The American Bobtail Cat

By Omer Ashraf

A domestic cat breed, American Bobtail is rumored to have evolved as a result of the crossing between a Bobcat and a domestic tabby cat. This is however, unlikely to be true since offsprings of interspecies breeding are usually sterile, particularly in case of males. So even though there was a large male tabby cat found in Arizona in nineteen sixties who subsequently crossed with a Siamese female and produced the first recorded American Bobtail kittens, chances are that he was just a feral cat of domestic origin. This is probable owing to the fact that the gene leading to the shorter tail is a mutant one and can occur occasionally in domestic cats. It would take another two decades from the sixties before serious breeding was to start. No outcrossing was undertaken and the breed was created through short tailed domestic cats. Formal recognition came only a few years ago, in the twenty first century.

American Bobtails are relatively large cats with a muscular build. They are sturdy and athletic animals. Head is broad and resembles the skull of wild cats, with wide set tufted ears and deep eyes that occur in various colors. Coat is either short and dense or long and shaggy. In either case it is double layered and doesn't get tangled easily. Tail is short and usually half the size or less of a normal house cat's tail. It is said to be the result of a mutant gene similar to the one seen in Manx cats.

American Bobtails resembles their wild cousin Bobcats in a number of ways. Not only do they have a short tail, they also possess a certain wild look and spirit about them that often fools the casual onlooker as regards the identity of this pretty felid. Their hind legs are longer than the front, like those of the Bobcat, and like their counterparts in nature, American Bobtails are capable of great athleticism and speed.

American Bobtails are very social animals. They form long term bonds in no time with their humans and tolerate children and pets quite well. Playful and active, these agile felines spend a great deal of time daily chasing objects and having fun.

The author is a blogger about cats and an expert on American Bobtail cat.