Origins Of The Pixie-Bob Cat

By

Darrell Rusher

(The following article is in his own words, after extensive research, an telephone interviews with other Pixie-Bob breeders)

(All materials here at Five Star Cats are proprietary and constitute valuable intellectual property owned and copyrighted by them)

This cat has had a strange and bizarre heritage. Before I begin,

I would like to say; when I refer to legend cats I mean cats that are half Bobcat, and half barn cat.

This is something that some people disagree on, can a Bobcat breed with a domesticated cat.

The answer is "OF COURSE!" it happens all the time. A little common sense and detective work

Will "PROVE" this fact to anyone that wants to pursue it. I will not try to defend my position on

This topic any further, so to keep the origin story as brief as possible.

All of the following events take place in the state of Washington, unless otherwise noted.

In 1985 Carol Brewer (founder of the breed) saw an ad in the paper for a kitten.

When she picked up the cat, the person of course told the story of a Bobcat fighting with his

Cats and he believed it mated with his female barn cat. The kitten was a polydactyl cat,

(Having more than 5 toes) reddish in color, and heavily ticked (a "wild" trait in the fur that is

Course to the touch and appox. 4 bands of different colors) with a bobbed tail.

This was the beginning of the Pixie-Bob. The breed was almost handed to her on a silver platter.

Her mother kept the cat at her house, and it kept as an outdoor cat. The cat eventually mated

With a neighbors cat. When the upset neighbors called to tell Mrs. Brewer to pick up the kittens,

They were very surprised. The mother of the kittens had more of a bobcat look than Mrs.

Brewers. It had the reddish color, heavy ticking, wild look, and bobbed tail, that their cat had.

When asked where the mother came from they found out it came from the same remote

Area where they got their kitten. She took the kittens and bought the mother.

These where the 2 legend cats for her foundation Pixie-Bob stock. Out of these 2 cats came a

Female kitten she called "Pixie" which was the standard Mrs. Brewer from that time on was

Trying to breed for. To this day Mrs. Brewer tries to breed Pixie-Bobs to look like Pixie,

Which she refers to as the "perfect" Pixie-Bob. Before the breed had a standard, Pixie ran off and

Never returned home. Mrs. Brewer then founded a board of 4 breeders, all of which

Were close by in the state of Washington. Their goal was to further develop the breed and to

Promote the breed to the cat registry TICA. Here is where there are problems today. There

Were many breeders from the east. (Texas and Tennessee etc.) That were sending legend cats

Into the pacific northwest to be used in the breeding program. Their legend cats came from the

Southeastern USA, and had a different look. So there is actually two different looks to the

Pixie-Bob today, an eastern look and a western look. I personally do not see a problem here. All

The legend cats came from Bobcats. People in "both" locations have western and eastern

Bloodlines in their breeding cats. There is a definite rivalry between the eastern and western

Breeders. My opinion is if they would all work together to breed for a cat that looks "exactly" like

A miniature Bobcat, their goals of obtaining the "Perfect Pixie-Bob" and maintaining that standard,

Would be obtained much sooner. There eventually was a standard made to breed for, but the standard

"Does not" say the breed should look like a “Coastal Red Bobcat”. It does say it should look

Like a “Bobcat”, BUT ... there is only one type of Bobcat in the United States & Canada,

And there are several colors. All Bobcats are heavily ticked, and have spots,

And a bobbed tail. The biggest difference is probably the color. In the Pacific Northwest the

Bobcats can be a light grey but are mostly red, But, in the eastern part of the USA the

Bobcats are more on the grey side, with some red. The problem breeders have

Today are breeding cats 4 generations down from the legend cats, so they are domesticated and

Have no traces of wild blood, and still maintain the “Bobcat Look”. Some breeders “in the past”

Have brought in Bengal cats for spots, American bobtail cats for bobbed tails, and Maine Coon

Cats for size, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg so to speak, as to what has been done to

Imitate the look of the Bobcat. These are the start of new breeds, NOT Pixie-Bobs!

Reputable Pixie-bob breeders know the only “true” way of getting the real “Look”,

Is breeding Pixie-Bobs with Pixie-Bobs. This is why a 3 generation pedigree is so important

When Purchasing a Pixie-Bob kitten from a breeder. The breed was recognized by TICA in 1994.

(The International Cat Association)