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Japanese Bobtail Japanese
Bobtail - Ninja -
photograph © Helmi Flick.
This is a linked photograph. Click on this photograph to see one of the best cat photographs on the internet in very large format.
ContentsHistoryAppearance/Character Health Breeders IntroductionOther than the Japanese Bobtail's impressive and interesting appearance, the overriding topic of interest in relation to this cat is the history of the breed and the myths and stories surrounding it as they are rooted in the history of the country.Sculptures and illustrations made centuries ago apparently depict the Japanese Bobtail. A current, extremely common and commercialized depiction of this cat can be seen in the good luck charm, the Welcoming Cat. This is the Maneki Neko ("Beckoning Cat") figurine. The figurine is a very stylized and kitsch representation of the Japanese Bobtail, beckoning a customer in.
The Japanese way to beckon is with the palm outwards and the fingers waving in. The Western way is the back of the hand outwards. The figurine is doing it the Eastern Way and Ninja, above, the Western way  . The history behind the Beckoning Cat is worth telling briefly. There are many stories. One concerns a 17th century cat called Tama who lived with a priest. The priest wanted the cat to contribute to temple life. A dignitary was visiting the temple during a rainstorm and sheltered under a tree. Tama welcomed him in. Shortly afterwards, lightening hit the tree. As a reward the dignitary helped the temple. The legend was born. In another story from the same period a cat's head (yes, just the head) saved the life of a geisha called Usugumo by biting the head of a snake nearby. Moments before being beheaded the cat had pulled at the hem of the geisha's robe to alert her to the snake but an admirer thought the cat a "goblin cat" and beheaded her. The raised left arm of the figurine/statue symbolises the arm of the cat pulling at the robe. There are apparently many other stories. The favorite colors of the Maneki Neko are the same as the cat (see below). {return to top}
HistoryIt is said that this cat was imported into Japan from China and/or Korea about one thousand years ago. In 1701 a writer (travel writer perhaps) said that the Japanese only keep one type of cat, the Japanese Bobtail, with a preference for the bicolor and tricolor coat. The calico (tricolor) is called mi-ke, meaning "three-fur" (meaning three colors of fur, white, black and orange). The term calico is used in the USA. The term is tortoiseshell-and-white in the UK. See Kiku below for a calico coated cat. There is a possibilty that there is a link between this cat and the Kurilian Bobtail. These breeds do, though, have different appearances. However, the short tail of both breeds is due to the natural mutation of a recessive gene. The Kurilian Bobtail is thought to have evolved on the Kuril Islands. These islands are off the north coast of Japan's Hokkaido island. Russia is nearby. Some believe that the Japanese Bobtail originates from the Kurilian Bobtail. It could be vica-versa. Often the exact nature of a cat's origins are a little hazy. Here's a potted history in table form. {return to top}
 Japanese
Bobtail - Kiku
- © Helmi Flick - click on this linked image
for a superb large format image Appearance/CharacterAs the appearance is so well illustrated in Helmi's fine photographs I won't use too many words to describe this cat. Also, coming soon is a discussion on the breed standard in which I discuss appearance in relation to the standard.Popular colors are those illustrated in Helmi's photographs; calico (Kiku above) and bicolor black and white (Ninja, the header photograph). The pattern is a Van pattern. You can also
find this breed in solid colors, tabbies and dilute
colors (creams, blues etc.). Cats with lots of white sometimes have
heteroch
 romia (odd eye color). One eye will be blue
(silver) and the
other yellow (gold). This is due to the white spotting gene (Piebald
gene) that produces the bicolor and calico coat.The gene
prevents eye pigmentation reaching one eye as well as
affecting coat pigment migration.
Perhaps it is useful to compare this cat with the other bobtailed cats, particularly the Manx and the Kurilian Bobtail. The Japanese Bobtail is lighter framed and it could be said more elegant than the stocky Kurilian and Manx. The tail should not be longer than 3 inches for a show cat (per breed standard). You can see that Kiku's tail has typically fluffed up like a pom-pom on top of a hat. For the longer haired cats the pom-pom is even more pronounced. The tail bones are either fused together or there are one or two mobile joints. The Japanese Bobtail is active, energetic and affectionate. They have stable characters making them good with children and other pets including dogs. You should schedule in some play time and ensure she has some companionship either human or cat or both. {return to top}  Photograph of
Joudama
© Helmi Flick (my words
)HealthA short note about health. Japanese Bobtail breeders say that this cat does not have the same issues of potential ill-heath due to the tailless gene that are encountered with the Manx, another bobtailed cat.This is because the mutant gene is, it seems, different and recessive. There are no health issues, with this breed, that are lnked to the mutated gene, in fact. {return to top} BreedersI will stick to my simple test. If the breeder is in the first three pages of a Google search it indicates that they are established and organised - a fair test but only an indicator - please ask questions and visit the cattery.Janipurr Japanese Bobtails Located in the San Franciso Bay area, California, USA. Cat-Chi Cats Located in the Washington DC area, Virginia, USA. These are the only two catteries with their own website in the first three pages. From Japanese Bobtail to All Cat Breeds
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