BREEDING TO BOBCATS
I bought my first Pixie-Bob because I'd really always wanted a bobcat, but thought they were too viscious to keep as pets. When I discovered that this may or may not be true, depending on the bobcat, its parents, and its environment, I purchased one. My main intention was to keep her as a pet, but I also wanted to breed her to my Pixie-Bob male and improve on the bobcat look of the breed. When she had matured sexually, not only did she have no interest in any domestic male, but she tried to kill him. I stood right there and just barely scooped him up in time to save his life. I have never put another domestic in with her again! You may think that is extreme, and that another cat would fare better, but if you'd seen her reaction, you would know that that is not the case.
By this time I also had a male bobcat, so I figured he would be able to breed the female Pixie-Bobs. He practiced as he grew, and I captured many of his attempts on film. By the time he became sexually mature however, he weighed approx. 45#! I tried putting him in with my girls several times, but they (even the ones who were raised with him) became so terrified that all their desire to mate was overshadowed by the need to survive. When they were cornered, they turned to fight, which changed the bobcats interest from mating to fighting also.
While I was experimenting with all this, the Pixie-Bob breed was undergoing some drastic changes. The breed was developed from the Legend Cat™ not the bobcat itself. The Legend Cat™ however, is believed to have bobcat as either a parent or grandparent. Because of this belief, we has assumed that the Pixie-Bob would be placed into the hybrid category with TICA. This did not happen. TICA informed us that there was no evidence that there really is bobcat in the Pixie-Bob. All the DNA testing for wild markers had been negative, and it didn't matter that first generation wolf hybrids also test negative, or that a sample of a South African Serval also showed no wild markers (and she is 100% wild), the bottom line is that there was no proof. We did not see the breedings which produced the Legend Cats™ and belief in something is not proof that it really exists. So the Pixie-Bob was placed in Category II - Native New Breed. Since that time, we have come to realize how fortunate this was for this breed. So many cities, counties, states, provinces and countries are against pets with wild blood - no matter what the percentage or how far back it is - that being in the hybrid category would have prevented the Pixie-Bob from living or even being shown in many places. We saw an example of this in our own state of Washington, when the city of Everett tried to confiscate and put to sleep a pet pixie-Bob because bobcat had been listed many generations back, on the pedigree. (We were able to prevent that from happening, but it took great effort.) So -- where does all this leave breeders who own bobcats and who had hoped to breed them to the Pixie-Bob in hopes of producing something incredible? It leaves us up a creek without a paddle!
Now, because of the growing interest in this breed, and the logical conclusion that adding bobcat back in will strengthen the bobcat look, more and more people are purchasing bobcats. The Pixie-Bob Board has had to take a stand against this because of the horror stories that reach us. Many domestic cats have had their heads torn off, a leg ripped, lungs punctured etc, in someone's attempt to breed them to a bobcat. The universal story that comes with a Legend Cat™ is: "we thought she was being killed; she was attacked and severely injured then 2 months later had kittens; a bobcat tried to kill her and after she got away she hid under the bed for 2 weeks...". How many domestic cats don't survive a meeting with a wild bobcat? We only hear about the ones that do. Each year, we get between 5-15 calls from people who purchased bobcats and now don't know what to do with them. Most of those cats were put to sleep. For someone like me, who lives happily with my 2 bobcats and 1 Serval, this is heart-rendering. Anyone who makes the commitment to keep an animal, be it domestic or wild, has a responsibility to that animal to provide for it's needs, both physical and emotional. It is inhumane, irresponsible and an absolute atrocity to confine a bobcat to a little cage; provide an environment where a cat who trusts you can be terrorized, injured or killed; acquire a wild animal without learning in detail what the needs are and planning ahead of time what to do if that animal doesn't adjust to captivity.
I have owned a lot of cats in my life, and I can honestly say after living 6 years with both Pixie-Bob and bobcats, that the Pixie-Bob is the only cat that really acts like a toned down version of the bobcat. Their tight bond with their families and the determination and intelligence is amazing. Unlike the bobcat however, they are not destructive and are very loving. They want to be with you instead of just putting up with you in a mildly affectionate way. However, if you still want a bobcat as a pet instead of as a potential money making breeder to your Pixie-Bobs, take the time to learn what you are getting into.
Owning a wild animal is really not possible. The best that you can hope for is to strike a compromise on mutual co-existence. They are more work, difficult to treat, more expensive to keep, and very destructive to inside furnishings and knick-nacks. If they are not fixed, (and sometimes even if they are) they spray EVERYTHING (including me while I'm asleep, I wake very quickly now!) They do not like to be confined in any way. They will always be a wild animal, so must always be treated with caution - their moods can change rapidly. If they inflict any harm on another person, the local authorities will quickly confiscate and kill them, and you will most probably be sued. An adult bobcats teeth are as long according to "Bobcat of North America" by Young, as a cougars - just not as thick. Being bit by a domestic cat is painful, try it with a bobcat. I can't count the number of times I've been bit by my female when she was young. I didn't let her get away with anything and now she is very slow to bite, but she would if I pushed her too far. Is this the kind of pet you want? My male has never bitten me, and he is like a big grumpy teddy bear who puts up with my kisses all over his face (I kiss my females face too) but I'm always ready and on guard for any change in their mood. Most bobcats are great pets as kittens, but according to a local vet who works with several zoos as well as many privately owned according to a local vet who works with several zoos as well as many privately owned wild animals, about 50% turn more wild in temperament when they reach maturity. So how did I end up with such a great pair? I didn't, it took and continues to take a lot of hard work. I started by finding a breeder who takes the time to lavish a lot of love and attention on the newborn kittens. Then you need to get the kitten while it's still bottle feeding for the extra bond it will give you. You have to provide it with an expensive and time consuming diet - commercial cat food will not support its growth and development - if you can even get it to eat it. They want meat. I spend hours each week skinning, cutting up and grinding in a commercial sized grinder, still-born calves from a local dairy. It's unpleasant and bloody and hard work - but my cats are extremely healthy. By the time they are 6 months or so, you'd better have a fenced area. A little pen is not adequate - I don't care what the USDA rules say. I have l 1/2 acres fenced in and a dog door in my front door, so they can roam the woods and catch birds, mice and opossums without danger of their also catching the neighbors chickens, dogs, and cats; or risk their being shot. They can come inside when they want to eat, to visit with me (and they do like to check up on me, just to see what I'm doing now and that I'm still here) or to get out of the rain or snow - but they will never learn to wipe their feet. My house has been cleared of anything breakable. If they see it and want it, they will get it no matter how high you put it. My floors are linoleum as are about 2 1/2 feet at the base of my walls. If I don't mop at least every other day, the house smells like a poor quality nursing home. They do bond strongly with you, but they are not demonstrative. The only time mine really want affection is after they have eaten and are sleepy, then they will come searching for me and demand that I scratch them, smash their ears flat, play with their whiskers, pull their muttonchops and blow on their bellies. Yes, living with bobcats is wonderful and extremely rewarding (although when a 45# cat lays on your face in the middle of the night, you may wonder about the rewarding part), but they mean a life-style change that most people (or their spouses) are not willing to make.
So - am I disappointed about not being able to breed my bobcats to my Pixie-Bob's.....YES!!
I very much want to add more of the beauty of the bobcat to the Pixie-Bob, and I don't want to wait the generations it takes to do that through breeding the best Pixie-Bob to the best Pixie-Bob. I want to do it NOW!! I do realize that artificial insemination is always an option, but at this point in time, not a very viable one. It is expensive, has an 80% chance of not succeeding, is traumatic on all cats involved, and since anesthesia and hormone injections are needed, there are the usual dangers and side-effects involved with these medications. Then there is the political aspect - artificial insemination is not looked at in even a remotely friendly manner by people in the cat world. I'm unclear why it is OK for dogs, cattle, plants etc., but not for cats; but there it is. Even if artificial insemination were a viable option now, we'd still be back to the wild blood problem. I don't want to see Pixie-Bobs confiscated and put to sleep. I thought at one time that that could never happen, but after it almost did, I realized that it can
and will if bobcats are bred back in, are listed as such on the pedigrees and if the offspring tests positive for wild markers. Because of my desire to breed my cats I asked the Pixie-Bob Board members to look at this issue (being a board member myself does not give me special privileges or nullify my responsibility as a Pixie-Bob breeder). The board agreed to consider the possibility of not saying that bobcats are not allowed as outcrosses, just that no cats could be registered as Pixie-Bobs if they tested positive for wild markers. Any such cat could be bred again to a Pixie-Bob and the next generation (if it tested negative) would be eligible for registration. That didn't solve the problem of the bobcat being listed on a pedigree however, which would still make the cat illegal in many places; or of the growing number if irresponsible people acquiring bobcats only to breed to Pixie-Bobs thereby resulting in a miserable existence for a caged wild animal as well as the possible deaths of the cats put in with them. The Pixie-Bob Board loves cats - any and all cats - and we will not support that kind of cruelty, especially when it is involving our own beloved breed. The only option left was to simply disallow bobcats as outcrosses and continue to develop the Pixie-Bob breed in the same manor in which it began - through the Legend Cat™ and careful breeding of Pixie-Bob to Pixie-Bob.
For further information on anything in this article, contact: Gail Chaney:
