Alice White
#4 The Mekong Bobtail is a shorthaired and short-tailed cat.
An elegant strong animal with a friendly character. An inquisitive pet becomes attached to all family members, gets along well with children, taking on the duties of a “housekeeper”. Despite its exotic appearance, the Mekong Bobtail does not require complicated care and is very healthy.
#5 Southeast Asia became the homeland of the Mekong bobtails.
The breed was named in honor of the Mekong River flowing in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam. The word "bobtail" denotes the presence of a short tail. Initially, cats were called Siamese, then Thai, and only in 2003 they were named the Mekong to avoid confusion with other breeds. One of the first descriptions of these cats belonged to Charles Darwin, who mentioned them in 1883 in his work "Changing Domestic Animals and Crop Plants."
#6 At home, the breed was considered royal.
Thai bobtails lived on the grounds of temples and palaces. For a long time, protecting the breed, the Thais prohibited the export of cats. Mekong bobtails left the country very rarely and only as especially valuable gifts. Among the recipients were Nicholas II, British Ambassador Owen Gould, and Anna Crawford, the governess of the children of the Siamese king. The breed came to Europe in 1884, to America in the 1890s.
