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A rare, naturally short-tailed cat from the Lake Ladoga region of Russian Karelia, prized for its pompom tail, mild manners and easygoing devotion to its family.
- Origin
- Russia
- Category
- shorthair
- Lifespan
- 14–18 yrs
- Size
- Small–Medium
- Weight
- 2.5–4.5 kg
- Coat
- Short or semi-long, fine and silky, with little undercoat
- Colours
- Any natural colour and pattern, including solids, tabby, tortie and bicolour
😺 Temperament
🏡 Best suited to
📊 Personality ratings
📜 History & origin
The Karelian Bobtail is a natural breed that arose among the free-living cats around Lake Ladoga and the Republic of Karelia in north-west Russia. Its distinctive short tail is caused by a recessive gene — genetically different from the dominant bobtail of the nearby Kurilian and Japanese Bobtails. Russian breeders began formally documenting and standardising the cats in the 1980s, and the breed was recognised by the World Cat Federation in 1994. It remains one of the rarer Russian breeds, seldom seen outside its homeland.
🧼 Care & grooming
The soft, low-undercoat coat needs only weekly brushing (twice weekly for the semi-longhaired variety) and rarely mats. A calm, adaptable cat, the Karelian Bobtail settles happily into family life and gets on well with children and other pets; it enjoys gentle interactive play and human company but is not demanding or destructive. Provide scratching posts and a sunny perch and it asks for little else.
🩺 Health notes
Because the Karelian bobtail gene is recessive rather than the dominant type linked to spinal issues in some tailless breeds, the breed is generally healthy and free of the skeletal problems seen in Manx-type cats. Its broad natural gene pool gives it good overall vigour, and there are no strongly documented breed-specific diseases. Routine vaccination, parasite control, dental care and weight management cover its needs.