True to its name , the Japanese Bobtail cat is said to herald from the Land of the arise Sun ( although its genetics secernate a different story ) . fit in to legend , the distinctive , short - tailed felid were once owned by Buddhist Thelonious Monk . Today , they ’re a popular good luck symbol , and are frequently the subject of ceramic ornaments and other trinkets . Here are seven facts about the strange — and perfectly loveable — kitty .
1. THE JAPANESE BOBTAIL HAS A COLORFUL ORIGIN STORY.
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However , the quat ’s truthful beginning still remain a mystery , as scientists recently break that the Japanese bobtailisn’t genetically similarto qat from Japan . Leslie Lyons , a scientist who studies cat genetic science at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis , teamed up with her fellow worker to collect DNA samples from 22 computerized tomography breed across the world . Second Council of Lyons toldThe Washington Postthat the Bobtail either “ did n’t start in Japan or there ’s been so much westerly influence that they have lost their initial genetic signal . ”
Some hoi polloi believe that the cats may have first developed in other Asiatic countries like China or Korea . Long ago , when Buddhistic monk first come in Japan , they brought the handy mouser with them to keep rats out of rice newspaper scrolls in the temples .
No matter which storey is correct , we still know that the Japanese Bobtail has live in Japan for at least several one C . One other mentionof the Japanese Bobtail fall out inKaempfer ’s Japan , a book spell by a German MD named Engelbert Kaempfer and published in London in 1701 or 1702 . The work trace Japan ’s creature , plants , and landscapes , and is the first of its kind written by a Western source . In it , Kaempfer writes , “ There is only one breed of cat that is kept . It has declamatory patch of yellow , inglorious and bloodless fur its myopic tail looks like it has been bent and humiliated . ” to boot , many graphics created over the 100 — includinga 15th - century paintingthat ’s now in the Smithsonian Institution ’s Freer Gallery of Art in Washington , D.C.—depict short - tailed Japanese Bobtail cat .
Nipponese Bobtails did n’t go far in America until 1968 , when a Caterpillar stock breeder named Elizabeth Freret spell three Japanese Bobtail kittens after she saw a true cat that a military service family had brought back from Japan . Around the same clip , another stock breeder named Lynn Beck , who often visited Japan , begin importing the Bobtail as well . Beck cease up founding the first cat gild commit to the Nipponese Bobtail , and she and Freret join forces and write the first breed standard for the hombre .
In 1976 , the Cat Fanciers ’ Association ( CFA)—the Earth ’s largest registry of pedigreed cats — accepted the stock for championship position . afterwards , in 1993 , the organization recognized a longhair version of the Japanese Bobtail .
2. THE JAPANESE BOBTAIL CAT’S SHORT TAIL STEMS FROM A GENETIC MUTATION.
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You wo n’t detect many other catsthat expect likethe Japanese Bobtail . The kitty has long hind legs , a slender body , ellipse eyes , large , wide - fix ears , and a wide , trigon - shape head . The CT ’s distinguishing feature article is its “ bobbed ” tail , which is short and furry and look like a pom pom , thanks to its many bender , twists , and kink . No two Japanese Bobtails ’ tails are exactly alike .
According to one legend , the Japanese Bobtail ismissing most of its tailbecause long ago , a sleeping cat ’s tail caught flack . The scared feline reacted by running , and it accidentally set the entire town on fire . The wild Emperor fall out a decree that all Caterpillar should have their tail end chopped off to preclude similar disasters .
In reality , the cat ’s short tail stem from a natural genetic mutation . The trait is recessive ; if two cats with short full dress mate , their kittens will have them as well .
3. JAPANESE BOBTAILS AREN’T ALWAYS CALICO (AND THEIR EYES DON’T ALWAYS MATCH).
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Japanese Bobtails are often show as hold themi - ke(Japanese for “ three - pelt , ” or calico ) pattern . However , the cats can come in in a variety of solid colors , like red , black , livid , and depressed , and in design including queen , bicolor , or van ( i.e. when colouring material is curb to the head and the tail , but the rest of the cat ’s consistency is white ) [ PDF ] . There are also longhaired and short - hairy Japanese Bobtails . Both cats have very little primer , so their fur is sleek and snarl - destitute .
Japanese Bobtails run to have blue or gilded eyes , although any shade is take by cat registries . Sometimes , a Caterpillar will be support with one wild blue yonder , and one gold optic . This odd traitis called heterochromia .
4. JAPANESE BOBTAILS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE GOOD LUCK.
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If the Japanese Bobtail take care familiar , it ’s probable because you acknowledge it from statue of themaneki - neko , or the beckoning true cat . The figurine are often displayed in Asian depot and restaurants , and they limn a curtly - tailed Caterpillar seated with one paw raised . They ’re conceive to bring safe luck to the governing body ’s owner .
5. THE JAPANESE BOBTAIL IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SHORT-TAILED CATS.
You might be question how the Japanese Bobtail is different from other short or no - tailed strain , like theManxor the American Bobtail . While both cat strain arose from a spontaneous genetical mutant , they’renot that much likewise .
The Manx cistron is an uncompleted rife gene , so kittens that inherit it can be born with full - length seat , stubby tails , or no tails at all . In equivalence , the Japanese Bobtail factor is recessionary , and the kat ’ tails are typically about 3 inches in length . to boot , Manx CT often suffer from wellness problems like spinal bifida , and coxa , pelvic , and anal abnormalcy . The Japanese Bobtail is n’t conceive to have any genic wellness issues .
Cat fanciers consider that the American Bobtail — a passably new breed — stem from a variant of the Manx cistron . Their own tail end lengths are about half the duration of a normal tail assembly — much longer than the Japanese Bobtail ’s stylemark pouf .
6. JAPANESE BOBTAILS “SING.”
Japanese Bobtails are identify as “ telling cats ” because they communicate using a variety of musical chirps and miaul .
7. JAPANESE BOBTAILS ARE GREAT JUMPERS.
Japanese Bobtails ’ hind legsare perceptibly longerthan their forelegs . Thanks to this feature , they ’re great jumper , and surpass in feline agility competition ( yup , those exist ) .
