Kuril bobtail cats: character, features of the breed, exterior, photo

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Recently, an important event took place in the world of cat lovers - a new breed appeared. She was given the name Kuril Bobtail. The nature of these cute creatures is best suited for home keeping. The owners are especially pleased with their ingenuity and extraordinary devotion. Unfortunately, little is known about this wonderful breed due to its novelty. Let's get to know her better.

The history of the breed

Short-tailed cats have lived on the Kuril Islands Kunashir and Iturup since time immemorial. There is a version that they led a wild existence there, formed flocks like lion prides, hunted and fished. Other researchers believe that they came to the islands along with immigrants from Japan, and that this is a Japanese, adapted to new living conditions, and not a Kuril Bobtail. Photos of animals partly confirm this. The locals didn't care. They loved their pets, not bothering with the breed. It so happened that the Kuril Islands, despite all their uniqueness, are not a "mecca" for tourists. From the Continentonly scientists and military men come there. It was they who brought the unusual cats they loved to the mainland.

Only in the eighties of the last century, people finally discerned a separate species in the “smokers”. Felinologists have developed standards for a breed called the Kuril Bobtail. The character of newcomers, as well as habits and behaviors, began to be intensively studied.

Breed Standard

It is believed that "smokers" combine the features of Japanese Bobtails and Siberian cats. According to the latest changes adopted by the WCF (World Cat Federation) and FIFe (International Cat Federation), the standards of the Kuril Bobtail are as follows:

- The tail is short (the main difference of the breed). Only 3-8 cm length is allowed. It must be pubescent and bent in the form of a pom-pom.

- The body is muscular, the back is slightly arched, the croup is raised. The legs are strong and strong, with the hind legs slightly longer than the front.

- The head is in the shape of a trapezoid, but with smooth outlines, not small. The muzzle is not flattened, but broad and of medium length.

- Ears are medium, wide at the base, set high, slightly rounded at the ends.

- Eyes set wide apart, round or slightly almond shaped and in harmony with coat color.

- The color of the Kurilian Bobtail is allowed in a variety of combinations, with the exception of acromelanic, chocolate, lilac, fawn and cinnamon.

Two subspecies of "smokers"

The above characteristics must be met by allrepresentatives of the "smokers". But according to the length of their coat, there are two options - long-haired bobtail and short-haired. The former should have a medium length coat, a dense undercoat, the so-called "collar" in the neck, "panties" in the croup and hind limbs. In the second, the undercoat is not strongly developed, the coat is short and delicate, adjacent to the body.

Sometimes there are cats that resemble a lynx in color. Needless to say, how desirable such specimens of the Kuril Bobtail breed are. The price for them is always higher, especially if there are brushes characteristic of a lynx on the ears. In catteries for kittens, it ranges from 400 to 1000 USD. You can buy a kitten from private individuals for $50, but there will be no guarantee of purity of the breed.

Disadvantages of the breed

Now Kurilian bobtails take part in all international exhibitions, where they invariably receive awards. Nevertheless, the requirements for the breed are quite high. For example, cats receive a lower score if the following deficiencies are found:

- straight tail, longer than 8 cm or shorter than 3 cm;

- overly arched back.

If there is no tail at all, or it is longer than 12 cm, the animal is not classified at all.

The body sizes of females and males are different, and this is considered the norm. The representatives of the Kuril Bobtail breed grown in nurseries weigh up to 4 kg, cats - up to 6. Their wild representatives are somewhat smaller. Females reach a weight of only 2.5 kg, and males 4 kg. Deviations of selection bobtails in weight are nota fault of the breed, but undesirable.

Kuril and Japanese shorttails

Although the Kurilian Bobtail, whose photo can be seen in reference books, is singled out as a separate breed, many are still convinced that this is just a variety of their Japanese relatives. The Japanese, who believed that evil and witchcraft were gathering in the cat's tail, for centuries carefully selected kittens that had this “defect” as short as possible. They idolized such animals. Fans of Russian Bobtails claim that the genetic origin of the tail of their pets and the "Japanese" has genetic differences. True, so far this has not been confirmed by anything. Some opponents of the breed do not see the difference between "smokers" and "Japanese" at all. But it still exists.

So, our ears are slightly rounded, while those of “not ours” are pointed, which is very much appreciated by the Japanese. The coat of their cats is of medium length of any color, the eyes are more slanted ("Japanese" nevertheless), the body is slender. Their so-called samurai stance gives a special charm to the breed. It disappears somewhere among the translators.

Tail Features

A slightly unusual and beautiful word "bobtail" means, in fact, "stubby tail" or "pompom tail". Some believe that both "Japanese" and "Smokers" inherited its deformation from Chinese short-tailed cats. This length is due to the deformation of the vertebrae. According to the standard, purebred cats should have from 2 to 8, and the number of vertebrae in kittens is not necessarily the same as that of their parents, but may vary somewhat. But the vertebrae are bentmust certainly be. True, in any direction. Another immutable requirement is that the tail must be pubescent, and more than the rest of the body.

No matter how short the tail of the bobtail, there are several of its forms. Among them are bean, stump, panicle, spiral.

Character

Very interesting breed of Kuril Bobtail. The character of its representatives has many remarkable features. So, all "smokers" are unusually friendly to the members of the family in which they live, but they love only one person! He is also dog-like devoted. Who it will be, the cat decides for himself. With the chosen one, the “Kurilets” will be inseparable, will become his “tail” and his “shadow”. Only the cat will allow him what he will never allow with others, for example, medical procedures. There was a case when a sick bobtail cat was held by 8 people to get an injection! She, like a tigress, rushed at people and did not let anyone near her, and the owner was ignorant of medicine and could not treat her himself.

But the "smokers" are quite tolerant of children. No matter what the kids do with them, they will never raise their paw on them. But they treat strangers with caution, always sniffing them, deciding whether to attack or not. Cases of “smokers” attacking guests they didn’t like were recorded.

It is very important to know how the Kuril Bobtail gets along with other animals. His character is not only freedom-loving, but also preserving hunting instincts. Therefore, those who decide to get themselves this cute short tail should forget about fish, birds,hamsters and so on. A sad fate awaits them all.

Intelligence

In terms of the capabilities of the mind, a very amazing breed of the Kuril Bobtail. Reviews of the owners repeatedly confirm the extraordinary quick wit and understanding of their pets.

So, they do not need to repeat ten times what the pot is for, that the sofa is not intended for sharpening claws at all, and the curtains are not hanging in order to climb on the ledge. "Smokers" understand the first time what is possible and what is not.

The second interesting feature is their conversation. Scientists believe that all cats are able to pronounce individual sounds and even words. This confirms the fact that representatives of different breeds meow in different ways. For example, bobtails in "meow" pronounce "m" quite clearly. They can also squeak, clatter, bleat like a goat and growl like real predators.

And they also know how to execute commands, almost like dogs, especially the “fetch” command. You can play with the "smoker" for hours, throwing him a wire or a stick. He will run after her, take in the teeth and bring to the owner. True, for this the cat must want it himself. Many bobtails are able to raise their paw while sitting. The Japanese are sure that such a cat gesture brings good luck to the house.

Behavior

The Kuril Bobtail cat inherited a lot from its wild ancestors. The character of each of these cute creatures is individual. However, all of them have the features of hunters. For example, male "smokers" never mark the corners in the apartment. This is based on a simple natural instinct - notgive away your location to a potential enemy. Indeed, in the wild, stronger predators by smell could easily find both adult bobtails and their cubs.

Another amazing feature is the love of water. Wild short-tails not only hunted birds and mice, they were great at catching fish. Pets do not need to get their daily bread, but the ability to swim and dive inherent in them by nature remains. Therefore, they endure water procedures with pleasure.

Those who keep bobtails in the private sector greatly appreciate the ability of pets to hunt rodents. The strong paws of the "smokers", their lightning-fast reaction, high jumping ability do not leave the victim a single chance. These cats are not even afraid of dogs and never run away from them. Bobtail owners need to be careful, because no cat can cope with large dog breeds, especially fighting ones.

Features of care

Kurilian bobtails are very hardy and strong cats, so they rarely cause problems for their owners.

However, in order for pets to always feel good, you need to pay special attention to their nutrition. It is not recommended to feed them natural products and canned food at the same time, because this upsets the balance of the gastrointestinal tract. Kittens of the Kurilian Bobtail must necessarily receive cottage cheese, boiled yolk and vitamins.

In the future, if it is decided to feed the cat with natural products, you need to choose food that he could get himself in the wild. That is, includeplenty of fish and meat, especially poultry meat. Of course, all food should be cooked.

If the choice is on artificial feed, only good quality canned food should be given to the animal.

The overwhelming majority of "smokers" love to swim, and the owners have no problems with this. But it is not necessary to comb them, because their hair never gets off. If you still want to smooth his fur, you need to take a comb whose teeth are not electrified. Otherwise, the pet will be unpleasant.

As needed, you need to clean the cat's ears and wipe the eyes with a damp sponge. And of course, vaccinate.

Difficulties in breeding

Kuril bobtail kittens, the price of which varies depending on their thoroughbredness and the availability of documents, can be purchased from catteries or from individuals.

Reproduction of "smokers" is not much different from the reproduction of other breeds. There are up to 5 kittens in a litter, which may differ from each other in length and tail shape. For those who do not aim to preserve the purity of the breed, this does not matter. The main thing is that the kittens are born he althy, and their mother does not have postpartum problems.

For breeders, the purity of the breed is of great importance. Each Kurilian Bobtail nursery tries to find the perfect pairs to get purebred offspring. But even with careful selection, it is not uncommon for kittens with long tails or tailless to appear in the litter. This is obtained because the ancestors of the cat parents had matings withlong-tailed relatives, and the genetic memory has preserved this.