American Bobtail Longhair

The American Bobtail Longhair is the medium-longhaired form of the American Bobtail, a naturally short-tailed breed developed in North America. Modern breed development began in the late 1960s after a bobtailed cat known as Yodi produced short-tailed offspring. Later breeders broadened the foundation with unrelated naturally bobtailed domestic cats rather than creating the breed from wild feline ancestry.

This is a medium-to-large, substantial, athletic cat with a broad modified wedge-shaped head, prominent whisker pads, large expressive eyes, strong boning, and a muscular rectangular body. The natural bobtail must be clearly shorter than a normal tail and can be straight, curved, slightly kinked, or hooked, with considerable individual variation.

The Longhair has a resilient, slightly shaggy double coat of medium-long length. Hair becomes somewhat longer around the ruff, britches, belly, and tail, and toe tufts and facial furnishings may add to the rugged appearance. CFA treats Longhair and Shorthair as divisions of the American Bobtail, while TICA uses American Bobtail for the longhaired form and lists American Bobtail Shorthair separately.

American Bobtail Longhairs are generally affectionate, intelligent, confident, and adaptable. They commonly form bonds with the whole household rather than attaching exclusively to one person and tend to enjoy being involved in family activity without being relentlessly demanding.

Most are moderately active rather than extremely energetic. Interactive hunting games, retrieving, food puzzles, climbing, and reward-based training provide useful outlets, and many individuals can learn to walk on a harness or perform simple tricks.

Well-socialized American Bobtail Longhairs may live successfully with respectful children, compatible cats, and cat-friendly dogs. They generally value regular companionship and are not an ideal choice for a household where the cat will routinely spend very long periods alone.

The medium-long double coat is relatively resilient and is not intended to be cottony or excessively prone to matting. Thorough combing about twice a week is appropriate for many cats, with additional attention during seasonal shedding. Check the ruff, belly, armpits, britches, toe tufts, and shaggy tail furnishings for developing tangles.

The bobtail should never be pulled, twisted, or deliberately straightened. Routine grooming provides a useful opportunity to notice tenderness, swelling, wounds, reduced tail mobility, or changes in how the cat carries its tail. Any painful or sudden change should be assessed by a veterinarian.

Provide daily interactive play, sturdy climbing and scratching furniture, dental care, nail trimming, clean litter facilities, and measured portions of a complete life-stage-appropriate diet. Because the breed is heavily boned and muscular, healthy body condition should be judged by muscle and fat cover rather than assuming that every large number on the scale represents excess weight.

Published breed-specific clinical health data for the American Bobtail remain limited. Research has shown that some short-tailed American Bobtails carry frameshift variants in TBXT, the gene also involved in short-tail phenotypes in Manx and some Pixiebob cats. However, multiple American Bobtails with the characteristic short tail have tested negative for the known variants, indicating that the genetic basis of the breed's tail is heterogeneous rather than explained by one universal mutation.

The presence of a TBXT variant in an American Bobtail does not by itself establish that the cat will develop the neurologic, spinal, bowel, or bladder disorders historically associated with severe Manx phenotypes. Conversely, a negative result for currently known short-tail variants cannot prove that tail and spinal development are genetically normal. Large American Bobtail-specific studies defining the frequency of clinically important vertebral or neurologic complications are lacking.

Breeders should select for comfortable movement and functional tail structure and maintain family records covering spinal abnormalities, gait, urinary and fecal continence, reproductive history, neonatal losses, longevity, and causes of death. Prospective owners should seek veterinary assessment if a cat develops hind-limb weakness, an abnormal gait, tail pain, persistent constipation, urinary difficulties, or loss of bowel or bladder control, and should view any available TBXT result as one piece of information rather than complete health clearance. This information is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment by a veterinarian.