Kurilian Bobtail Grooming

About the Kurilian Bobtail

Four cat breeds have short or absent tails, from four separate genes, and setting them side by side is the point of this page.

The Manx and Cymric carry a dominant mutation affecting spinal development generally, and it brings real disease. That is the site's most serious cat welfare warning.

The Japanese Bobtail carries a recessive gene affecting the tail only.

The American Bobtail carries a dominant gene affecting the tail only.

The Kurilian carries a fourth, an independent natural mutation from the Kuril Islands, also confined to the tail, with no associated spinal problems. The tail is a pom of two to ten vertebrae, kinked and curved, and no two are alike.

The coat is the other half of the page, and unlike the Japanese Bobtail this one has a real undercoat.

Four bobtails, four genes

Worth having in one place, because they get treated as variations of one thing and only one of them carries a welfare problem.

Manx and Cymric: dominant, affects spinal development generally. Shortened spine in some cats, and real problems with hind legs, bladder and bowel. Handle the rear carefully and never press the tail site.

Japanese Bobtail: recessive, tail vertebrae only. Nothing attached.

American Bobtail: dominant, tail only. Nothing attached. A fully tailless one is incorrect for that breed.

Kurilian Bobtail: a separate natural mutation from the Kuril Islands, tail only. Nothing attached.

So three of the four are simply a short tail, and the Manx is the exception rather than the rule.

A Kurilian tail is normal tissue with normal sensation and is handled like any cat's. It is short, kinked and curved into a pom of two to ten vertebrae, every one different, and the shape is genuinely individual.

Tell a vet or groomer which bobtail it is, because the Manx handling rules travel by assumption.

A real working coat

This is where the Kurilian differs most from the Japanese Bobtail, which has almost no undercoat and barely mats.

A Kurilian carries a genuine dense double coat, developed for a cold wet island climate: a water resistant outer coat over a thick undercoat, in short and semi long varieties.

The shorthair is dense and needs a comb through once or twice a week.

The semi longhair has a ruff, britches and a fuller tail pom, and because there is real undercoat under real length, it does mat. Comb every two or three days with a fine metal comb, to the skin rather than over the surface.

The places that fail are the usual ones: the britches, the ruff, behind and under the front legs, and the belly.

Both varieties shed seasonally, with a heavier change in spring and autumn, and daily combing through it is what controls both tangles and hairballs.

Never cut a mat out with scissors. Cat skin is thin and lifts into the blades.

Do not clip, since a dense working coat can come back with a changed texture.

The tail pom, and what to check

The tail is short and heavily coated, particularly on the semi longhair, and the pom collects debris and can mat at the base where it meets the body.

Comb it through with the rest of the coat and check the skin underneath, since it is a small area that is easy to skip.

The tail is expressive and the cat uses it, so a Kurilian that suddenly objects to it being touched is worth a veterinary look rather than being avoided.

Beyond the tail, this is a large, powerful, slow maturing cat that takes up to five years to reach full size, with a muscular compact body and a slight arch to the back.

Feel for ribs to judge weight rather than judging by outline, since a dense coat on a muscular frame hides condition.

Claws want tipping every two to three weeks and this is a strong cat that needs a substantial post. Never consider declawing.

The breed is famously healthy and long lived, often into its late teens and sometimes past twenty.

A cat that behaves like a working animal

Kurilians are natural, largely unmanipulated cats that were living wild and semi feral on the Kuril Islands until recently, and it shows in temperament.

They are notably confident, athletic and unusually social with people and other animals, often described as dog like, and they are strong swimmers and serious hunters.

For grooming that is mostly good news: a confident cat that likes people tolerates the frequent combing the semi longhair needs.

What it does mean is that they are physically powerful and quick, so handling should be calm and unhurried rather than restraining, and a startled Kurilian is a lot of cat.

Start in kittenhood, keep sessions short, and turn the cat over each time so the belly is genuinely checked.

Ears and teeth get the ordinary weekly attention.

Because the breed is rare outside Russia, expect a groomer or vet not to have met one, and expect the Manx assumption.

What to tell your groomer or vet

Say the short tail comes from a gene affecting the tail only, with none of the Manx spinal problems, since the assumption travels.

Say the tail has normal sensation and is handled like any cat's.

Say which coat length it is, since the semi longhair needs combing twice as often as the shorthair.

Ask for a fine metal comb to the skin, including the belly, britches and the base of the tail pom.

Say the coat is not to be clipped, and never scissors on a mat.

Ask for claws tipped, and mention this is a large powerful cat rather than a delicate one.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Kurilian Bobtail