The munchkin is a relatively new bree created by a mutation that causes achondroplasia, or possibly hypochondroplasia, resulting in cats with abnormally short legs. The breed originated in 1983 when Sandra Hochenedel found an extremely short-legged black cat living under a trailer in Louisiana. This cat, named Blackberry, was pregnant and half of her kittens were born short-legged. One of Blackberry's kittens, a tomcat named Toulouse, became the father of a breeding program that established the breed in North America.