Cat genetics bobcat X domestic

my cat recently got pregnant and now I'm trying to figure out with what? I ask becuse we live in very rural area and there are no other cats around that I know of except bobacts ( and we saw what looked liked bobcat tracks in our yard about the time our cat got pregnant). So my question if a florida bobcat mated with a short tailed diloute black (most likely BB) mackrel tabby cat, what would the offspring look like in terms of coat color, tail length, and other traits? All the kittens are grey mackrel almost spotted tabby with white bands around their ears and white on there bellys one has short tail. Could they possibly be half bobcat kittens??

Thanks


manxlover

Yes they could - tho any males will be sterile. Be sure to spay/neuter ALL the kittens!

The brown tabby and black would genetically be the same - just that tabby is dominant and most kittens would have some striping or spotting. The white markings on the ears IMO is a telltale sign of bobcat.

While it is sad that it happened, I am interested in seeing pictures? I am curious what they look like. What are you going to do with the kittens? I hope your female stays safely inside until she is spayed so this doesn't happen again

Originally Posted by Jen

While it is sad that it happened, I am interested in seeing pictures? I am curious what they look like. What are you going to do with the kittens? I hope your female stays safely inside until she is spayed so this doesn't happen again

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I wish I could take pictures but I can get any good pictures of the kittens. They are in too dark of a room for my slr to work with out a flash and I'm pretty sure using one would be very bad for the kittens. The kittens will be going to vet once they are old enough to get there 1st shots and given away for the cost of the vets fees; unless they are part bobcat then they will be genetically tested for wild blood and then who knows what will happen. The Mother will be spayed as soon as the kittens are weaned and not let outside unless we are out with her.

IMO because its a very good chance of bobcat, then I would spay/neuter those kittens before you find them homes (among other good reasons) Instead of putting money in them to test genetically, fix them.

Originally Posted by manxlover

not let outside unless we are out with her.

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It's best to not let her out at all, cat's can come into heat within days of giving birth. The safest thing is to keep her indoors until she is spayed.

Pictures of them here http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...45#post1965045 Could they be part bobcat?

At this point in time, they don't look very much like part bobcat - I'd wait and see in a month or two. Short tails can occur in domestic cats. I don't see the white spots on the back of the ears.

I'd say they were domestic mixed breeds.

I am very doubtful that these kittens are part bobcat. For one, if a male bobcat made an attempt to mate with a female domestic, there is a very good chance that the domestic could be killed, due to the extreme, aggressive mating behavior of bobcats. I also own Pixie Bobs, a domestic breed, who's legend states that they came about from the mating of bobcats with domestic barn cats. Through genetic testing, this has not been proven. However, our Pixie Bobs, especially Aurora, do have some markings that resemble bobcats. The 3 pictures in my sig; Amber, Boris and Nakoma, are real bobcats. With the Pixie Bob legend, the breed founder discovered the bobcat resemblance, only after the so called "legend cats" (the offspring of the bobcat/barn cat mating) were crossed with other so called "legend cats". The original legend cats looked like normal domestic cats, but when they were crossed with other legend cats, these offspring had some traits that resembled a bobcat (natural short tails, red/brown spotted coat, natural large bone structure, but no Pixie Bob has ever had the white "thumb print" on the ears as true bobcats do. Is this legend of the Pixie Bob true? No one knows for certain, but if you look at my picture page and compare the Pixie Bob with our bobcats, with some imagination, you can see some resemblance. All things said however, those kittens are adorbale