The Japanese Bobtail is an old Japanese breed with a short, pom-pom tail, familiar from the beckoning cat figure. The tricolour pattern is considered lucky.
Its tail gene causes no spinal problems. The breed is recognised internationally but not by the main British registry.
The Japanese Bobtail is a slender, active cat with a short tail carried like a pom-pom. It has lived in Japan for many centuries and is the model for the beckoning cat figure seen in shops and restaurants.
Cats are thought to have reached Japan from the Asian mainland more than a thousand years ago, and short-tailed cats appear in Japanese paintings and woodblock prints from the Edo period onwards. They were ordinary street and farm cats, valued for protecting silkworms and grain from rodents. Breeding to a standard began only after cats were taken to the United States in 1968; the American registry recognised the breed in 1976.
The tail is a few centimetres long and is curved, kinked or angled, with hair that fans out to hide the bone. No two are alike. The body is long and lean, with hind legs noticeably longer than the forelegs, a triangular head, high cheekbones and large oval eyes. There are short-haired and long-haired forms. The most prized pattern is mi-ke, a tricolour of white with red and black patches, considered lucky in Japan.
Japanese Bobtails are busy, intelligent and sociable. They are talkative, with a wide range of soft, chirping sounds, and many enjoy water and carry toys in their mouths.
The coat has little undercoat and needs a weekly comb. The gene that shortens the tail is recessive and affects only the tail; it is not associated with the spinal defects seen in the Manx. The breed is regarded as healthy.
The breed is recognised by the American and international registries. It is not recognised by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy, and very few are kept in Britain.