I've heard stories of house cats interbreeding with bobcats. Anyone know if these are true?

[raccoon]

Anyone ever see an offspring of such a union?

[guitar man]

1. When I was a kid

A friend of mine claimed his cat was one, but now I doubt it. I don't think it is possible. That cat sure was mean as hell though!!

[DS1]

2. Judge for yourself

My dude. That's not fat.

[Kingofalldems]

4. Wow. The head of a housecat

and the body of a Bobcat. I'm convinced.

[raccoon]

6. What a treasure! You lucky thing! What's his name?

Edited to add: He may be a hybrid. He looks huge!

[DS1]

7. Minou

[Midlodemocrat]

18. How do you pronounce that?

[DS1]

21. minn ou

like short for minnesota
and
ooouu that's a pretty fireworks display

[Shakespeare]

19. That's quite the sturdy cat.

:scared:

[Shell Beau]

3. If the housecats get out regularly, I don't see why it couldn't happen.

I have seen cats that I swear have to be part bobcat. They are husky and have bobbed tails. :shrug:

[zanne]

8. Those are American Bobtails.

The bobtail is a dominant gene, so once one of them is set free to impregnate the neighborhood cats, you'll see alot of bobtail kitties. I had one and he was the best.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Yeah, we had Manxes in the neighborhood dump. Wound up with kittens with

All kinds of tails. 3/4 length and kinked at the end. The regular bobtail. One kitten had no tail and died because without one she couldn't go to the bathroom. :(

[zanne]

13. I had a cat without a tail and she had no problems. nt

[Chan790]

5. Yes, they are true...

I've never seen one, however housecats have been not only interbred with bobcats, but also ocelots, lynx and servals in research settings to my knowledge...so it is possible.

Some domestic breeds contain wild-stock in limited quantities. Many designer-breed cats, such as the Savannah and Bengal, are intentionally-interbred cats. In the case of the Savannah, the hybridizing species is the African Serval. In the case of the Bengal, the hybridizing species is the Wild Asian Leopard Cat. (Which is subsequently-bred through two consecutive generations for behavioral and domesticization reasons.)

[AngryAmish]

11. What about the liger?

It's pretty much my favorite animal.

[Chan790]

17. Did you know...

that if one breeds a male tiger to a female lion, one gets a completely different hybrid animal called a tigon.

Tigon:
(You can't really tell from the picture but full-sized tigons are about the size of a German Shepard)

Liger:

[Lorien]

23. Some Savannahs are mostly wild-which is a problem

I adopted one from a woman who couldn't handle her half serval/ half bengal cross. Although serval/ domestic cat breedings DO in fact happen in Africa, with the offspring often hanging out comfortably in villages-they don't do well as housecats at all. They'll chew everything in sight, need lots of exercise and entertainment, and are very unpredicable; loving kitty one minute and rip-your-face-off wildcat the next. Personally I think that such intentional breedings should be banned.

(that's a DOG crate behind him; he's huge).

[RebelOne]

9. Here's a thread I found on Google posted by DU's Roon

Seems he or she had a crossbreed.

www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1423368

[raccoon]

10. Thanks for the link. nt

[Sanity Claws]

20. I would have loved to have seen Roon's kitty

But all I saw was a red x.
If he's around, I hope he reposts the picture in this thread.

[supernova]

14. Supposedly, this is the folklore history of Maine Coons

Don't know if it's true or not.

[Missy Vixen]

15. The Maine Coon is thought to have descended from,

believe it or not, Marie Antoinette's Turkish Angora cats. The cats made the trip here, and she didn't.

Maine Coons are a naturally occurring breed in any case. They're not actually called "Maine Coons", though, unless they have pedigree paperwork.

Julie

[Whoa_Nelly]

16. Dunno, but found this Wiki on Pixie-Bobs (cross breed)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie-bob_cat

[Lorien]

22. Yes, it's true

http://www.messybeast.com/small-hybrids/rufus-lynx-hybrids.htm

http://www.kitten-central.com/pixie-bob-cat-breed-guide.html

For a long time Maine Coon breeders rejected the idea that MCs were descended from domestic cat/ lynx and bobcat matings, but recent DNA studies have shown markers for both in Maine Coon genes. The earliest accounts of Maine Coon-like cats were of kittens that were the result of pairings between ships cats from Norway or Turkish Angoras and "cats of the forest". They "trill" like bobcats and have the same ear tufts and heavy bone structure, plus they are twice the size of a housecat-but the wild blood is very diluted. They're extremely laid back and devoted critters, unlike other hybrid cats.

[LynneSin]

24. That would be the Pixie-Bob

They have the coloring, fur & tail of a bobcat but in condensed form

[raccoon]

25. What a lovely cat! I wonder if they could be guard-cats or watch-cats? nt

[LynneSin]

27. Remember they have alot of domestic cat bred into them which means...

they'll be lazy loafers who sleep 23hrs a day living a life regulated by their stomachs.

[ceile]

26. Yes.

On my friend's ranch there's 3 kitties that are obviously a cross. The bobtail, furry ears and they are barely a year old and are HUGE! Very cute and not terribly afraid of humans either (don't like to be petted, but don't run far). One of them is a tortie-she's a sight to see!

[pokerfan]

28. Google revealed an old DU link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1423368