✢ Research: Bobtail —•✧•— ✤ What It Is ✤ A bobtail is a type of cat with a naturally short tail that is a result of genetic mutation. There are a few types of bobtails, including Japanese bobtail and American bobtail. I will be researching American bobtail. While this mutation is harmless in itself, cats with bobtails are susceptible to diseases in the hips, spine or nerves such as hip dysplasia (the hip socket doesn't completely cover the ball of one of your thigh bones meaning dislocarions can occur much easier) or spina bifida (during development, the neural tube doesnt close all the way, causing the backbone to not form properly). Shinekit will have neither of these issues. —•✧•— ✢ Signs ✢ Due to the fact that the tail is shirter than usual, typical uses of the tail can no longer be used, such as gestures and instead he will use his paws and possibly his head for gestures. Because Shinekit was born with this shorter tail, stereotypical issues such as lack of balance will not be an issue as he will never have learnt how to balance woth a full tail, only with a small one. —•✧•— ✤ Cause ✤ It is genetic, caused by a mutation in the cat's genes. The American bobtail is caused by a dominant gene while the Japanese bobtail is caused by a recessive gene —•✧•— ✢ How This Will Affect My Kit ✢ Shinekit will largely ignore his smaller tail due to the fact that he was born with it and knows no other way of living. He will see that Galekit (i think...) and his father both have bobtails and will assume it is a normal thing and so won't feel insecure or inferior because of it. He will still have to learn regular tail signals that other cats use but he will only be able to use paw and head signals. —•✧•— ✤ Sources ✤ https://www.webmd.com/pets/cats/what-to-know-about-american-bobtails https://www.webmd.com/children/what-is-hip-dysplasia https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/spina-bifida https://www.dialavet.com/vet-answers/post/cat-bobtail-health-concerns-25107 —•✧•— ✢ Roleplay Example ✢ Shinekit was wandering around camp, thinking. Movement caught his eye and he turned, spotting another kit waving their tail at him. In greeting, he assumed. He approached the other, his head dipping in response
