About the American Bobtail Cat
American Bobtail is a feline breed. It
is said to resemble the wild Bobcat in
its looks.
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
Bobtail Traits
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 Bobtail Personality
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.
In the cat activity scale, American bobcats
rate pretty highly and this means they have
an intriguing personality which is fun to
watch. Their score on this scale is 7 or
8. This high score means that they almost
match dogs in being able to play with their
owners and do not get upset on being handled
more roughly than a typical cat. They even
escape from cages which are hard to get
away from, in a Harry Houdini level of expertise!
By nature they are gentle creatures and
not grumpy, hence they are good match for
most modern families interested in adopting
a kitten. Being friendly, these cats do
not fight with other pets (which can be
a problem in animals like dogs).
One unique fact about these cats is that
they make good travel mates and can be
found traveling with long distance truck
drivers who find this cat to be a good
companion over the lonely trips they make.
Being a gentle, lovable cat, it is no
surprise that they have been found to
bring about peace and calm among their
owners. American Bobcats will be loyal
and loving to any animal or human who
is in contact with it, provided no harm
is done to them. You should consider getting
these wonderful cats as your first pets
due to their docile nature and calming
influence. The American Bobtail Kitten
is a great breed of cat to consider.
American Bobtail Cat Resouce and References
The author Omer Ashrafis a blogger about
cats and an expert on American Bobtail
cat http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Omer_Ashraf
BOBTAIL CAT IMAGE By Rachel Davies from
Aberystwyth, WALES (Golgi) [CC-BY-2.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons
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