Japanese Bobtail Cat Breeds
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This breed of a domestic cat is native to Japan and South-East Asia and has now been bred in the USA on a small scale for over 40 years. However, it is rarely seen in the UK as it is not recognized by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) and therefore cannot be shown at GCCF shows. The Japanese Bobtail is the national cat of Japan and is also associated with good fortune, supposedly linked to it having a short tail as longer-tailed varieties were thought to represent evil. One story regarding the short tail recounts an incident of a sleeping cat whose long tail caught fire, and then ran through town, spreading flames everywhere. With the Capital in ashes, it is said the Emperor decreed that all cats should have their tails cut short as a preventative measure. Sailors in Japan have adopted the Bobcat as a talisman to ward off storms at sea because the naturally recurring bobtail resembles a chrysanthemum, the emblem of the royal family. The Beckoning Cat of Japan (with one raised paw), a Japanese Bobcat, is also a symbol of good luck as ancient legends say that a group of Samurai warriors was led from a storm to the temple by such a cat. Japanese around the world keep statues of this cat as a good luck charm to ward off evil. Japanese Bobtails feature prominently in traditional Japanese painting, and today the modern cartoon character, Hello Kitty, is depicted as a Japanese Bobtail as an example of Japanese pop culture.
