Japanese Bobtail | Active and Intelligent Domestic Cat Breeds

Japanese Bobtail is a domestic cat breed with an uncommon ‘bobbed’ tail very similar to a rabbit’s tail. The change is innate to Japan and Southeast Asia, however, it is now found all over the world. The breed has been recognized in Japan for the periods, and it often looks in traditional legends and arts.

As in various other breeds, Japanese Bobtails may have virtually any color (prepared in any design). Mostly white calicoes are particularly chosen by the Japanese & cat fanciers, and intensely characterized in folklore, however, other patterns are also acknowledged by breed standards.

Personality

The breed is good for families. Due to their demonstrative nature, they make fantastic pets for the children. They like to interconnect with the public using their soft chirpy noises. The breed is very smart and excited about water. This breed is famous for its lively conduct; they are always full of vigor and mischief.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of Japanese Bobtail is expected to be 9 to 15 years.

Grooming

This breed has a light to medium amount of shedding due to its little fur. Its coat is easy to prepare and groom.

Care

Japanese Bobtail breed likes climbing but can be prone to fatness and obesity.

Breeding and Genetics:

Mutation

The little tail is similar to cat body type modification caused by the appearance of a dominant gene. The tail is also reduced and kinked in the Japanese breed. The gene is static/permanently homozygous in the breed, so usually, all kittens are congenital to even one Japanese Bobtail parent will have bobtails as well. A bobtailed cat which is heterozygous for the genetic factor may have kittens with or without the characteristic. Different to main Manx gene, the Bobtail gene is not related to skinny diseases. The Bobtail gene causes very fewer tail vertebrae, besides some fusion of tail spines. This kind of tail is not only distinctive to the breed but also to every single cat, no two are closely similar. For it to be deliberated an exact bobtail cat the tail must not surpass 3 inches from the point of extension to the tailbone.

Odd-Eyed Varieties

Infrequently, a Japanese Bobtail, particularly a largely white specimen, may have heterochromia, or eyes of diverse colors. Irrespective of breed, cats with this characteristic are recognized as odd-eyed cats. In this breed, one iris is blue "Silver" in Japanese breed standings, whereas, other is yellow "Gold". This feature is very common in the breed than in various other breeds, with the distinguished exception of the “Turkish Van”.

Breed Standard

Japanese Bobtail is a documented breed by all major record-keeping organizations, with the exception of the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), the home records office of the UK.

Head: The head should form a consistent triangle. (Excluding the ears)

Ears: Large, erect, set wide separately but at right angles to the head and seeing as if attentive.

Muzzle: Properly broad and round neither piercing nor blunt.

Eyes: Big, ovate rather than round. They should not bulge out away from the cheekbone or the forehead.

Body: Medium sized, typically 6 to 9 pounds, males are bigger than females. Long trunk, lean and graceful, showing intense brawny power. Balance is also very significant.

Neck: Neither lengthier nor too short, in proportion to the body’s length.

Legs: Extended, slim, and tall. The hind legs are lengthier than forelegs.

Paws: Oval.

Toes: Five in front and four in behind.

Coat (Shorthair): Medium length, soft and smooth.

Coat (Longhair): Length should be medium-to-long, feel soft and smooth progressively growing toward the rump.

Tail: Obviously visible and fabricated with one or more curved articulations.

Whereas Harlequin and van designs (color on crown of head and tail only) and solid white, are preferred by many, any coat-color or design of colors is acceptable.

Behavior

Mostly, the members of the breed are energetic and intellectual, with an intensely human-oriented nature. They are easily trainable to perform the tricks than various other breeds and are more perspective to seek human-mediated accomplishments such as walking on a harness and leash and playing fetch. The breed is very alert, vigilant cats that notice a lot. Deliberated as a remarkably "Talkative breed”, they frequently interact frankly with the people. Their lenient voices are proficient of almost a whole scale of tones, leading to a traditional conviction they can sing. Numerous owners also describe the fondness for water, while this is not measured as a breed’s specific characteristic.

History

One thought of Japanese Bobtail cats specify that the breed was brought from the Asian continent not less than 1,000 years ago. In 1602, Japanese authorities commanded that all cats should be released and set freed to help deal with rodents intimidating the nation's silkworm people and their associated business. At that time, purchasing or selling cats was prohibited, and from then on, bobtailed cats survived on farms and in the streets. Thus, Japanese Bobtail cats were street cats in Japan.

Around 1701, in Kaempfer's Japan, the first book was written by a Westerner about the vegetation, wildlife animals, and scenery of Japan. German doctor “Engelbert Kaempfer,” wrote that there is the only a single breed of cat that is kept. It has big spots of yellow, black and white fur; its small tail seems that it has been bent and broken. It has no mind to search for rats and mice but just wants to be accepted and caressed by women.

In 1968, Elizabeth Freret was the first famous person who introduced “Japanese Bobtail” in the Western Hemisphere of Japan. The small hair Japanese Bobtail was recognized for the contests in the Cat Fanciers’ Association in 1976. Acknowledgment for long-haired variety was tracked in 1993. As of 2013, there were numerous Japanese Bobtail breeders, most of them belong to North America and few from Europe and at least one from Japan; however, the breed remains rare.

The Bobtail cats are thought to be the lucky breed to own potential affluence and contentment. The tricolored, Mi-Ke (Mee Keh) is famous as the fortunate color for this breed. There is a Japanese statue of a cat with its paw in the air named “Maneki Neko” (Beckoning Cat) and is an artist understanding of bobtail. These statues are very common in several Japanese shops as they are supposed to fascinate good people.