Animal behaviour experts have warned against prioritising aesthetics over health when it comes to purchasing ‘fashion’ felines like so-called ‘XL Bully Cats’.

You may already be aware, but since February, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog in both England and Wales without an exemption certificate following numerous attacks over the UK.

The 2024 ruling, filed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, saw 61,000 exemption applications being submitted through the UK government’s portal before the deadline, as per BBC.

But you may be surprised to hear that the breeders have now created a cat counterpart to the prohibited canine, which has continued to raise the hackles of animal behaviour experts.

The Telegraph reports that these kitties have been reproduced by mixing the gene that causes hairlessness in the popular Sphynx breed along with the gene responsible for the short legs of Munchkin cats.

The RSPCA has also warned these ‘exaggerated’ bullycats, which feature ‘excess skin folds’, are vulnerable to adverse skin conditions and that they could suffer from intense joint strain, as per The Independent.

“Bullycats are likely to suffer similarly shortened lives to those reported from a recent RVC VetCompass paper in Sphynx cats that lived just 6.7 years compared to an average of 11.7 years in cats overall,” Dr Dan O’Neill, Associate Professor of Companion Animal Epidemiology at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), said to Naturewatch Foundation.

“The advice to anyone thinking of acquiring a cat or a dog is to always put the welfare of the animal first and to stop and think before acquiring an animal with an extreme and unnatural body shape that does not exist commonly in nature.”

Dr Grace Carroll, who specialises in animal behaviour and welfare at Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Psychology, also stated that prospective pet owners need to be aware of the risks associated with this popular Munchkin-Sphynx breed.

The feline has the hairless gene from a Sphynx cat (Getty Stock Images)

“Consumers hold purchasing power,” she began. “We can discourage breeders from prioritising aesthetics over the health and welfare of the animals by refusing to buy breeds with extreme traits.

“A fashion toward ethical breeding could ensure future cats are healthier, happier and free to enjoy natural feline behaviour like climbing, jumping and lounging in the sun. We should let cats be cats.”

A 2018 study conducted into mutation breeding by Marjan van Hagen and Jeffrey de Gier, animal welfare and reproduction experts at Utrecht University in The Netherlands, found that it can put cats at a disadvantage in fights.

They also found that like the Sphynx, the cats lack whiskers, which most breeds rely on for communication, navigation and for gauging spatial dimensions, writes The Conversation.

They also have the short legs from Munchkin cats (Getty stock image)

The Cats Protection charity has added that the legs Munchkin cats boast are a ‘genetic defect’ which can lead to ‘painful arthritis and cause problems with their general mobility’.

“Bully cats, being both hairless and short-legged, may face twice the number of challenges encountered by sphynx and munchkin breeds.” echoed Dr Carroll.

Due to the rising popularity of the ‘bullycat’, the RSPCA has issued a statement urging ‘fellow cat lovers’ to adopt a feline in need, rather than buy the mutant breed.

“We understand that their emerging presence on social media may fuel a demand for these kinds of cats but we would urge fellow cat lovers to consider adopting the many rescue cats in our care instead of buying from a breeder,” a spokesperson told The Independent.

“We would also urge breeders to prioritise the health and welfare of any animal over the way they look.”

After her ‘cuddly’ XL bully pup was left bloodied and scratched up by a cat, Casey Wilson, 26, has hit out at the latest regulations which prohibits the breed from going out in public without safety precautions.

This comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared a ban on the breed which comes into full force on 1 February, due to several fatal attacks in the last few years.

With a requirement for the breed to be muzzled among many others, the 26-year-old believes that this was the reason that her large dog couldn’t defend itself while out on its first walk since the rules came into place.

It was New Year’s Day when Nova and Casey were walking when a crazed cat ran at them ‘like a monster’ and clawed at the scared dog.

Sharing pictures of her dog’s injuries online, the owner explained how her pup was left ‘completely defenceless’ by her muzzle.

Casey ranted: “And they say XL bullies are the vicious ones!!”

She has previously shared her struggling to get her dog used to wearing a muzzle, posting pictures of the pup cowering in a corner after being fitted with a black muzzle for the first time.

Casey wrote on Facebook: “We finally got ourselves out.. only for her to be ATTACKED by a f****** CAT!!!

Facebook/caseylee.wils

“She was completely defenceless because she had a cage around her face, not that she would even do anything anyways!!

“And they say XL bullies are the vicious ones!!

“You can literally see where the feral thing had its claws on her nose through the muzzle!!!”

In another post, the pet owner was left exasperated and upset by the muzzle options, writing: “Oh it’s killing me. I honestly do not want her out with this awful thing on! It makes her look like some monster!! She’s so depressed.”

Facebook/caseylee.wils

Casey’s mum, Karen O’Brian, spoke to the Daily Mail about the regulations after witnessing her daughter ‘hysterical’ and Nova covered in blood.

She commented: “It just shows how cruel the law forcing XL bullies to wear muzzles is.”

Karen added that the dog is docile and friendly.

She explained: “Nova is just a bouncy, friendly, happy dog. She loves cuddles and she’s great with my grandchildren.

“It’s heartbreaking that her first experience of being walked on a lead and with a muzzle on has ended like this.

“If it had been the other way around and she had attacked a cat, you can guarantee people would be saying she needed to be put to sleep.

“But she’s such a soft thing, she wouldn’t have retaliated even if she hadn’t had a muzzle on.

“The law needs to target the owners who treat their dogs badly, it’s not fair to make all XL bullies wear muzzles in public.”