A pixie bob is a breed of cat that is very rare and unique, as it is thought to have wild bobcat heritage. Carol Ann Brewer of Washington State is credited with developing the pixie bob breed through mating domestic cats with wild bobcats. In 1995, the pixie bob breed was accepted by The International Cat Association (TICA), the world’s second largest cat registry, when it was registered by Brewer. In 1999, North America Cat Fancy magazine featured a pixie bob on its cover.
Today, the pixie bob is still considered a fairly rare cat breed. Most pixie bob breeders are still located in the Pacific Northwest although the breed is becoming more popular worldwide, such as in Sweden. Pixie bobs are large, muscular and usually have a face that looks very much like a bobcat. Many of them are also poly or polydactyl which means they have extra toes compared to a domestic cat. Regular domestic cats have four toes on each front foot and five toes on each back foot, while the pixie bob could have up to seven toes on each foot.
While pixie bobs participating in show circuits must have bobbed tails, a non-show pixie bob could have a longer tail. Coat colors for the pixie bob are in a wide range of browns from golden to reddish brown. Coat patterns may be spotted or striped. The coat is a double type with a thick undercoat and the pixie bob’s coat may be either short haired or of medium length. Eye colors for the pixie bob include gold, green and golden brown.
Some pixie bobs have been known to be trained to walk on a leash and many are considered to have dog-like behavior such as enjoying travel with their owners. Generally, the pixie bob is said to be an intelligent, quiet breed that likes to be around their owner. It is important to note that pixie bobs are not pure bobcats and were bred to be indoor domestic cats.