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 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. The Japanese Bobtail is a small domestic cat native to Japan and Southeas Asia. 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. Japanese bobtails may have almost any color, but calico (called "Mi-ke", meaning "three-fur") or bi-colours are especially favoured by the Japanese.
The earliest written evidence of cats in Japan indicates that they arrived from China or Korea at least 1,000 years ago. In 1602, Japanese authorities decreed that all cats should be set free to help deal with rodents threatening the silk-worms. Buying or selling cats was illegal, and from then on, bobtailed cats lived on farms and in the streets. So, the Japanese Bobtails are the "street cats" of Japan.
The Japanese Bobtail is mentioned in "Kaempfer's Japan" First published in London in 1701/02 it is the first book written by a westerner about the flora, fauna and landscape of Japan. Kaempfer (a German Doctor)states that; "there is only one breed of cat that is kept it has large patches of Yellow, black and white fur, it's short tail looks like it has been bent and broken. It has no mind to hunt for rats and mice but just wants to be carried and stroked by women"
The [Maneki Neko], or beckoning cat, which is a Japanese Bobtail seated with one paw raised, is considered to be a good-luck charm. A maneki-neko statue is often found in the front of stores. Look around the next Japanese restaurant you visit you’ll likely spot one. In 1968 the late Elizabeth Freret imported the first three Japanese Bobtails to the United States from Japan. In 2001 the first registered litter of Bobtails in the UK were bred under the "Solstans" prefix.
They are active earlier, and walk earlier. Affectionate and generally sweet-tempered, they enjoy supervising household chores and baby-sitting. They are active, intelligent, talkative cats with a well-defined sense of family life. 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.
