According to another theory, long-tailed cats are said to have diminished because birth of a fork-tailed specter Nekomata (a mythical two-tailed monster cat) was shunned and short-tailed cats were preferred.
一説には二股に尾が分かれた妖怪猫又の誕生を忌み、尾の短い猫が好まれたため、尾の長い猫が減ったといわれる。