The Toybob cat

(Many thanks to Wonderland Toybobs for graciously sharing photos of their beautiful Toybob cats with me for this post.)

The first time I saw a photo of a Toybob cat I was sure I was looking at an AI-generated image.  I was certain that the elfin little creature in the picture, with saucers for eyes, was too adorable to be real.

But it was real. The Toybob is a diminutive kitty with a beguiling, wide-eyed expression, and a delightful little personality to match.

Keep reading to learn all about this tiny cutie!

What does “Toybob” even mean?

Let me just say here that “Toybob” is an improvement on the breed’s original name, which was Skif-Thai-Don.

“Skif” refers to a Russian cat club that was the first club to register the breed.[1]

“Thai” is a reference to the colorpointed coat pattern of the first Toybobs. Siamese cats have colorpointed coats, and Siamese cats are sometimes referred to as Thai cats. Note that Toybobs can come in any color and pattern today.

And “Don” refers to the Rostov-on-Don region of Russia where the breed was first developed.

The name Toybob is descriptive in a different way. “Toy” is actually a term that refers to dogs who are bred to be exceptionally small. Toy dog breeds were designed to be companions, not working animals. The Toybob borrowed the “toy” term to describe this very petite cat breed.

“Bob” refers to the length of the tail. Animal tails can be “bobbed,” or cut, to make them shorter. But the Toybob is born with a naturally short tail.

The history of the Toybob cat

Short-tailedness in cats is the result of a spontaneous mutation. This mutation appears frequently in native cats of Russia.

In 1983, Russian cat breeder Elena Krasnichenko plucked two short-tailed kitties off the street and bred them together. One of the street cats had a short, kinked tail, and the other had a curled bobtail.[2]

She took one of the kittens that resulted from this mating, named Kutciy, to a cat show. Even though he was a full-grown cat by this time, he was so small that people thought he was still a kitten. Kutciy is the foundation for the breed Krasnichenko called Skif-Thai-Don.[3]

Kutciy’s parents were both colorpointed, and Kutciy was colorpointed, too. In fact, Krasnichenko’s Kut Cattery continues to breed only colorpointed Toybobs today.

Other Russian breeders expanded the Toybob breed by adding more street cats to the mix. They chose smaller cats with kinked or bobbed tails that seemed to have the look of Krasnichenko’s Skif-Thai-Don.

The addition of these random-bred cats not only added a wide range of coat colors and patterns to the breed, but helped ensure the Toybob breed’s future genetic health.

The first Toybobs were brought to the US in 2004.

What does a Toybob cat look like?

A Toybob is small, about the size of a three- to six-month old kitten.[4] But a Toybob’s body is proportional and the smallness is not the result of dwarfism, as it is in the Munchkin breed.

The Toybob may be petite, but she is not dainty. Her body is compact, strong, and muscular. The Toybob’s tail is short and might be kinked, which means it might have a bump or a hook in it, caused by malformed or fused vertebrae. Or, the tail might be short and curled so that it looks like a little pompom.

A Toybob has rounded cheekbones, a rounded muzzle, and large, rounded eyes set well apart, all of which lend an expression of innocence.

The breed comes in every color, but is frequently seen in the pointed color pattern like a Siamese cat. The coat can be long or short and has a dense, plush texture.

What is the personality of a Toybob cat?

The Cat Fanciers’ Association said it best, I think: the Toybob is “interactive but not overly active.”[5] The Toybob is the exact right balance of intelligence, playfulness, and cuddliness.

A Toybob enjoys playing with toys but might very well choose a snuggle on your lap and petting over play. If you get up from the sofa, she’ll follow you around the house.

A Toybob loves her creature comforts, including soft pillows and warm blankets, and will likely nestle under the covers with you at night.

Toybobs aren’t particularly noisy, although they have an expansive repertoire of chirps, trills, purrs, and meows that they will use to communicate with you.

Toybobs get along with other family pets, and they don’t like being left alone for long periods of time.[6] Get two if you work all day.

Isn’t a Toybob’s short tail a genetic defect?

You’re right to be concerned about short-tailedness in cats.

In some tailless or short-tailed cat breeds, like the Manx, the gene that shortens the tail also affects the development of the spine and spinal cord.

In some Manx cats, the gene that shortens the tail can shorten the spine too much, leading to Manx Syndrome, which is a form of spina bifida. Manx cats suffering from Manx Syndrome can have problems with their bowels, bladder, and digestion. They can become partially paralyzed or develop severe arthritis.

Toybob’s do not suffer from any of the problems plaguing the Manx breed. It is likely that there are different genes or combinations of genes at play in both breeds.

Dr. Leslie A. Lyons, a feline geneticist at the University of Missouri, conducted research in collaboration with the International Toybob Cat Club, and results suggest that there is no connection between the genes that cause taillessness in Manx cats and short tails in the Toybob.

The Toybob is actually a very healthy cat breed. The State of the Cat Study, a research project concerned with genetic diversity in domestic cat breeds, showed that the Toybob had the largest range of diversity in its population compared to other cat breeds.[7]

How to groom a Toybob cat

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The Toybob is a very low-maintenance cat breed. Even the coat on a longhaired Toybob coat seems to resist mats and tangles.

Just brush yours once or twice a week with a little slicker brush like this one by Burt’s Bees.

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Dawn LaFontaine

Dawn LaFontaine is a lifelong animal lover who always seems to have a little pet hair in her keyboard. Her blog, Kitty Contemplations, helps cat guardians better understand and care for the special beings they share their lives and homes with, and is a Top 10 cat blog on Feedspot. Her cat-products business, Cat in the Box, sells beautiful, well-made, and award-winning products that she designed to meet the biological needs of cats.