The exact origin of the American Bobtail is still. Three theories are in play about the origin of the American Bobtail. One of these theories refers to the American Bobtail as an ancient breed. According to this theory, cats crossed the land bridge from Siberia to North America about 200 years ago. These cats are believed to have interbred with the domestic cats living in North America and are said to have left some of their genes behind in the American Bobtail. This theory is the most likely origin of the American Bobtail as it is, in fact, a native North American breed.
An additional theory suggests that the American Bobtail results from the interbreeding of a short-tailed brown tabby. The short-tailed brown tabby has led to the genetic mutation that would result in the birth of the Bobtail. Yodi and Mishi were barn cats found in Arizona in the 1960s. These cats were the first American Bobtails. They created American Bobtails as a breed. The breeders that found these cats decided to develop a cat based on the stub-tailed cats. The first breed standard in the 1970s was what is now called the traditional or old-style American Bobtail. TICA granted the breed championship status in 2002.
Ancestry
Felis catus, the house cat, has been said to include some of the following species in its ancestry and is also known as the African Wildcat. These North African/Southwest Asian-born species were in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia between 4000 and 2000 BC; the European wildcat, a pale-furred variety found primarily in European forests, and the Leopard Cat, also known as Prionailurus Bengalensis, found in Japan, Korea, Siberia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and China. The leopard cat has been part of widely varied environments due to human activity and has been bred with domestic cats to produce the Bengal breed.
Along with these species, house cats may have also interbred with isolated populations of the Asiatic Wildcat, a subspecies of the African wildcat, and Chinese Mountain Cats to include genetic traits from these little-known animals. During and after this period in history, between 2000 BC and 400 AD, cats began to spread to Greece, Persia, and India and eventually made their way to China and Japan. The National Geographic News published an article tracing the evolutionary path of domestic cats from their wildcat ancestors. This information is relevant to include Bobtails in the discussion because the cats developing in the New World were brought by sailors and in Europe. It would give American bobtail ancestral cats a European background with an isolated development in the Americas, similar to that of the Cymric, a breed with a similar origin to the Bobtail. After 1492, the cats that lived in the Americas began to interbreed with cats brought over from Europe and, later, by the first settlers from England in the early 17th century.
The first American Bobtail
The first American Bobtail was born in the late 1960s by a cross between a Siamese and a short-tailed brown tabby. The breed any further. The man notably responsible for the actual breed is Yodie Dupuy. He was living in Iowa when he adopted a short-tailed orange tabby named “Yodi.” Yodie had full intentions to breed Yodi with a Himalayan but struck his cats with feline leukemia before he could do that. He later moved to Arizona and, in 1985, adopted two more cats who caught feline leukemia. He found that the only cats that would survive were barn cats, so he decided to find a barn cat of a specific type. He saw what he sought in a feral tomcat of unknown ancestry. This cat had a short brown spotted tail and appeared to have stepped out of the Wild West. This cat became the foundation stock of the American Bobtail.
The first attempts to create the breed were through inbreeding the foundation stock. However, this was leading to feline leukemia, so an outcross program was started. I learned that the gene for the short tail is highly resilient, and the cats with short tails did not display the feline leukemia gene. So, only cats that tested negative for feline leukemia in the gene pool and the best cats from each litter were selected. Through this process, the American Bobtail gene has become a powerful gene, and still, to this day, American Bobtails rarely get feline leukemia.
Recognition
Continual breed advancement and upholding breed standards will be the ethos for gaining recognition for the American Bobtail in the Cat Fancy’s other top registering bodies, with the ultimate goal of gaining worldwide acceptance. Preceding this breed advancement, the code of ethics for the breeders of the American Bobtail by the membership ensures the breed’s health, welfare, and future. The American Bobtail was advanced in TICA’s show division after passing the code of ethics. At the October 1998 Board meeting, TICA approved the advancement of the American Bobtail to the new breed and color division. This approval by the TICA Board officially gave the American Bobtail the distinct recognition it deserved.
In 1989, The International Cat Association (TICA), the world’s largest genetic registry of cats, granted the American Bobtail breed championship status. To be eligible to compete in the miscellaneous division, the breed had to meet minimum competition requirements to be advanced. Recognition of the American bobtail cat has been a subject of contention. Breeders, some of whom have worked on developing the breed for twelve years, have the definite opinion that the breed is distinctive. Pet owners who have fallen in love with the fascinating bobtail cat are optimistic that it is unlike any other breed and are constantly amazed at its physical and mental prowess.
