A rare American breed created by crossing the Siamese with the Manx, producing a stub-tailed, blue-eyed cat with a pointed coat and a famously affectionate, dog-like devotion to its people.
- Origin
- United States
- Category
- longhair
- Lifespan
- 13–16 yrs
- Size
- Medium
- Weight
- 3.5–7 kg
- Coat
- Medium-long, soft, low-matting
- Colours
- Pointed and mink patterns in seal, blue, chocolate, lilac and tortie
😺 Temperament
🏡 Best suited to
📊 Personality ratings
📜 History & origin
The Owyhee Bob (named after the Owyhee region of the American West) was developed from deliberate crosses between Siamese and Manx cats, aiming to combine the Siamese's striking pointed colour and blue eyes with the Manx's short, kinked or bobbed tail and rounded body. The result is a naturally short-tailed, sociable cat. The breed is experimental and extremely rare, recognised by only a small number of registries and bred by a handful of dedicated enthusiasts.
🧼 Care & grooming
The soft, medium-long coat resists matting and needs only twice-weekly brushing to stay tidy. The Owyhee Bob is intensely people-oriented and does best in a busy household where it is rarely alone; it bonds closely, follows its owners about, and enjoys interactive games and gentle handling. Because it inherits the Manx tail gene, buyers should choose breeders who breed responsibly to avoid the spinal problems associated with taillessness.
🩺 Health notes
As a Manx-derived breed, the main concern is 'Manx syndrome' — a set of spinal and nerve defects linked to the tailless gene — so responsible breeders never mate two fully tailless cats and screen kittens carefully. From its Siamese side it may share predispositions to dental disease and, in some lines, progressive retinal atrophy. Its rarity makes a conscientious, health-testing breeder essential.
