American Bobtail Cats

By: SnowWhite


The American Bobtail breed was developed basically to bear harsh environments and survive feral conditions. The breed was developed around 1960, and breeders continued keeping that strong, beautiful-looking breed.

The Cats are characterized by their tough, yet adorable look, with strong, muscular thighs. The body is long, rectangular and smooth without any prominent parts, ensuring flexibility, to help the cat moving around rough grounds and climb trees.

The American Bobtail Cat, in its look, is similar to a few other breeds from which it was developed. It looks quite like the Wild Bobtail Cat, which appears more aggressive with a wide face and triangular ears.

What differentiates the American Bobtail from the rare Kurilian Bobtail and the Wild Bobtail is its medium length tail that is nearly one-third or maximum half of the normal tail length. Their eyes, ears and face could also tell a slight different, but not quite apparent like the color patterns and tail length.

The common eye colors in American Bobtail Cats are green and hazel. The round eyes take a special shape with a straight top along with the eyebrow lines that extend on the sides, to result in the intelligent hunting look of wild cats.

The reason why American Bobtail coat comes in all patterns and different lengths is to enhance its wild, natural color and appearance as it is mainly developed from the wild cats.
The coat comes in two lengths; a double layer, thick and short coat and another medium-long one. Both give marvelous look with the brown/black swirling and golden color gradient on the background.

A slow maturing breed is the American Bobtail Cat. The female is usually smaller in size than the males, and both may take up to 4 years to reach their full size and maximum growth. The size differs with the coat type, for example a cat with shorter coat is bigger than others.

The American Bobtail Cats possess a strong hunting instinct and remarkable intelligence. They like to spend times outdoors, alone or with their owners, and they love to hunt birds and insects. If you decide one day to have an American Bobtail, you should offer it an open habitat that allows the cat to run, exercise and hunt when it needs as such breeds would escape the restricted places and refuse being locked.

The cat also has a strong personality, however they are very tolerant in dealing with children and they don’t mind being picked up by kids then dropped like a bag of potatoes.
The playful character of this breed makes it the best for kids as they tend to be like dogs, learning tricks and greeting their owners when they return home. They love to play with their owners and they can spend hours on a hide-and-seek game. They are also quite tender when they recognize the sadness or distress on their owner, such that they could offer a hug and soft shoulder to cry on.

The recommended nutrition for this breed should contain enough calcium, oils and proteins to support the cat’s big body and its muscular building. You should also care of the cat’s joints, especially the hind legs, as the long legs with heavy weight will develop a more frequent joint fatigue.