Kurilian Bobtail

A rugged island cat from Russia's Far East, with a kinked pom-pom tail and a gentle nature.

The Kurilian Bobtail comes from the Kuril Islands, a chain of volcanic islands between Japan and Kamchatka. Its tail is only a few centimetres long, kinked or curled, and hidden under a fluffy pom-pom. It is sturdy and muscular and looks a little wild, like a small lynx. Yet it is gentle, clever and devoted to its people. There is a shorthair and a longhair; FIFe spells the name Kurilean Bobtail.

Origin: Kuril Islands, Russia
Weight: 5–7 kg male3.6–5 kg female
Size: Medium
Lifespan: 15–20 years

Character

Clever and gentle
Wants its people close
Likes water
Quiet, with soft trills

Affectionate
Loves its people and likes to follow them around, but it is not clingy.
Lap cat
Happy to curl up on a lap or in bed now and then, when it feels like it.
Playful
Stays playful all its life, with toys and even with water.
Energetic
Active and loves to climb, but has calm moments too.
Talkative
Fairly quiet. It makes soft trills rather than loud miaows.
Learns tricks
Clever and quick to learn tricks, but mostly listens when it wants to.
With strangers
Usually friendly and open with visitors, not shy.
With children
Good with children who treat it gently, and happy to join in their games.
With dogs
Gets on well with calm dogs that are used to cats.
With other cats
Usually friendly with other cats, though an adult may want to be the boss.
Home alone
Wants its people nearby and does not enjoy long days alone.
Indoor cat
Can live in a flat with plenty to climb, but a safely fenced garden suits it best.

Photos

Story or true?

The Kurilian Bobtail is just a Japanese Bobtail with another name.
No. They may once have shared ancestors, but that is not proven. The Kurilian is heavier and sturdier, with a broad head. FIFe even counts a slender 'Japanese Bobtail type' as a fault.
It looks like a little lynx, so it must be wild.
No. Its wild look says nothing about its nature: it is gentle and clever. A cat that bites or threatens is even disqualified at a show.
Every Kurilian Bobtail has exactly the same little tail.
No, no two tails are alike. They have 2 to 10 bones, with kinks and curves of every shape. A short tail that is completely straight is not allowed at a show.

History

Cats with a short, kinked tail have lived on the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Kamchatka for a long time. Islanders kept them to keep rats out of the food stores. No one knows for sure where the tail comes from. It is often said that Japanese bobtails mixed with Siberian cats brought by sailors, but that is not proven. In the early 1990s Russian breeders took the island cats further.

1950s
Russian soldiers and scientists take cats from the islands to the mainland. There they become popular mouse catchers.
1994
The World Cat Federation (WCF) recognises the Kurilian Bobtail, in this year according to most sources.
2002
The breed is first seen at international cat shows.
2004
The European federation FIFe recognises the Kurilean Bobtail, shorthair and longhair, in one standard.
2007
The American registry TICA revises its Kurilian Bobtail standard, covering shorthair and semi-longhair.
2012
TICA gives the breed full recognition, with championship titles at shows.
2020
Russia puts the Kurilian Bobtail on a postage stamp.
2022
A study of street cats on Kunashir Island finds a short tail on 65 of every 100 cats.
2025
At a breed show of the French registry LOOF, 17 longhair Kurilians are judged.

Looks

Medium to large, muscular and compact, with strong bones. The back rises gently towards the rear, so the rump stands higher than the shoulders.

Head: Large, shaped like a trapezium with rounded lines. Wide cheekbones, a strong muzzle, a broad straight nose and a firm chin.
Ears: Medium-sized, wide at the base and tilted slightly forward, with rounded tips. The longhair has lynx-like tufts.
Eyes: Round, wide apart and slightly slanted. Yellow to green, whatever the coat colour. White cats may have blue or odd eyes.
Body: Compact and powerful. The legs are medium length and sturdy, the hind legs longer than the front, with round paws.
Tail: A short pom-pom with one or more kinks or curls; the fur on it is longer than on the body. FIFe wants 3 to 8 cm of tail without the fur. It is a short, kinked tail, not a missing tail as on many Manx.
Coat: Dense, soft and silky. It lies flat, does not tangle easily and sheds water. The shorthair is short, the longhair semi-long with a ruff, breeches and tufts between the toes.
At shows: FIFe measures the tail without the fur (3 to 8 cm); TICA measures with the fur on and allows up to 13 cm on a longhair. America's CFA and Britain's GCCF do not recognise the breed.

Varieties

Shorthair
A short, dense coat with some undercoat. The hair on the tail is as long as on the body, so the pom-pom is round. The original island cat was short-haired.
Recognition: FIFe (since 2004), WCF and TICA.
Longhair
A semi-long coat with little undercoat, a ruff, breeches, tufts on the ears and between the toes, and a full plumed tail. Shorthair and longhair may be mated together, but no other breed.
Recognition: FIFe (since 2004), WCF and TICA.

Colours

The codes in brackets

Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).

Black classic tabby(n 22)
Black mackerel tabby(n 23)
Red mackerel tabby(d 23)
Black smoke(ns)
Black silver spotted tabby(ns 24)
Black and white(n 03)

All colours and patterns (40)

Solid

Black (n)
Blue (a)
Red (d)
Cream (e)
White (w)

Tortoiseshell

Tortoiseshell (f)
Blue tortie (g)
Tortie mackerel tabby (f 23)

Tabby

Black classic tabby (n 22)
Black mackerel tabby (n 23)
Black spotted tabby (n 24)
Black ticked tabby (n 25)
Blue mackerel tabby (a 23)
Red classic tabby (d 22)
Red mackerel tabby (d 23)
Cream mackerel tabby (e 23)

Smoke and silver

Black smoke (ns)
Blue smoke (as)
Red smoke (ds)
Tortie smoke (fs)
Black silver shaded (ns 11)
Black silver shell (tipped) (ns 12)
Black silver classic tabby (ns 22)
Black silver mackerel tabby (ns 23)
Black silver spotted tabby (ns 24)
Tortie silver mackerel tabby (fs 23)

Golden

Black golden shaded (ny 11)
Black golden shell (tipped) (ny 12)
Black golden classic tabby (ny 22)
Black golden mackerel tabby (ny 23)

With white

Black and white (n 03)
Black van (n 01)
Black harlequin (n 02)
Black with a little white (n 09)
Blue and white (a 03)
Red and white (d 03)
Cream and white (e 03)
Tortie and white (f 03)
Black mackerel tabby and white (n 03 23)
Black smoke and white (ns 03)

Not in FIFe and WCF

Chocolate (b)
Lilac (c)
Cinnamon (o)
Fawn (p)
Colourpoint (n 33)

FIFe and WCF do not allow chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, fawn or colourpoint, not even with white or tabby. TICA only says 'all traditional colours'.

Did you know?

2 to 10
The tail has 2 to 10 bones, and just like a fingerprint, no two tails are the same.
Salmon fisher
On its islands it is said to catch salmon, and many Kurilians love to play with water.
65 in 100
On Kunashir Island 65 of every 100 street cats have a short tail, twice as many as on nearby Hokkaido in Japan.
Two countries
The Kuril Islands are volcanic islands claimed by both Russia and Japan.
Stamp
In 2020 the Kurilian Bobtail appeared on a Russian postage stamp.

Health

How long15–20years

Often 15 years or more; sources give 15 to 20 years. There is no large study of how long Kurilian Bobtails live.

The short tail

In the Manx the tail gene can also make the spine too short, with weak hind legs and bladder trouble. In the Kurilian Bobtail no such problems are known, and it always keeps a bit of kinked tail. But the gene has not been found yet and there is little research. That is why some vets and animal welfare groups in Germany see any bred short tail as a concern.

How it is found: There is no DNA test. The standards ask for at least two tail bones you can feel and reject misshapen bones. A vet can check the tail and spine before breeding.

Overweight

Like any cat, it can get too heavy. Extra weight is hard on the joints and raises the risk of diabetes.

How it is found: No test. Weigh it now and then and measure its food.

Teeth

Tartar and sore gums can make eating painful. That goes for many cats.

How it is found: No test. Have the vet check the teeth every year and brush them from kittenhood.

Ask the breeder for

What are the parents' tails and spines like?
How many bones does the kitten's tail have, and may I gently feel it?
Do you give a written health guarantee?
How do you keep the lines varied in such a rare breed?

Care

Grooming
Easy: the coat hardly tangles. Brush once or twice a week, the longhair more often when it moults. Trim the nails and brush the teeth.
Exercise
Active. Give it toys, places to climb and a game every day. It likes to join in with whatever the family is doing. A fenced balcony or harness walks help.
Food
Good food rich in protein, measured so it does not get too heavy. Some Kurilians like to drink from a fountain.
Allergies
It is not hypoallergenic. If you are allergic to cats, do not count on it.
Hunter
It is a strong hunter and a good climber. Birds, fish and small pets are not safe around it, so cover a fish tank and secure the windows.

Allowed where you live?

Checked on 23 October 2026

NetherlandsAllowed
BelgiumAllowed
LuxembourgAllowed

Recognised by registries

FIFeEurope, including the Netherlands and BelgiumAs Kurilean Bobtail, shorthair and longhair2004
WCFWorldwide, mostly GermanyShorthair and longhair1994
TICAWorldwide, mostly AmericaShorthair and semi-longhair2012

Breed clubs

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Kurilian Bobtail

Character

Affectionate

Lap cat

Playful

Energetic

Talkative

Learns tricks

With strangers

With children

With dogs

With other cats

Home alone

Indoor cat