ORANGE GROVE ( Kiii News) -
What in the world is going on in Orange Grove? Could it be as some residents claim that a rabbit and a cat have produced the first-ever litter of "bunny-cats"? Really? Reports of such a thing sure peaked our interest. 3 News Reporter Mike DaSilva went to check it out.
You've heard of a zedonk; the unusual cross between a zebra and donkey, but what about a cabbit? The hybrid between a cat and a rabbit...The Conchas family in Orange Grove thinks they may have some cabbits at their home. At first glance, they might look like normal cats, but check out what appears to be a bunny tail...and the way they hop...and then take a look at their hind legs...
The Conchas family says they have five cats that don't have traditional cat tails, and that all of those cats hop like a bunny. And here's where things get interesting; the Conchas family says they used to have a male rabbit that spent a lot of time with a normal looking female cat, and that's the same cat that gave birth to the five so called 'cabbits...'
The Conchas family says the white female cat gave birth to five cats that have no tails, and have legs like a rabbit. How long ago did the male bunny disappear? A year ago or two says the Conchas family. And how old are the five so called cabbits? About two years old says the Conchas family.
While those circumstances do seem interesting, peculiar, and even compelling...science has a different story to tell. Veterinarian Mike Hughes of the Corpus Christi Animal Clinic told 3 News, "in this case, apparently what happened is they got a litter with tailless cats, or almost tailless cats, and when cats are born that way they'll walk a little differently than normal cats, partly because of the lack of a tail, partly because their lacking some vertebrate further up from the tail, which causes some neurological problems and so they'll move differently, and even hop a little bit."
Sometimes people call or refer to these cats at Manx cats, but as far as the so called cabbit is concerned, Hughes says it's simply genetically impossible because when it comes to chromosome numbers, rabbits and cats are not even in the same ballpark. Hughes tells 3 News, "they're not even close, so there's no way that they can breed successfully and produce offspring."
Alas, the fictional, fantastical myth and legend of the cabbit is dispelled and debunked, but you've got to admit, these cats do kind of look and act like rabbits.
