems. How about Scottish Folds with closed ear channels, flat-faced Persians with
eyes that are easily knocked from their sockets and sinus problems, Manx with spina bifida and incomplete rectums? At this point, the only thing unusual about our cats is their peculiar locomotion. They have no known inherent problems, just a different way of going. If they DO show problems such as arthritis or tendon problems at an unusually early age, that will be reason enough for us to never breed another.
You may have read about our horses--that is our real business. We are among the
winningest Colonial Spanish Horse breeding farms in the world and the first to export to Europe. You can view our index page and links to our other pages online at:
http://www.karmafarms.com/
Bigfoots forever,
Vickie Ives
Here are some more Twisty Kat links:
There is a Japanese legend known as the Maneki Neko, the Cat of Luck, or the Beckoning Cat. We've had a few people tells us that our Twisty Kats are living Maneki Neko. Want to know the story behind the legend? Click the picture above to find out. (Please Note: This link leads to Tomlyn's CATS: The Musical site "Tomasia's Magazine", who is the youngest member of the family, and has no link back to this page. In order to return here, you must use your "Back" button on your browser.)
"Sassy's page", dedicated to a very special Manx type Twisty. I want to thank Grif Evans for his great work on Sassy's page, his brave and foreright statements, and especially his love for a uniquely wonderful cat. Lots of great pictures here!
And here's the link to see how Flipper's famous kittens grew up.
Flipper's Kittens at Age 6 .
"More Twisty Kats", a site with more beloved Twisty Kats unrelated to mine or Sassy.
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Site meter added 4/3/2001.