American Bobtail Shorthair
American Bobtail Longhair
Rating of Characteristics
- Activity level : N/A
- Playfulness : N/A
- Need for attention : N/A
- Affection toward its owners : N/A
- Vocality : N/A
- Docility : N/A
- Intelligence :N/A
- Independence : N/A
- Healthiness and hardiness : N/A
- Need for grooming : N/A
- Compatibility with children : N/A
- compatibility with other pets : N/A
The cat is not related to the Japanese Bobtail despite the similar name and physical type—the breeding programs are entirely unrelated and the mutation causing the bobbed tail is different because the mutation causing the American Bobtail’s tail is dominant, whereas the Japanese Bobtail tail mutation is recessive.
American Bobtails are a very sturdy breed, with both short- and long-haired coats. Their coat is shaggy rather than dense or fluffy. They can have any color of eyes and fur, with a strong emphasis on the “wild” tabby appearance in show animals.
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History 1
Bobtails are said to be the result of a crossbreeding between a domestic tabby cat and a bobcat. Yodie, a short-tailed brown tabby male, mated with a seal point Siamese colored (cat) female to create the Bobtail’s original bloodline. Most of the early bloodlines have been eliminated.
Although this is genetically possible, the bobcat/domestic cat hybrids, particularly the male, would probably become sterile. The unusual tail is actually the result of a random spontaneous genetic mutation within the domestic cat population or is related to the dominant Manx gene.
This cat’s original appearance genetics were modified in the breed to form a new and improved breed which comes in all colors, categories and divisions. New shorthair versions have appeared where once only longhair versions were fully recognized.
These new lines, which invoke a gentler, sweeter cat with the remaining wild look features, may have begun in Florida. It is still permitted to outcross the Bobtail with domestic stock, so long as the currently small gene pool is kept healthy. Manx and Japanese Bobtails are not used in the integrated matrix.
The breed was recognised by the International Cat Association in 1989. The breed is accepted for Championship competition in The Cat Fanciers Association, The International Cat Association and the American Cat Fanciers’
Personality
Breeders claim that Bobtails are playful, friendly, energetic and extremely intelligent, but some are born scared, not playful, and not very fast at opening up. American Bobtails have dog-like personalities, often play fetch, and greet their owners at the door. They are very tolerant of being picked up by younger children and handled like a sack of potatoes. They have been known to escape from closed rooms and fastened cages.
They are also known to annihilate stress, anger, sadness and other emotions. Bobtails also have a tendency to steal shiny objects and stash them away in a hiding place, requiring owners to know where their cat keeps their hoard when the owner wants to retrieve the items.
Development and appearance
Bobtails require two to three years to develop, slower than many domestic cat breeds.
The American Bobtail is an ideally naturally occurring hearty short-tailed cat. Its body is moderately long and substantial, stocky, with a noticeable rectangular stance. Boning is substantial, and the chest is full and broad.
The hips are substantial, almost as wide as chest and hind legs longer than fore legs with large round feet which may have toe tufts.
The head is a broad wedge without flat planes, size proportionate to body. There is a concave curve from nose to brow, or rise to prominent brow, a broad unpinched muzzle, prominent whisker pads, a gently sloped wide nose and full strong jaws.
The ears are medium-sized, wide-based, and equally mounted on top and side of head with rounded tips. The eyes are almost almond shape,with size proportionate to head.
The aperture is angled to base of ear, and with medium wide spacing and deep sockets. Eye color varies with coat color.
The end of the tail is visible above the back, but not beyond the hock while the animal is in repose. The tail is straight or curved, slightly knotted or may have bumps.
History
Until recently the American Bobtail has received little attention, so most people are surprised to learn that it has been catting around America for as long as the better-known Japanese Bobtail (see page 136), first imported to the United States in the late 1960s. The American Bobtail appeared on the scene in the 1960s as well, but because of the haphazard debut of the Bobtail, the word is just now beginning to spread about this breed.The cat?s history is uncertain. The original Bobtail bloodline came from a mating between a short-tailed brown tabby male named Yodie and a seal point Siamese female. Yodie was obtained by John and Brenda Sanders of Iowa while they were vacationing near an Indian reservation in Arizona. The parentage of Yodie is unknown, but was thought to have been a bobcat/domestic cat hybrid because of its stubby tail.
Birman, Himalayan, and a Hima-layan/Siamese cross were then added to the bloodline. Mindy Schultz (now Mindy Cave), a friend of the Sanders and the earliest Bobtail breeder, wrote the first provisional standard in the early 1970s. However, at that time the breed experienced setbacks due to the usual obstacles?developing and promoting a new breed of cat is an endeavor that requires the patience of Job, the wealth of Midas, the wisdom of Solomon, and the tenacity of the Terminator.
What happened in those early years seems immaterial at this point. Most of the early bloodlines have been phased out. In the mid-1980s a group of Bobtail breeders decided to break away from the original blueprint of the cat, which was essentially a short-tailed pointed longhair with white mittens and a white face blaze. Breeders were having difficulty working with the complicated combination of genes required for the bobbed tail, Himalayan color pattern, and the white spotting factor. The original line became too inbred to be usable.
The new and improved American Bobtail comes in all colors, categories, and divisions. The trend among today?s breeders is toward a sweet, domestic cat that has the natural, wild look of the bobcat. The new Bobtail lines were reputed to have begun in Florida with trysts between domestic cats and bobcats, the kittens of which fell into the hands of breeders working with the Bobtail. However, these matings cannot be documented since they appear to be on the order of: ?Well, our cat got out, and there were these bobcats running around all over the place, and then the kittens were born with those stubby little tails. . . .?
While it is possible for the bobcat (Felis rufus, an indigenous North American spotted cat closely related to the larger lynx) to mate with domestic cats, bobcat/domestic cat hybrids, particularly the males, would most likely be sterile. Possibly the short, bobcat-like tail occurred as a spontaneous mutation within the domestic cat population, or is related to the dominant Manx gene.
Outcrossing the Bobtail to domestic stock is still allowable. The goal is to keep the gene pool healthy since it is still quite small. Neither Manx nor Japanese Bobtails are used in the matrix, nor are bobcats bred into the existing lines. Originally recognized only as a longhair, a shorthair standard has now been written and accepted.
Personality
While the breed is still developing, breeders say that Bobtails are playful, energetic, and friendly, and possess an uncanny intelligence for Houdini-type escapes from closed rooms and fastened cages. Very people-oriented, they are not above demanding human attention by meowing or commandeering available laps.
On the cat activity scale (with, perhaps, the Persian as a serene ?1? and the Abyssinian as an animated ?10?), the Bobtail rates a 7 or 8 ? fun-loving and frisky but not overactive.
Conformation
Bobtails are slow to develop, reaching maturity somewhere between two and three years. Like the bobcat?s, the Bobtail?s hind legs are slightly longer than the front legs, and the feet are large and round and may have toe tufts.
The Bobtail?s most noted feature?its succinct tail?is one-third to one-half the length of an ordinary cat?s, and should not extend below the hock. Like the Manx, the Bobtail?s tail appears to be governed by a dominant gene. The tail is straight and articulate but may curve, have bumps or be slightly knotted. Bobtails with no tails (also called rumpies) are not acceptable because of the health problems associated with the shortened spine.
 | (TICA standard) The ideal Bobtail is a naturally occurring short-tailed cat. Being a product of natural selection, it is a hearty breed, with all the intelligence and skill that nature demands of her creatures. |
 | Moderately long and substantial; semi-cobby; stocky; noticeable rectangular stance; boning substantial; chest full and broad; hips substantial, almost as wide as chest. |
 | Broad modified wedge, without noticeable flat planes; size in proportion to body; concave curve between nose and brow, can have rise to prominent brow; muzzle broad, never pinched; whisker pads noticeable but not prominent; nose wide, gently sloped; jaws full, strong. |
 | Wide at base with slightly rounded tips; size medium, as much on top of the head as on the sides; furnishings desirable; lynx tipping preferred. |
 | Shape oval to large almond; size in proportion to head; aperture angled to base of ear; medium wide apart and set deep. Color depends upon coat color. |
 | May be straight, slightly curved, have bumps, or be slightly knotted; tail is short, halfway to hock (in repose); should be carried erect; must be long enough to be clearly visible above the back and not so long as to extend past the hock of hind leg. |
 | Shorthair:length medium-short; texture resilient; all-weather; double coat; undercoat present.Longhair: length semi-long; shaggy; tapering to slightly longer hair on ruff, britches, belly, and tail; non-matting; somewhat resilient; all-weather; double coat; undercoat present, not extremely dense. Seasonal variation should be recognized. |
 | All categories; all divisions; all colors. |
 | No tail or full length tail; bad hips. |
 | None. |
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