Bobcat Hybrid: The Essential Breed Guide I Pets4You (2024)

What you Need to Know about the Bobcat Hybrid

Bobcat Hybrids are extremely rare cats that have both wild and domestic features. They are known to be highly intelligent and friendly. These cats are recognizable by their marbled coats that come in a wide variety of colors.

If you want to make one of these cats your feline companion, you should know that they are playful but can easily be leash-trained. They do actually make great pets.

A Bobcat Hybrid is a mix between a wild Bobcat and a docile domestic cat. These mixes happen by accident in nature, and you won’t be able to find one easily. Most breeders will probably avoid trying to create this mix, but who knows, you may run into one.

Your only other option would be if your domestic cat accidentally mated with a bobcat and produced offspring. While that’s a long shot, there are some recorded cases.

Appearance Matters. What does a Bobcat Hybrid look like?

A Bobcat Hybrid’s looks are hard to describe. Why? Because it is, like we mentioned, an extremely rare mix, and there aren’t many known cases of it. This mixed breed will always resemble the bobcat and be larger than the average domestic cat from what we could find.

These cats will have flat fur, like a bobcat, and will most often have tabby markings. Their fur will also show similar spotted patterns to that of a bobcat throughout its entire body. Makes sense, right?

When it comes to colors, basically anything goes. It all depends on the coat color of the Bobcat. In general, Bobcat hybrids were most commonly seen in three colors:

• Tan
• Gray
• Brown

They can have black streaks all over the body with dark bars on their legs and tail. These colors can vary from a lighter to a darker shade, all depending on where the Bobcat came from. Bobcats from forest regions in the north have darker coats, while those from the desert regions in the southwest have lighter coats.

The ears of a Bobcat Hybrid resemble those of a Bobcat as well. This means that they are pointed and black-tipped. They also have short, black tufts.

As mentioned, these cats will grow to be quite large and have very long back legs. They can have regular tails, although some are reported to have had curled, bobbed tails.

These hybrids are usually quite muscular. They have wide faces with ruffs of hair extending beneath their ears. Usually, they will have yellow eyes with round, black pupils. The pupils will widen during the night. They have pinkish-red noses.

It's all Personal. The Bobcat Hybrid Personality

Although it was not easy to describe the looks of the Bobcat Hybrid due to its rarity, there is actually more information available on its personality. Most people that owned one of these cats agree that they are sweet-natured and loving pets.

Of course, it all depends on how you train them and how early you adopt them. If adopted while they are still kittens, you won’t have problems creating amazing pets out of them.

These cats are quite chatty and will respond if you talk to them, which gives them an amazingly sweet vibe.

They are also great rodent hunters and will help you rid the house of any pests that might be bothering you. Rats and mice might become a big problem for some, especially since they introduce certain diseases and filth into your home. This is where the Bobcat Hybrid can be extremely helpful.

Bobcats are wild animals and they will usually avoid all contact with people. They will be attracted to food though, which is also a good way of getting your young Bobcat Hybrid on your side early.

Many might be scared that their Bobcat Hybrid will become aggressive since one of its parents is a wild animal after all. However, this is something that shouldn’t worry you. There are actually no incidents of Bobcats ever attacking humans, and if your pet hybrid is used to you and other people, there is no reason to expect it to become aggressive at any time.

Most people agree that owning a Bobcat Hybrid is actually quite similar to owning a domestic cat. They can be quite cute, loving and make great pets. They will get along with your family and other people.

Make sure to socialize your pet hybrid from an early age. If you are one of the few people that end up having one of these cats as their pet, make sure it gets used to seeing all kinds of people while it is still young. That way it will grow up into a wonderful pet that won’t cause any problems for you.

However, when it comes to other animals, it may become predatorial and try to attack them. This won’t happen if your cat is used to the pet life, but still, it is recommended that you keep it at home most of the time.

If you want to go out with your pet Bobcat Hybrid, these cats can easily be leash-trained and we suggest you do so. You should train and give guidelines to your hybrid pet for its entire life.

Caring for your Bobcat Hybrid

Bobcat Hybrids will usually have a double coat they inherited from their Bobcat parent. This means you will need to give your pet an occasional brushing of the coat to keep it clean and good-looking.

Do this at least once a week for the best results. It would be best to start with this early, while your pet hybrid is still young so it gets used to it. You can use a grooming glove instead of a brush as well!

Since they do have a double coat, expect these cats to shed occasionally. Since they are still extremely rare, it is hard to say how severe their shedding can become. Until more info is available, it is best to consider these cats as not being hypoallergenic.

Other than that, always make sure your cat is clean. Wash its teeth and trim its nails regularly, and you should be fine.

The Health and Happiness of your Bobcat Hybrid

Bobcat Hybrids will most commonly have a lifespan of about 7 to 10 years, although some have exceeded that. Seeing as how rare these cats are, it is hard to give an exact estimate.

When it comes to health issues, there are only a handful of examples we can talk about. We can safely assume that most of the common health issues that cats normally suffer from also occur in Bobcat Hybrids.

• Kidney problems can be a cause of death quite commonly. They occur when the majority of the kidney’s tissue fails to carry out the filtering function it is designed to do. It stops filtering the toxins from the body, which can result in death. The symptoms you should watch out for are sudden loss of weight, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Also, these cats can put on too much weight if you don’t feed them correctly. Especially since they will be spending a lot of time in your home, something that might not suit the wild cat part of their heritage.

Always consult with a veterinarian about the best food for your pet. Bobcat Hybrids are carnivorous, meaning they might be best suited with a meat diet, although cat food will do good as well. They are also larger than the average cat so that they might need more food. Just make sure to not overdo it.

Feline History. Where does the Bobcat Hybrid come from?

Bobcat Hybrids occur by accident when a wild Bobcat mates with a Domestic cat. There have only been a handful of documented cases of this happening, so their history is not that easy to talk about.

The first time a successful mating of a Bobcat and a domestic cat was mentioned happened in 1949. This occurred in Sandy Creek, Texas, and is mentioned in a study by Stanley Young published in 1958.

There were other cases in the following years all over the United States, including seven kittens produced in South Dakota in 1954, although some dispute this and say that they were regular domestic cats.

There is another Bobcat Hybrid named Stubby, arguably one of the most famous ones we know of. This cat was first mentioned in 1960 in CATS Magazine and was mentioned several times after its first appearance.

In the following decades, these hybrids kept appearing occasionally, and they always have an aura of mysteriousness about them. Hopefully, soon, we will be able to get some definitive info on them and possibly even first-hand experience.