The Busok Cat Recognition And What It Means For The Nation
Madurese origin Busok cat gets global recognition on 10 November 2022. The Cat Corner’s Felicya talked to World Cat Federation themselves discussing what the recognition means.
Let’s start by not calling it ‘The Indonesian British Shorthair”, shall we? The Busok cat is a closed colony of blue cats known with distinctive triangular ears, squarish faces, and dazzling dark green eyes. Busok resides on the Ra’as island, located about 15 kilometers off the coast of Madura island. But our new friend, which owns wild cat expression, is said to be on the verge of extinction thanks in part to local superstitions prohibiting the export of fertile cats.
After a little digging, I found out it was the CNN Indonesia news video that sparked the first excitement. The comments section was flooded with congratulatory messages while I am pretty sure half of the Indonesian audience never heard of the Busok breed before or didn’t even know what this recognition really means.
In search of answers, we asked World Cat Federation media officer, Julia on how could the recognition translates to, well, anything?
“Formally, WCF recognition allows certain breeds of cats to compete for championship titles at shows organized by, or affiliated to World Cat Federation,” Julia explained to us via e-mail. Unsatisfied with the formal answer, I replied back asking her personal opinions.
“I think it would be the dream of every Indonesian cat lover to obtain a Busok,” she told me. “It could also become a national identity export that hopefully drives the economy of the locals— just like the Siamese cat being a pride identity of Thailand, thus putting Indonesia on the map in the world stage of feline fanciers .”
Your chance to have a pet Busok is rather slim though. Speaking of export, there is some mystique around the breed. The local rule says only religious leaders, high-ranking government officials, and informal leaders may keep the pure Busok cat. Anyone attempting to smuggle a Busok from Ra’as will have their ‘boat sinking’ which is pretty scary, or, at least the cats exported from Ra’as were castrated due to a local notion that the fertile Busok cat should only be preserved on Ra’as. There is also a certain belief that the Busok cat owns a sixth sense and owning one would bring the owner wealth and good luck.
Written by Felicya Christine (The Cat Corner)
