Toybobs are a miniature cat breed with a bobtail. The breed originates in Russia. They are newish in the West. According to Giselle, a visitor who introduced this cat breed to me, they range in weight from 2-5 pounds:
Hi, I currently own two “Toybobs”, they’re a rare imported breed of miniature bob tailed cats from Russia. They range from 2-5 pounds full-grown. My 1 1/2 year old is slightly under 4 pounds and my one year old is a little over four pounds. I attached a picture of my one year old. (Giselle).
The breed has in fact been around since 1988. It has been bred for at least 10 years by Helen Krasnitchenko of Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Sarah Hartwell says that the breeder originally gave away her kittens rather than selling them. Eventually the Toybob became a recognised breed. So it would appear to be fairly well-established in Russia but almost unknown in Europe and America.
The breed standard says that this cat, when adult, is the size of a 5-6 month old normal domestic kitten weighing from 2-5 pounds. The body is compact with good musculature. The bobtail can be curved or straight and either in the form of a brush, a mini-spiral or pom-pom. This is not a dwarf cat meaning that the legs are of normal length and in proportion to the body.
In fact, the overall appearance is of a balanced cat. Although the photos and video show a pointed cat, any coat type is allowed and the coat length is semi-longhaired or short. The eye color should be consistent with coat type (e.g. blue eyes for a pointed cat). The breed standard in terms of open-endedness is much like a number of well-established breeds in the West such as the American Curl. This information is according to a preliminary breed standard, which is subject to possible change although it may have been refined already.
The reason for this cat’s small size is genetic inheritance (recessive gene, apparently). The originating breeder selected small founding cats carrying this gene and bred them. There are very few Toybobs in the West — “6 Toybob kittens TICA in 2011” (toybob-kittens.dk). These were the first Toybobs.
Excellent photo Giselle. Nice comparison on size too. Beautiful cat.
Here is a slightly lightened version (in the dark parts) of your photo:
Annie is miniature. There is no firm guide as to what is miniature as I understand it. Sarah Hartwell states, as far as I remember, that around 4 lbs and below is miniature.
There are unscrupulous people who sell sub-adult cats as miniature adult cats.
Great photo for scaling. It gives me a better idea of size. Thanks Giselle.
Here’s another pic of Dinah. She’s almost 4 1/2 pounds. A little bigger (not taller, but longer) than Annie. Hope these pics give a better idea of how little they are. I used to have Bengals and my sister has a Siberian. Compared to those two breeds, I find my Toybobs tiny. I know they there’s suppose to be cats in the 2 pound range. But I haven’t seen one yet.
Here’s a pic of Annie with my hand. Hope that comparison helps. I thought any cat under seven pounds would be considered miniature? Annie is just under 4 lbs. But the I guess “small” is a better word. Because the standard is for a small breed of cat and not miniature. The video you added is from a breeder who I think is in Denmark. I know she’s been doing outcrosses to widen her Toybob gene pool. Dunno if the cat in the video is 100% Toybob or not.
Yes exactly. Though i still wouldn’t get a pedigree but they do look lovely.