What is A Pixie-Bob?

The Pixie-bob is a breed of domestic cat that was created by cat breed Carol Ann Brewer of Washington State from the offspring of naturally occurring bobcat hybrids. The current cats have no marker genes from these wild ancestors and are now classified as a wholly domesticated breed of cat.

History
Brewer purchased a polydactyl cat near Mount Baker, Washington in the spring of 1985, a male cat with a short, bobbed tail. The following year she rescued another male cat with a bobbed tail who was reputed to have been sired by a bobcat. Despite being in terrible condition and near starving, it still weighed 17 pounds and was tall enough to reach Brewer's knees when standing on all four legs. She mated this cat with a brown spotted female and in April 1986, a litter was born. She kept once of the kittens and named it Pixie then began a breeding program with Pixie as the foundation cat.

Over the following couple of years, Brewer introduced 23 cats to her program from around the Cascade Mountain area that she believed to be hybrids of domestic cats and bobcats. She referred to them as Legend Cats and registered this term as a trademark in the US to limit the use outside her breeding program. Elsewhere in the US, other breeders were working with barn cats that had the same wild look to them and began to collaborate with Brewer to form today's Pixie-bob.

The new breed was successfully registered with The International Cat Association (TICA) and the American Cat Fancier's Association (ACFA) from 1993 as an exhibition category then moving to new breed and color category in 1996. The breed achieved full championship status in 1998.

Description
Despite the stories of a wild ancestor, the Pixie-bob is a totally domestic cat that resembled the North American Bobcat. For it to be registered with TICA, one of the parents must trace lineage back to the Stone Island Pixie, Brewer's original Pixie-bob cat.

These cats tend to be large and some breeders produced exceptionally big cats, particularly in the males. The average domestic cat weighs 8 lb while the average Pixie-bob comes in at around 11 lb. It takes the breed around four years to reach maturity, whereas normal domestic breeds are mature in around twelve months.

Most of the Pixie bobs have black fur and skin on their paws, tipped ears, black lips and white fur around the eyes on black skin. The fur has a bobcat-like pattern with reddish tones mixed in and come in both short and longhaired varieties. Their brows are heavy and eyes are triangular in shape. Tails can be anywhere from non-existent, termed as a rumpy to between two and four inches as well as with long tails. It is currently unknown if their reduced tail is genetically linked to other breeds such as the Manx and the Japanese Bobtail that have a similar condition.

Personality
Pixie-bobs are very intelligent cats who love to play with people and with other animals. They have a lot to say, making a range of noises but some don't meow in the typical manner. They are very sociable with strangers and like to be close to their owners, following them from room to room and being involved in what they are doing. They can learn tricks such as fetching toys, walking on a leash and even understanding some human phrases, according to some breeders.

Health
Due to careful outcrossing, the breed has good genetic diversity and doesn't suffer from the problems associated with in-breeding. They do rarely suffer from common cat health issues such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy but with no greater frequency than most breeds.