Fédération Internationale Féline :: Japanese Bobtail Standard

Japanese Bobtail Standard
Category III	JBT	Japanese Bobtail Standard
General	Appearance	the Japanese Bobtail should present the overall impression of a medium sized cat with clear lines and bone structure, well muscled but rather elongated and rather slender than massive built the unique set of its eyes, combined with high cheekbones and a long parallel nose, lend a distinctive Japanese cast to the face, especially in profile, quite different from the other oriental breeds its short tail should resemble a bunny tail with the hair fanning out to create a pom-pom appearance, which effectively camouflages the underlying bone structure of the tail.
General	Size	medium
Head	Shape	although the head appears long and finely chiselled, it forms almost a perfect equilateral triangle with gentle curving lines, high cheekbones and a noticeable whisker break
	Nose	long and well defined by two parallel lines from tip to brow with a gentle dip at, or just below, the eye level
	Muzzle	fairly broad and rounding into the whisker break, neither pointed nor blunt
Ears	Shape	large and expressive
Ears	Placement	upright, set wide apart but at right angles to the head rather than flaring outward and giving the impression of being tilted forward in repose
Eyes	Shape	large, oval rather than round, but wide open and alert when viewed in profile set into the skull at a rather pronounced slant the eyeball shows a shallow curvature and should not bulge out beyond the cheekbone or the forehead
Eyes	Colour	eye colour should harmonize generally with the coat colour; also valid for blue and odd eyes all colour varieties are permitted
Body	Structure	torso long, slender and elegant, not tubular, showing well developed muscular strength without coarseness no inclination towards flabbiness or cobbiness general balance of utmost importance
Legs		in proportion to the body, long, slender and high, but not dainty or fragile in appearance when standing the cat's front legs and shoulders form two continuous straight lines, close together the hind legs are noticeably longer than the front legs, but deeply angulated to bend when the cat is standing relaxed so that the torso remains nearly level rather than rising towards the rear
Legs	Paws	oval
Tail		the furthest extension of the tailbone from the body should be approximately 5-8 cm, even though the tailbone, if straightened out to its full length, might be 10-13 cm long the tailbone is usually strong and rigid rather than jointed (except at the base), and may be either straight or composed of one or several curves and angles the tail is usually carried upright when the cat is relaxed hair on tail somewhat longer and thicker than body hair, growing outward to create a pom-pom or bunny tail effect which appears to commence at the base of the spine and which camouflages the underlying bone structure of the tail
Coat	Structure	short, soft and silky, but without a noticeable undercoat; relatively non-shedding
Coat	Colour	all colour varieties are permitted, except silver (shaded/shell, golden), ticked tabby and pointed – i.e. 25, 31, 32 and 33
Nose leather Paw pads		colour should harmonize generally with coat colour
Remarks		males are proportionately larger than females allowance must be made for jowls in the stud males
Faults	Head	short round head
Faults	Body	cobby built
Disqualification	Tail	tail bone absent or extending too far beyond the body lack of pom-pom or non-fluffy appearance delayed pom-pom effect, i.e. the pom-pom being preceded by 3-5 cm of normal tail with close lying hair rather than appearing to commence at the base of the spine

Japanese Bobtail Standard scale of points
Scale of Points		Points
Total		100
Head	general shape, nose, jaws and teeth, forehead, chin, placement and shape of the ears, shape and colour of eyes	20
Body	shape, size, bone structure, shape of legs and paws	30
Tail	length and shape	20
Coat	colour pattern	15
Coat	quality and texture	10
Condition		5

Japanese Bobtail Standard colour varieties
Recognized Colour Varieties
Colour	EMS Code
White/Black/Blue/Chocolate/Lilac/Red/Cream/Cinnamon/Fawn	JBT w/n/a/b/c/d/e/o/p
Black/Blue/Chocolate/Lilac/Cinnamon/Fawn tortie	JBT f/g/h/j/q/r
Black/Blue/Chocolate/Lilac/Red/Cream/Cinnamon/Fawn with white	JBT n/a/b/c/d/e/o/p 01/02/03/09
Black/Blue/Chocolate/Lilac/Red/Cream/Cinnamon/Fawn agouti	JBT n/a/b/c/d/e/o/p 22/23/24
Black/Blue/Chocolate/Lilac/Cinnamon/Fawn tortie agouti	JBT f/g/h/j/q/r 22/23/24
Black/Blue/Chocolate/Lilac/Red/Cream/Cinnamon/Fawn agouti with white	JBT n/a/b/c/d/e/o/p 01/02/03/09 21/22/23/24
Black/Blue/Chocolate/Lilac/Cinnamon/Fawn tortie agouti with white	JBT f/g/h/j/q/r 01/02/03/09 21/22/23/24

Japanese Bobtail Standard remarks
Remarks
Colour	White	pure and glistening
	Black	dense, coal black, sound from the roots to the tips, shiny and free from any tinge of rust on the tips
	Red	deep, rich, clear, brilliant, the deeper and more glowing in tone the better
	Black tortie	black and (dark and/or pale) red
	Black and white	black and white
	Red and white	red and white
	Black tortie and white	tricolour: black, red and white. MI-KE
Misc.	in keeping with Japan's traditional mi-ke (mee-kay) cats, which are tri-coloured black, red and white, the preferred breeding colour varieties are those that tend to produce tri-coloured females in bicolours and tri-colours any colour may predominate with preference given to bold, dramatic markings and vividly contrasting colours all colour varieties and eye colours to be judged together in the same class these classes include the following categories and any other colour or pattern or combination of them, except colouring that is point-restricted or ticked tabby (i.e. Abyssinian) "patterned" categories denote and include any variety of tabby striping or spotting with or without areas of solid (unmarked) colour, with preference given to bold, dramatic markings and rich, vivid colouring