Japanese bobtail catmyths and legends

Theorigin of the Japanese Bobtail Cat is rather vague.

From the variousmanuscripts found and early artifacts from China and Japan,it would appear that they originated in Korea or China almost 1000 yearsago.

GPNW NuDawnz Kigenwotoru, owned and bred by Lorna Friemoth. photo© Larry Johnson

It is possible that they arrived in Japan as "ships cats" in 999 AD.

Many 11th century artworks, artifacts and prints depict short-tailed cats resembling the Japanese Bob.

Short-tailedcats are found throughout South East Asia.

There is speculation thatthese cats originated from the Kurile Islands, the home of the Kurilian Bobtail cat (or vice versa).Irrespective of their origin, Japan has certainly claimed this cat as their own.

In1602, a law was passed in Japan that banned all citizens from buying,selling or keeping cats.

All domestic cats had to be set free as theywere needed to control the ever-increasing rodent population.

Rodents were threatening the silkworm industry, rice crops andrice-paper scrolls.

Japanese Bobtails and their long tailed counterpartslived in the streets and farms of Japan and were simple working cats.

Thissituation would appear to have changed by 1701.

Kaempfer, a Germandoctor visiting Japan wrote that the black, yellow and whiteshort-tailed cats that he came across expressed no interest in huntingrodents or anything else.

They were in fact more often found lounging onthe laps of their owners!

Of one thing we are certain is that this cat is revered in Japan. Atsome stage during the history of this cat breed, only royalty andaristocracy were allowed to own these tailless cats.

Thetri-color (aka the Mi-Ke) variety which is a black, reddish-brown andwhite cat is the most honored cat and is a symbol of happiness and goodfortune.

In Japanese art and culture the Maneki Neko sculpture is seenwith its right paw raised in a beckoning motion - the cat depicted inthe statue is a Japanese Bobtail cat.

These statues are found at theentrance of businesses, restaurants, shops and temples.

ManekiNeko means Lucky Cat, or Beckoning Cat, Money Cat or Fortune Cat.

Themany legends behind this statue makes for interesting reading, but wewill leave that for another time.

Somoving forward.

These short-tailed cats first hit American shores afterWWII in 1945 when US Servicemen brought them back as pets.

Twenty odd years later, in 1968, Judy Crawford who wasliving in Japan sent a breeding pair to Elizabeth Freret and Lynn Beckin the United States.

Elizabeth Freret and Lynn Beck are credited for writing the breedstandard and for establishing the cat breed in America.

Today it isaccepted by most cat registries except the Governing Council of the CatFancy (GCCF) in the United Kingdom.

These ancient cats are rare cat breeds that are owned by only a lucky few.

how the japanese bobtail cat lost its tail

One story goes that a cat with aregular tail was warming itself in front of an open fire. As timepassed, the cat crept ever closer resulting in its tail setting alight.

The terrified cat panicked, sped out of the house and raced down thestreets setting fire to shops and houses throughout the city.

TheEmperor of Japan was outraged and ordered that every cat in Japan haveits tail removed. And that according to legend is how they got theirshort tails.

The truth is that the short tail is as a result of a genetic mutationwhich is caused by a recessive, autosomal gene. So, if both parent catshave short tails and carry the gene, their offspring will also haveshort tails.

There are many tales and legends related to the Bakeneko, ormonster cat. All appear to have a connection to the Japanese Bobtailcat.

In Japanese folklore, cats that retained long tails would after acertain time gain supernatural powers. These cats would eat everythingin their path.

Bakeneko had the ability to change shape and form and speak like ahuman and even had the power to raise the dead.

This led manysuperstitious Japanese to cut the tails off their domestic cats toprevent them from becoming a Bakeneko.