Permissible
- All colour varieties, except shaded, shell, golden, ticked tabby and pointed – i.e. 11, 12, y, 25, 31, 32 and 33
No breeder is on record here yet. Portugal’s FIFe member club does not list this breed in its breeder directory at all, so an absence here says nothing about whether anyone breeds it in Portugal.
Medium-sized cat with distinctive pom-pom tail and elegant, slender build. Traditional Japanese breed.
Ancient breed depicted in Japanese art for over 1,000 years. Symbol of good luck - the famous 'beckoning cat' (Maneki-neko) figurine is based on this breed. Mi-ke (tri-color) is the most prized pattern.
Generally described as active, agile, clever, easy going, intelligent, lively, loyal, playful and social.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
Breed reference from The Cat API.
Drawn from sources, not opinion: FIFe breed standard; The Cat API. An empty column means we hold nothing for that side, not that there is nothing to say.
The Japanese Bobtail standard is published by the FIFe (Fédération Internationale Féline), the international federation of pedigree-cat clubs, and it is what show judges apply. This section sums up what it says about coat and colour. It does not assess any one animal: use it to know what to ask the breeder.
Short, soft and silky, but without a noticeable undercoat
relatively non-shedding
Permissible
Shortened from FIFe standard JBS — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source. FIFe lists this standard’s last modification as 2025. Text read on 2 Nov 2026.
The colour varieties FIFe recognises for this breed are listed, with their EMS codes, in the table at the end of its standard. FIFe describes each colour group in the General Part of its standards.
The colours and patterns the standard admits, and what it prefers, discourages or disqualifies in each. An accepted colour says nothing about health. Quotations from the FIFe are in English, as the standard publishes them; the headings are ours.
Known hereditary risks for the Japanese Bobtail breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
1 condition documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Documented in this breed, but no source says how many of its dogs carry or have them. That is a gap in the evidence, not a sign they are rare.
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the Japanese Bobtail in general; any individual animal can differ.
The breed's short, kinked 'pom-pom' tail comes from a dominant HES7 gene variant that is essentially fixed in the breed — all 12 Japanese Bobtails sampled in the founding genetic study were homozygous for it. Radiographic surveys found associated changes confined to the tail region (a reduced caudal vertebra count, hemivertebrae, occasional anomalous ribs), but these did not correlate with pain, mobility problems or reduced lifespan, and the mutation is a different gene from the one that causes the Manx's tail loss and its associated serious spinal and pelvic defects.
What to ask for
No DNA test is commercially offered, and there is nothing to request here — the vertebral variation is expected for the breed and has not been linked to illness
The breed's short, kinked 'pom-pom' tail comes from a dominant HES7 gene variant that is essentially fixed in the breed — all 12 Japanese Bobtails sampled in the founding genetic study were homozygous for it. Radiographic surveys found associated changes confined to the tail region (a reduced caudal vertebra count, hemivertebrae, occasional anomalous ribs), but these did not correlate with pain, mobility problems or reduced lifespan, and the mutation is a different gene from the one that causes the Manx's tail loss and its associated serious spinal and pelvic defects.
What to ask for
No DNA test is commercially offered, and there is nothing to request here — the vertebral variation is expected for the breed and has not been linked to illness