Despite its fierce looks, this hefty and muscular cat has a sweet temperament and is very affectionate and social. Like the mountain bobcat from which it derives its name, the Pixiebob has a thick coat, tufted ears, a pointed face, and a powerful body, and it moves with loose-limbed grace. A common feature of this …
Best known of the tailless cats, this breed is popular for its quiet charm and makes a great family companion. Few breeds have as many stories about their origins as the tailless Manx. Among the more colorful legends, this cat is supposed to have lost its tail in an accident on Noah’s Ark. In reality, …
Big and beautiful, this cat is an excellent and highly adaptable companion, without being too demanding. The breeding of domestic bobtail cats native to the US has been reported several times since about the middle of the 20th century, but so far only this one has been fully recognized. There is also a longer-haired version, …
This little-known breed with an attractive Siamese-pointed coat is active and affectionate, and it makes a good pet. Named after the great Mekong River that flows through China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, this short-tailed cat occurs naturally over a wide area of Southeast Asia. The Mekong Bobtail was developed as an experimental breed in Russia …
This sturdy, strong-limbed cat with a quirky tail is clever and sociable. Native to the Kuril Islands, which form a chain between the North Pacific and the Sea of Okhotsk, off Siberia, the Kurilian Bobtail first became popular as a domestic cat in mainland Russia during the 20th century. Since the 1990s this breed, in …
This charming cat has a beautiful voice, a unique pom-pom tail, and is playful, spirited, and people-oriented. In its native Japan, this cat is said to bring good luck and is a popular subject for ceramic ornaments. The Japanese Bobtail was spotted in the 1960s by an American enthusiast, who sent a number of the …
Elegant and engaging, this cat is curious and exuberant, and its kittenlike personality makes it a loving companion. The first American Curls were longhaired like the founding female of the breed, which was discovered in California. The shorthaired version was developed later and is essentially the same cat in a different coat. Big-eyed and elegantly …
This active, energetic, and playful breed loves to be the center of attention and provides plenty of entertainment. This recently developed breed, which also comes in a longhaired version, is still extremely rare. It has distinctive looks, with a big body, short tail, and dense coat. Most noticeable of all are the Highlander’s large, curled …
This quiet and companionable breed with unique folded ears is very loyal and gets along well with children. Due to a rare genetic mutation, the ears of this breed fold forward to fit like a cap over the skull, producing a unique round-headed look. The first Fold cat to be discovered was an all-white, long-haired …
This strange-looking new breed is gentle but lively, has an affectionate personality, and makes an amusing companion. This 21st-century experimental dwarf breed is one of the most extraordinary of all designer cats. Developed in the US as a hybrid of the Munchkin and the hairless Sphynx, the Bambino is extremely short-legged with large ears and …