Is the Stray Cat’s Tail the Result of Injury or Genetics?

My family and I adopted a kitten from a family friend who also has, what we call, a "half tail". She is the cutest, sweetest little thing ever and we love her like a child!! When I picked her she was about 4 weeks old, and was still with her mother and litter-mates. I noticed that half the litter had normal tails, the other half of the bunch had no tail whatsoever, and mine was the only one who had a "half tail" so that's why I picked her! I saw that the mother had a normal size tail so I asked my friend about the father, b. and she told me that he was a "bobtail" breed. Mine got both traits I suppose, so your little stray may have a similar type lineage. If you can gently feel of the very tip of the tail you will be able the tail's to tell if it's due to a genetic trait or if it's due to an unfortunate accident.

Hi there! I adopted a rescue cat last year that was thought to have a chopped off and deformed tail. Turned out she was a purebread Japanese Bobtail. Her tail was actually a little long for her breed, about 3 inches of thick stubby tail before the kinked curly cue puffball at the tip. You can tell that the tail was not an injury, it was natural. I confirmed with a couple of JB breeders that she was one, sometimes their tails can be abnormally "long", so she couldn't be a show cat, but she's still a JB. She also had some deformities on her back feet, so she most likely was "tossed out" by a breeder or given away and escaped.

What does your cat look like otherwise? A JB is about 6-8 lbs, small, the back legs are a lot longer than the front legs so they look like they are swaying their hips when they walk. But the face is a giveaway; Google pics of them and you'll know. They all have the same unusual tiny triangular face and very slanted eyes. Sometimes the eyes are different colors (one blue, one green or gold). Is it a calico?