Is my kitty a bobcat hybrid?

[lulu1484]

Hi all!

I recently adopted a stray kitten (Wily) and am wondering what his lineage is. He was found in an area that has bobcats. He is extremely active and acrobatic (way more so than any other cats I've owned). He definitely has wild tendencies. He has longer hind legs than front legs, his top fangs hang out of his mouth a little bit, he has a double layer silky coat, he chirps and trills instead of meowing, has small black ear tufts, and has a bobbed tail that ends in a little hook. The patterns on his ears and face are reminiscent of a bobcat.

The vet said he is probably eight months old (the pictures below show him at six months) but he is much smaller than my roommates cat who is the same age. I'm wondering if this is because he was a stray or if he is growing slowly like large cat breeds do.

I'd love to get some input on his lineage so I can raise him appropriately! Thanks everyone!

Here are some pictures and a video:

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• lulu1484
• Dec 28, 2016

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• lulu1484
• Dec 28, 2016

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• lulu1484
• Dec 28, 2016

 

[Norachan]

Wow, what a beautiful cat! I love his little stubby tail. The short tail doesn't always mean a cat has bob-cat ancestors. I care for a colony of cats and the bob-tail shows up fairly frequently. It can be a sign of inbreeding, if your kitten came from a feral colony there is a chance that this caused his short tail and his slower growth. It can also be a genetic mutation that is passed down among cats who aren't too closely in-bred. 

The Manx gene or the Japanese bob-tail gene, for example.

Having said that, a lot of people do believe that domestic cats breed with bob-cats. I'm not sure if it's ever been proven though. If you type "Bob-cat hybrid" into the search bar at the top of the TCS page you'll see lots of other threads about possible bob-cat cross kittens.

 

[basscat]

It'd sure be cool if he was, or, if there were any Bobcat hybrids.   If it was possible to breed a bob with a tabby, somebody would have done it by now.
Also, if you consider other similar hybrids?  There are usually several physical traits that stand out, especially on 1st gen offspring.   And, even down the line, when the physical appearance traits start to fade....the "attitude" remains.

Savannahs, Bengals, etc.  They are borderline destructive.   An eccentric tabby is a handful and might scratch up your sofa.  A normal hybrid is like a pit bull on speed and will try to EAT your sofa....and might succeed if nobody is watching. 
I would assume a bob/hybrid would be about the same...especially food possession.

 

[Kat0121]

 
It'd sure be cool if he was, or, if there were any Bobcat hybrids.   If it was possible to breed a bob with a tabby, somebody would have done it by now.
Also, if you consider other similar hybrids?  There are usually several physical traits that stand out, especially on 1st gen offspring.   And, even down the line, when the physical appearance traits start to fade....the "attitude" remains.

Savannahs, Bengals, etc.  They are borderline destructive.   An eccentric tabby is a handful and might scratch up your sofa.  A normal hybrid is like a pit bull on speed and will try to EAT your sofa....and might succeed if nobody is watching. 
I would assume a bob/hybrid would be about the same...especially food possession.

I agree with this. I personally would say that there isn't any bobcat in little Wily (who is ADORABLE by the way! 

 

). Hybrids always keep some of the wildness in them especially if it is not too "watered" down. They do tend to have some destructive tendencies and need a lot of attention and constructive, supervised activity to keep this to a minimum. 

We knew someone who had a wolf/ German shepherd hybrid. He was brilliantly smart, a great watchdog and he was good with the kids but boy was he destructive. He tore their yard to shreds. He had to be supervised when in the house so he didn't tear that to bits too. They had to have an extra tall, super reinforced fence to keep him in because he was very big and very strong. They socialized him well though. He was not aggressive to humans at all. 

 

[tarasgirl06]

I'd agree with the other posters that it's highly unlikely, but that he IS adorable! Raise him with love and care, keeping him indoors and safe and getting him neutered by 4-6 months, and you won't go wrong. 

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I know that they CAN interbreed, but it is fairly rare.  I had a tomcat growing up who started a strain of blue bobcats in northwest Florida.  I think there are still some there.  Whatever he is, his needs are going to be pretty much the same as all cats!  Keep him well-occupied, and watch out for boredom.  IF he is a hybrid, that will be far more important, and take far more time and inventiveness on your part, but  it's still crucial for all cats' happiness!

 

[bangis]

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• bangis
• Dec 31, 2016
• 1

same here, stray cat also

 

[Alicia88]

We found some kittens once (when I was a kid) and I'm pretty sure they were half bobcat.  One of them was the spitting image of a bobcat I'd seen at the edge of the woods a couple times.  We tamed and kept them as outdoor kitties.  So I'm pretty sure it's possible.

 

[Munki]

Mine is an F4 Bobcat. Her grandparents are DNA Proven as children of Sophie (Bobcat, bred to Max who was a Ocicat X Bengal male - so this is not a backyard cat hybridization) and you can see the heritage at f1bobcat.com. Katie is being held there by her owner/handler. She's very obviously half bobcat. I have the DNA parentage proof of that breeding in my possession. My cat being great-great Grand daughter to Sophie. People say there is no proof. Well, this has been in the owners' possession since 2000. By UCD. You can see my other posts. I joined tonight. I put up one including images of my cat. She's very different from above in that her tail is a Lynx tail, with a coil at the end, about 6" total in length, and she's about 15 lbs, spotted head to toe with stripes as well, wideset nose, small tips on ears, and is also about to birth babies. She's 16 months old. this is Katie. DNA proven daughter of a purebred bobcat. Her relative.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Mine is an F4 Bobcat. Her grandparents are DNA Proven as children of Sophie (Bobcat, bred to Max who was a Ocicat X Bengal male - so this is not a backyard cat hybridization) and you can see the heritage at f1bobcat.com. Katie is being held there by her owner/handler. She's very obviously half bobcat. I have the DNA parentage proof of that breeding in my possession. My cat being great-great Grand daughter to Sophie. People say there is no proof. Well, this has been in the owners' possession since 2000. By UCD. You can see my other posts. I joined tonight. I put up one including images of my cat. She's very different from above in that her tail is a Lynx tail, with a coil at the end, about 6" total in length, and she's about 15 lbs, spotted head to toe with stripes as well, wideset nose, small tips on ears, and is also about to birth babies. She's 16 months old. this is Katie. DNA proven daughter of a purebred bobcat. Her relative.

While I'm not a proponent of crossbreeding or breeding at all, I have to say that Katie is an amazingly beautiful cat and her growl is very "bobcat"

 

[basscat]

That "f1bobcat" guy? I don't think so. If your story involves him, I'm not even the least bit interested.
Poor cat with her tail between her legs, crouched and hunkering down expecting to be scruffed again (or worse).
What kind of person handles their cat like that??
And he actually said 35-40lbs?

 

[Willowy]

Scientists say that all supposed bobcat hybrids have proven, through DNA testing, to be either pure bobcat or pure domestic. They think at this point that bobcats and domestics can't interbreed. Some people see a bobcat mating with their domestic farm cat and then she has a litter so they assume the bobcat is the father, but female cats mate with multiple males so any tom could be the father. Until they come up with DNA proof I'm going to assume bobcats and domestics aren't interfertile.

The kitty in the OP is simply adorable but even if bobcats and domestics were interfertile I wouldn't think he has any bobcat in him.

 

[basscat]

She sure has that Savannah/Ocicat look.
Pretty pretty

 

[Munki]

Thanks