By Tessa Flemming for the ABC
As the name suggests, the breed closely resembles the controversial American XL Bully dog in its stocky build. Photo:
Wrinkly with stumpy legs and a little bit ugly - the "XL Bully cat" is the latest cat crossbreed to take the internet by storm for its looks (or lack thereof).
But the breed proliferation in the US and now the UK has led to fresh outrage about how designer trends and selective breeding could be harming our pets.
What is a XL Bully cat?
As the name suggests, the breed closely resembles the controversial American XL Bully dog in its stocky build - which was banned in England earlier this year.
The XL Bully cat, also known as a Bambino, is bred by mixing the mutant gene that causes hairlessness in Sphynx cats with the gene responsible for the short legs of Munchkin cats.
Originating in the US, the breed made its way to the UK around August, according to media reports, spurring concern.
A search online shows a small number of the breed are already available for sale in Australia.
But despite their popularity, there's also growing alarm about the breed's health.
A 2018 study by Dutch animal welfare and reproduction experts Marjan van Hagen and Jeffrey de Gier found the combination of the two breeds meant both mutations were maintained and further spread in the population.
The XL Bully cat is bred by mixing the mutant gene that causes hairlessness in Sphynx cats (pictured) with the gene responsible for the short legs of Munchkin cats. Photo:
The report also found the dual mutations interfered with normal physiology of the cat, including its skin health and ability to regulate body heat.
UK animal welfare organisation Naturewatch Foundation said the fascination with an "exaggerated and unnatural appearance" was shocking.
"We've seen increasingly extreme breeding practices in the dog world in recent years, and it appears unscrupulous people are now turning their attention to exploiting cats in the same way, all in the pursuit of greed and social media likes," it said.
"Bully cats are an animal welfare disaster unfolding before our eyes and this kind of breeding is just cruel."
Promotion of exaggerated features 'concerning'
An example of a "bullycat" - a cross between Sphynx and Munchkin cats. Photo: Facebook / Bullycats
RSPCA senior scientific officer Sarah Zito says the breed is indicative of "selective breeding" which produces exaggerated characteristics "detrimental to the animals' physical or mental wellbeing".
"The breeding and promotion of cats such as so-called XL Bully Cats is concerning because the extreme features that are characteristic of these cats (such as bowed legs and hairless skin with excessive folds) could negatively impact their welfare by predisposing them to health problems and restricting their ability to carry out important normal feline behaviours," she said.
"Cats deserve to be able to live a good life and not have their welfare compromised by exaggerated physical characteristics."
She urged breeders and prospective owners to instead "prioritise the health and wellbeing of the cat over the way the cat looks".
The dangers of exaggerated physical features are well documented across breeds.
Even in the case of purebred cats, such as Persians or Exotic Shorthair, flat-faced attributes can make them more susceptible to breathing difficulties, eye and skin problems, dental problems and trouble eating, according to the charity.
Hybrid breeds a danger to more than just cats
The XL Bully cat is not the only crossbreed wooing social media with its unique look.
Bengal and Savannah breeds - which are domestic and wildcat mixes - both regularly feature as perfect TikTok fodder with their exotic appearance.
Bengals, in particular, currently rank as the UK's second-most popular cat breed, according to YouGov data.
In Australia, domestic/wild crossbreeds are banned from import, according to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foresty (DAFF).
These breeds include Savannah and Bengal cats that are less than five generations removed from the Asian leopard cat.
Others include:
- Safari cat - a domestic cat crossed with Geoffroy's cat
- Chausie - a domestic cat crossed with a jungle cat
Chris Dickman, from the University of Sydney's School of Life and Environmental Sciences, said the 2008 ban of Savannah cats protected more than just pedigree.
Due to climate similarities, he says if the breed had escaped or been released, they could have free roamed across 97 per cent of Australia.
"Over 90 per cent of Australia's native terrestrial mammal species would have been at risk," he wrote in 2019.
"Cats already kill over 2 billion reptiles, birds and mammals per year in Australia, mostly natives, and those numbers would have increased dramatically if Savannah cats had established in the wild."
- ABC