Other Name
The American Bobtail is a medium-size, muscular cat weighing seven to 16 pounds. His somewhat shaggy coat may be long or medium in length and can be any color or pattern. The American Bobtail cat is fairly long and well built. Their hind legs are slightly longer than their forelegs, a feature they share with Bobcats. It wears a rain-resistant, all-weather double coat. The American Bobtail has a wild appearance, with slightly almond-shaped, "hunter" eyes. And the cat's most defining feature is its short tail, which is between one-third and one-half the length of an average cat's tail. Though the cat's tail is typically straight, it may curve, have a bump or be slightly knotted.
Cats seem to frequently develop interesting genetic mutations. We see them for ears that fold forward, ears that fold back, curly coats, wire coats, and a tail-less or bobtail appearance. The American Bobtail came into being in the 1960s, when a Siamese cat was crossed with short-tailed male tabby. The kittens produced from that mating had kittens of their own, many with the distinctive bob-tail look, about half the length of a normal cat tail, and a new breed was born.
