How to Select a Pixie Bob

Pixie-Bobs are believed to be a descendent of the bobcat, but it is not a hybrid. It's a young breed - the Pixie-Bob was officially declared a breed by the International Cat Association in 1994.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wood Scratching Posts
• Cat Carriers
• Cat Litters
• Litter Boxes

1. Be careful choosing a breeder. Unreputable breeders cross domestic cats with bobcats, the result of which is not a Pixie-Bob. The breed is not a hybrid.

2. Choose a breeder who will guarantee that your Pixie-Bob is healthy.

3. Expect to pay from $500 to between $1,500 and $5,000 for a breeding Pixie-Bob.

4. Pick up and hold the kitten to check for good muscle tone. Pixie-Bobs are very muscular with a heavy bone structure, and have short tails from 1 to 6 inches long.

5. Make sure the cat isn't sneezing or sniffling, and his ears are clean and pink inside.

6. Look at and feel the kitten's fur, which should be thick and woolly. In the winter the coat is usually longer and silkier. Bald patches or dry, flaky skin, can be signs of illness.

7. Look closely for fleas behind his ears and at the base of the tail - a sure sign of fleas is flea dirt, which looks like black sand.

8. Take your Pixie-Bob to your own veterinarian right away to confirm that he's healthy (see warnings below regarding vaccinations).

9. Take a Pixie-Bob kitten home between 12 and 16 weeks of age.

10. Keep your Pixie-Bob inside - despite the Pixie-Bob's possible wild ancestry, like all domestic cats, he will stay healthier, happier, and live longer if kept inside.

Tips & Warnings

• Pixie-Bobs are great with children.
• Pixie-Bobs are quiet - they rarely meow.
• The breed does well even in a small apartment, and can be trained to walk on a leash - Pixie-Bobs are often considered dog-like because they are devoted and can be trained like a canine.
• Pixie-Bobs seem to prefer to claw wood rather than traditional scratching posts, furniture, or carpet.
• Beware of breeders who keep captive bobcats. The Pixie-Bob breed is not a hybrid of a bobcat and a domestic, but the progeny of two Pixie-Bobs. Bobcats are miserable when kept in a cage, and would often more likely kill a domestic than breed with it. Plus, it's illegal in some states to keep a bobcat captive. Some unethical breeders keep a bobcat just for show, to suggest that their kittens are its offspring.
• Ask for several photos of a kitten you plan to purchase, and ask for several references before sending any money.
• Pixie-Bobs should never get a feline leukemia vaccine: It will kill the cat. The distemper vaccine is the only one recommended by many breeders and vets for the breed. If you want to have your cat vaccinated for upper respiratory disease, make sure it's the so-called "3-in-one killed," and for rabies give only the "one year killed" vaccine.