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JAPANESE BOBTAIL
The Japanese Bobtail is a breed of cat with an unusual 'bobbed' tail more closely resembling the tail of a rabbit than that of an ordinary feline. The hairs stand „away“ from the tail making the tail look like a brush. The short tail is caused by the expression of a recessive gene . Thus, so long as both parents are bobtails, all kittens born to a litter will have bobtails as well. Unlike the Manx and other cat breeds, where genetic disorders are common to tailless or stumpy-tails, no such problem exists with the Japanese Bobtail. They are small domestic cats native to Japan and Southeast Asia . Their body is not heavy but muscular. Hind legs are somewhat longer than front. The breed has been known in Japan for centuries, and there are many legends and myths, as well as pieces of ancient art, featuring it. Outside of Japan however the breed was not known. Japanese bobtails may have almost any color, but calico (called "Mi-ke", meaning "three-fur") or bi-colors are especially favored by the Japanese. They are active, intelligent, talkative cats with a well-defined sense of family life. Affectionate and generally sweet-tempered, they enjoy supervising household chores and baby-sitting. Their soft voices are capable of nearly a whole scale of tones; some people say they sing. Since they adore human companionship they almost always speak when spoken to. Because of their human-oriented personality they are easy to teach tricks and enjoy learning things like walking on a harness and lead. Although rare, Japanese Bobtails, especially predominantly white specimens, are more likely than other breeds to express heterochromia , or differing iris colors. One eye will be blue while the other is yellow (though in Japan , blue is referred to as silver while yellow is referred to as gold). This trait is popular and kittens displaying this "odd-eye" feature are usually more expensive.
ORIGIN: There are several myths about Japanese Bobtails. Here are some of them: One very cold evening in the city of Kaisers , one cat was lying near the fire. Ember
which jumped from the fire set fire to her tail. Terrified cat was running through entire city trying to extinguish the fire on her tail. The whole town was built out of wood and paper, so running cat caused a huge fire. Entire town was destroyed. The emperor ordered that tails should be cut away from all cats so that never happen again. Other story tells as about temple Goutokuji in Tokyo which was dedicated to cats. The walls are covered with painting of cats with short tails, and it is believed that the temple is under protection of Maneki-Neko cat, and she was believed to be reincarnation of god of gratitude. The temple was formerly used by Buddhist monks. They were very poor, but in spite of the fact that they didn't have anything to eat, their beloved cat Tama was always given food and water. One day count Naotaka saw Tama sitting at the doors and he went after her. In that moment lightning stroke behind him, at exact point where he was before he went after the cat. Tama saved his life, and count Naotaka helped monks to get out of poverty.
If we go further to history we find first mention of those cats in Saga of Genji, in 6th century. Japanese Emperor received short-tailed cat as a gift from Chinese Emperor. The cats were kept only by aristocracy for centuries, until mice ate silk bugs. Then cats were released to kill all the mice, and they have spreaded over the entire Japan .
After the Second World War, American soldiers brought some of those cats with them to USA . That was the first time cats were seen in western world. But they haven't been accepted as a breed yet. In 1968 the late Elizabeth Freret imported three Japanese Bobtails to the United States from Japan and started a breeding program. The breed does come from Japan , and every pedigreed cat must trace its origin to a Japanese cat or imported one.
STANDARD:
HEAD 20 Points
Shape (5)
Muzzle (5)
Ears (5)
Eyes (5)
BODY 30 Points
Shape/Size (15)
Legs (10)
Feet (5)
TAIL 20 Points
Length (8)
Boning (8)
Hair (4)
COAT 10 Points
COLOR/PATTERN 10 Points
CONDITION/Balance 10 Points
Accepted Colors:
| SOLID Blue Eyed White Copper Eyed White Amber Eyed White Green Eyed White Odd Eyed White Blue Black Red Cream TORTOISESHELL Tortoiseshell Blue Cream Blue Patched Tabby Brown Patched Tabby |
TABBY COLORS Blue Tabby Red Tabby Cream Tabby Brown Tabby Blue Mc Tabby Red Mc Tabby Cream Mc Tabby Brown Mc Tabby Blue Spotted Tabby Red Spotted Tabby Cream Spotted Tabby Brown Spotted Tabby |
AND WHITE Blue & White Black & White Red & White Cream & White Tortoiseshell & White Blue Cream & White Blue Tabby & White Red Tabby & White Cream Tabby & White Brown Tabby & White Blue Patched Tabby & White Brown Patched Tabby & White |
VAN Blue Van Black Van Red Van Cream Van Blue Tabby Van Red Tabby Van Cream Tabby Van Brown Tabby Van Tortoiseshell Van Blue Cream Van Blue Patched Tabby Van Brown Patched Tabby Van OTHER JBL COLORS All other colors except agouti ticking or pointed pattern. |
Other links: CFA ZC FBRL ACFA TICA CCA WCF SFDH
