ENIGMA

There are many pieces to a puzzle , and it is the many pieces that must come together to make a whole picture, as separately, the pieces mean nothing. In the case of the Pixiebob puzzle, these pieces create the picture of a bobcat look-alike.

The Pixiebob, having been tested against Bobcat, Jungle Cat and Asian Leopard DNA has been proven to be a fully domestic breed. However, there can be no doubt that it is a mystery how the Pixiebob came to be, in that all sources for genetic material but one, (a Manx cat, in the original breeding program), came from the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

The breed is comprised of many unusual traits, (some more elusive than others), which seem to resemble the North American Bobcat, but it has unknown genetic material as a source for these characteristics, as even the early cats tested negative for wild DNA .

And while the genetic sources of the bobcat-like characteristics are unknown, what is known is that the breed has many physical attributes, (many pieces to this puzzle), which must come together to make a perfect Pixiebob:

How the Pixiebob came to genetically possess these traits is a mystery not only to me, but also to the geneticists, DNA scientists and breeders who have studied the Pixiebob.

The first three cats that found their way into my life and destiny were found in the Pacific Northwest , with two of them coming directly from barns in the northern part of Whatcom County , in the foothill area of the Cascade Mountain Range. The third cat was found roaming the foothills near a secluded rural home. All three had a bobcat-like resemblance and yet, a wonderful but unusual temperament.

When two of those first cats bred, producing Pixie and her two brothers, I fell in love at first sight. Within a very short time, I realized that I loved looking at Pixie's face so much that I began to worry about how I could keep her beauty in my life forever. I knew that if everything went well for me in life, that Pixie would leave this earth before I did, and that unless I did something to ensure that I would have this face after she was gone, I would lose something very precious to me forever.

(After foolishly) placing her brothers in pet homes, I found myself limited in my genetic resources in order to accomplish my goal, so I located a short tailed cat, as her parents were short tailed, and figured the addition of this cat would complete the look that I wanted, which was Pixie's wild face and spotted coat, only having a short tail.

But when I bred her to Jamaica , (a Manx) this changed the appearance of many of Pixie's kittens. I was very disappointed, but on thinking it through, I realized that in order to have kittens with the same look Pixie had, I would have to find more cats similar to Pixie. Thus began my quest, my “program”, which entailed correcting the mistake of adding in the wrong cat early on, by breeding daughters of Jamaica and Pixie to cats found in the mountains, who had a wild look, a spotted coat and a short tail. It worked. And I have been adding in cats of similar type ever since. I have personally added in a total of 23 lines while other breeders have now added in several lines as well.

Very shortly, my original foundation program was consistently producing a heavily-hooded eye, like Pixie's; a large, fleshy chin, again like Pixie's; a buckshot spotted coat like hers; and even better, larger boning was brought in with the addition of the many new lines. And when DNA testing was done on the Pixiebob in 1995 and 1996, Stormant Laboratory (in California ) discovered that the Pixiebob has greater genetic diversity than does the average un-pedigreed American domestic cat ! For 10 years I continued to breed in this manner, using only cats from the mountains and foothills of the Cascade Mountains .

When I brought my program/cats to The International Cat Association in 1993, for consideration, we discussed the “rule” that no other breeds were to be allowed for outcross once the breed was accepted. And while there was no dispute regarding my wishes, there was apparently no real way for the association to prevent breeders from adding in cats of other ancestry to the breed.

Therefore, we DO have a few bloodlines in the breed that caused me great distress years ago, but at this time, I realize that I cannot worry the rest of my life about something I can do nothing about. The standard states that judges must withhold all awards for any cat that resembles another breed. That is the best way to stop people from adding in cats in an effort to make a “recipe” Pixiebob….meaning adding in a short tail from a short tailed breed, spots from a spotted breed, size from a large breed, a wild look from a breed having a feral appearance, etc. This is not acceptable to the standard of the Pixiebob breed and our ethics of breeding. To specify a WITHOLD ALL AWARDS for a cat that resembles another breed, in the opinion of a judge, is by far our best weapon. This is why our standard is so specific about the MANY unique traits the Pixiebob is supposed to have. Most of these traits are to be found nowhere else, in any *other breed.

While we cannot specifically state scientifically or experientially where these wonderful many wild traits are coming from, we CAN state unequivocally that the Pixiebob has undergone DNA testing in 1995 and 1996 through Stormant Labs and The National Cancer Institute, with BOTH of these laboratories comparing the Pixiebobs tested to bobcat DNA. I am enclosing the results of the tests in this packet of information, to verify this for ACFA.

For years, the question put forth by TICA was, “Is there bobcat blood in the Pixiebob or not?”

The answer is clear that according to DNA testing, there is not. It IS true that years ago I believed with all my heart that there just had to be bobcat blood in my cats/colony, because of their appearance and how I came to have them, and that this would be found in the DNA testing. However, the DNA testing refuted everything I assumed. Now all I have is the “legend” that has been written about for years, in books and articles. The breeders have loved the “legend” of the bobcat, and although for a short time, there was a controversy surrounding the Pixiebob breed, this was cleared up by the President of The International Cat Association so that the breeders could continue to have their mystical legend for an origination story (since there was no other rhyme or reason to why things have happened as they did).

I agree with you. But since the DNA results were negative for bobcat DNA, you may not put the word ‘bobcat' in your cats' pedigrees.”

Therefore, after that meeting, we found ourselves fortunate to be able to have and enjoy the best of both worlds; a consistently producing breed that has a wild look and a mysterious ancestry….yet a dog-like temperament and domestic cat DNA.

We are very fortunate, and in fact, blessed. I didn't go looking for a new breed. It fell into my lap. I have often said that the Pixiebob was handed to me on a silver platter by Providence . Nevertheless, we have worked very hard to refine the breed, to selectively breed the cats we find, in order that we may have more and more of the traits we admire and seek.

Being a breed of cat found only on the North American continent in it's “raw” form, having the mountains, the foothills, and other secluded rural areas of both the U.S. and Canada for it's source, the Pixiebob will continue to live on, growing ever stronger genetically, as new lines are constantly being added. We should never see a future of wide spread genetic flaws in the Pixiebob, because there are already so many different lines and so many more being added on a yearly basis, with each breeder working on their own program. Cats in all programs are chosen from barns, abandoned miner's cabins, mountain vacation hideaway woodpiles, etc., who are reminiscent of the North American Bobcat.

In an attempt to explain the mystery of the many bobcat-like traits, being the puzzle pieces that must come together to make the Pixiebob, I coined the term “Legend Cat”, which is what I call the mysterious cats that were and are still found in the mountains and other rural areas of the country.

enigma….

a puzzle wrapped in a mystery .

Carol Ann Brewer
Pixiebob breed founder
and
the Advancement Board