Pixie Bob Physical characteristics
Pixie-Bobs are a fully domestic breed of cat bred to resemble the North American Bobcat. For a cat to be considered a Certified TICA Pixie-Bob cat, one of their parents must be traced back to StoneIsland Pixie, the original inspiration for the breed.
Pixie-Bobs are a large cat breeds, with males reaching 18lb or 8kg and females reaching 14lb or 6kg. In comparison, the average domestic cat weighs just under 10lb or 4.5kg. Most Pixie-Bobs have black fur and skin on the bottom of their paws, tipped ears, heavy ear hair, black lips, and white fur around the eyes but with black eye skin. Their chins have white fur, but often have black skin under the white fur. Some of their whiskers change from Black (root - about 25%) to White (to the tip - about 75% of the whisker). Bobcat-like fur pattern, but often have reddish tones mixed in. Stomach is often reddish-gold in color with some ticking (broken stripes). Most are short-haired, but some are long-haired. The brow should be heavy and the eyes should have a triangular shape. Eyes are blue when kittens, then change to green, and finally to gold when several months old (some don't change completely to Gold, but have a Gold with a green tint). Tails can be non-existent (rumpy), or 2-4 inches (desired - TICA required), or long tails (Pixie was a long tail). Long tails are docked by some breeders due to the relative popularity of the bobtail look. The head is usually-pear shaped. The head and tail are considered the important characteristics. They grow for 3 years instead of 1 year like most domestic cats.
Pixie Bob Temperament
Pixie-bobs are highly intelligent, social, active (but not hyper-active), bold, and enjoy playing with other animals.
They are also known for their "chirps", chatters, and growls; most don't meow often, and some don't meow at all. Chirping is essentially their "language", and some of their chirping actually sounds like purring.
Some Pixie-Bobs can be highly sociable around both their owners and strangers, while others are shy around strangers. Almost all Pixie-Bobs like to be in the same room as their owners, and will follow their owners around the house.
Other personality characteristics include the following:
- Head butting
- Ball fetching and playing
- Leash walking (for the most part)
- Highly intelligent
- Capable of understanding some human words and phrases
Pixie Bob Health and Vet Information
As the breed is frequently outcrossed to "legend cats", Pixie-bobs are genetically diverse and are not prone to problems caused by inbreeding. Pixie-bob breeders use a disease database to ensure that health information can be recorded and monitored. Some rare genetic diseases includes the following:
- Cryptorchidism - Only a few cases have been recorded since the conception of this breed (1980's).
- Dystocia and cystic endometrial hyperplasia: - A very small percentage of Pixie-Bobs do suffer from delivery problems. Those who do suffer from these disease are removed from breeding.
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) - Since the advent of the Pixie-Bob breed in the 1980s only a few cases have been reported. In each of those cases the Pixie-Bob was cross-bred with other breeds of cats.
