Background Interstitial cells of Cajal associated with the submuscular plexus (ICC‐SMP) generate omnipresent slow‐wave activity in the colon and are associated with prominent motor patterns. Our aim was to investigate colon motor dysfunction in W/Wv mice in which the ICC are reportedly reduced. Methods Whole organ colon motility was studied using spatio‐temporal mapping; immunohistochemical staining was carried out for c‐Kit and Ano1; calcium imaging was applied to ICC‐SMP. Key Results Discrepancies between Ano1 and c‐Kit staining were found in both wild‐type and W/Wv colon. ICC‐SMP were reduced to ~50% in the W/Wv mouse colon according to c‐Kit immunohistochemistry, but Ano1 staining indicated a normal network of ICC‐SMP. The latter was consistent with rhythmic calcium transients occurring at the submucosal border of the colon in W/Wv mice, similar to the rhythmic transients in wild‐type ICC‐SMP. Furthermore, the motor pattern associated with ICC‐SMP pacemaking, the so‐called ‘ripples’ were normal in the W/Wv colon. Conclusions & Inferences c‐Kit is not a reliable marker for quantifying ICC‐SMP in the mouse colon. Ano1 staining revealed a normal network of ICC‐SMP consistent with the presence of a normal ‘ripples’ motor pattern. We detected a class of Ano1 positive c‐Kit negative cells that do not depend on Kit expression for maintenance, a feature shared with ICC progenitors. c‐Kit is not a reliable marker for quantifying ICC‐SMP in the mouse colon. Ano1 staining revealed a normal network of ICC‐SMP consistent with the presence of a normal ‘ripples’ motor pattern. We detected a class of Ano1 positive c‐Kit negative cells that do not depend on Kit expression for maintenance, a feature shared with ICC progenitors.