Spotted Cat Designs » Bobcat

So You Want an American Bobtail?

David Fiedler — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:39:30 +0000

If you want a friendly cat and don’t mind that the breed you’ve chosen is a bit of an upstart in the cat world, since it only has existed since the nineteen sixties, you may want to consider the American Bobtail.

The American Bobtail is one of only three breeds in the Cat Fancier’s Association’s Provisional Class, which is where cat breeds are placed until they show that they are able to stay true to their standards. This breed is a lightweight compared to many other breeds, weighing in at seven to fifteen pounds.

The American Bobtail received its name because of its extremely short tail. While no one is completely sure how this breed was developed, cat fanciers suspect that the American Bobcat, Manx, and Japanese Bobtail breeds are all ancestors of the American Bobtail. However, while the Manx can be completely tailless and still are able to compete in the show ring, the American Bobtail must have a tail. The tail should be short enough to stop before it reaches the cat’s hocks.

While many cats have a sleek, slender appearance, the American Bobtail standard calls for a stocky, muscular cat with big paws and a slightly wild appearance. This cat’s head is wedge shaped, but broader than normal. The Bobtail breed can be a shorthair or a longhair, but even shorthair cats do not have smooth coats. The shorthair coat still is long enough to give the cat a bit of a shaggy look. While the Bobtail can come in any color, fawn and white, blue tabby, red tabby, and brown tabby are the most common colors. Shorthair cats are much more common than longhair cats, since the shorthair gene is actually dominant.

Since American Bobtails are very friendly and a bit nosy, they are prone to get into quite a bit of mischief if they are unsupervised and become bored. If you are away from home for long periods of time, you should be sure that there are plenty of toys available so that your cat can amuse himself and still keep out of trouble. Since this breed is fairly sociable, you may also want to add a second cat to the household to avoid having your cat feel too lonely.

The American Bobtail’s outgoing temperament makes this breed an ideal choice for families. If you socialize your kitten from a young age, he should actually look forward to having friends and family visit.

When the Bobtail was first developed, this breed had quite a few common health problems. However, in the late twentieth century, concerned devotees of the breed worked to rid it of most of these problems. Today, the American Bobtail is a strong, sturdy cat.

Since even the shorthair has a coat of some length, you will need to groom your cat at least once a week. Although the longhair coat does not tangle easily, you may need to groom your longhair Bobtail a bit more frequently. If you accustom your kitten to the grooming process when he is young, he will actually grow to enjoy the attention.

If you want to own a cat who is sweet and sociable, but still has an undomesticated streak, then the American Bobtail may just be the perfect breed for you.

Keeping in Touch – Free Feline Theme Email Postcards

admin — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 08:20:19 +0000

Showing your appreciation and staying in touch are important human activities. But the fine art of letter writing has been replaced with email. We found for you web sites that offer free post e-cards with cat related photographs or animation.

Some may require you to establish a log-in to use their facility, others may not. Keep in mind that most photographs are copyrighted by the photographer who allows them to be used for e-cards only by the organization that exhibits them. You can utilize the organization’s e-card facilities; however, you cannot use the photograph in any other way. All those organizations listed below ask for sender and recipient email addresses, as well as first names and your personalized text message. Other options can include choosing music to accompany the e-card, a “postal stamp” or inspirational message. Some e-cards require Flash to be viewed, others are animated. National Wildlife Federation HREF = http://www.enature.com/ecard/ecard_home.asp offers over 1,000 nature and wildlife e-cards to choose from, many are copyrighted photographs. Searching Species “Cats” yielded 9 including the Florida Panther, Jaguar, Ocelot, Tiger, Cougar and Bobcat. In personalizing your card, you can add an inspirational quote from a pre-set list (which ranges from Buddha to Mark Twain), and selected a “postal stamp”. Each e-card includes a descriptive paragraph about the species that is also sent to the recipient. Care2.com has a large selection of animal and nature related email post cards from which to choose. All their free on-line e-cards allow you to select a "postal stamp" and music to go with your email card. The Pet Cats section HREF = http://www.care2.com/send/catpets1.html shows 8 screen pages featuring drawings, photographs, and cartoon-like cats. Some are animated or require Flash to be viewed. The Big Cats section HREF = http://www.care2.com/send/categories/Big_Cats depicts about 100 copyrighted photographs, with a few animated cartoons. Big cat species include lions, tigers, jaguars, lynx, leopards, bobcats, clouded leopard, snow leopards, cheetah, and cubs of various species. There is even an animated e-card about the extinct Thylacine (also known as) the "Tasmanian Tiger".

Foothill Felines Cattery HREF= http://www.hdw-inc.com/postcard/send.html has photographic e-cards of their Bengal and Savannah cats. You can choose both the background color and text color of your message. Last, but not least, Arm and Hammer HREF = http://www.armhammerpets.com/ECardCatalog.aspx has 9 pet cat photograph e-cards to choose from.

Charger

David Fiedler — Sun, 11 Jul 2004 09:23:45 +0000

It seems that just after Susan’s birthday…

…completely out of nowhere…

…how can I say this…

…we suddenly…

…got another Bengal!!!

I can’t possibly explain this, except that we feel Charger is just the right companion for Glory. He’s the perfect male for her, because he’s just too big to be intimidated…but he’s so wonderful that he never got aggressive with her, even when she provoked him like crazy. He’s about 1 1/2 years old, and was given up by someone who was moving into an apartment that didn’t take pets. How she could have separated from this cuddly, friendly, gentle fellow I don’t know, but he was living with this woman’s mother since the beginning of October and felt sad that he was not wanted. Can’t blame her too much, because she already has a cat and a dog, who are both small (the mother is skinny and 60ish), and Charger…

…is Catzilla!!!

He is as big as a bobcat (Susan even visited a local zoo to check)!!! He could pick Glory up and carry her around like a kitten. And speaking of carrying, I can barely lift him up from the floor, so luckily he’s a good jumper…you should feel his muscles!!!

He does have the most amazing growl I’ve ever heard. Actually two…one is a "warning" growl that sounds like a big V8 engine idling, and the "serious" one where he cuts in the auxiliary power amplifier and subwoofer…only a digital recording could do that one justice. The first time he did it, he was under our bed and it felt like it was shaking. And when he purrs, it sounds like a pack of Harleys riding by, or perhaps thunder in the distance…