Brat is sick, symptoms

[Medusa]

I wouldn't even venture a guess because it could be one of several things. What I will do, however, is send up prayers for Brat and you that all will be well. Please keep us posted.

[StarandBratsmom]

The lump is gone. Just appeared for a couple days and then disapeared. It could have even been matted fur from the sticktites here. I live in a county town, but right behind me my landlord owns a mechanic shop. I just hope Brat didn't get something on his fur and licked it off. This morning he does seem better. Of course I stayed up all night, migraine and all, praying for him. This morning, he jumped down from his bench, meowed, did his morning stretch as he usually does, ate, got a drink, ate some more, then went into the sun light and cleaned himself. After that he ate some more and then got up in the chair and was just chilling. He's not energetic but he does seem better.

The reason he is not neutered is because he is 3//4 bobcat. I fell in love with him when he was a kitten. I begged his owner, my uncle, if I could have him and he said on one condition, you let me get a litter of kittens out of him. So far he hasn't been interested in breeding. I wanted to get him fixed when he was young so he wouldn't have even sprayed in the first place.

You know, after all this stress of having sick cats, I can't imagine what you parents go through when your human kids are sick. I don't think I want to ever have any.

[Catty1]

So...what kind of cat would your uncle like Brat to breed with? If Brat is 6 months old or older and has been outside a lot, he may have produced a litter or more of kittens not far away.

Here's some info I found on Pixie Bobs. First, Wikipedia (where there are some lovely pictures!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie-bob_cat

Later DNA testing failed to detect Bobcat marker genes[1] and these cats are considered wholly domestic for the purposes of ownership, cat fancy registration, import and export.

Pixie-Bob cats share many of the physical and personality characteristics of bobcats, except they are approximately half the size, and do not have some of the wild characteristics. Pixie-Bobs are a paradox. They look and act very much like Bobcats, but are legally defined as domestic cats. For a cat to be considered a Certified TICA Pixie-Bob cats, they cannot be bred with bobcats, and one of their parents must be traced back to Pixie the cat.

http://www.pixie-bobs.com/

Common Misconceptions about Pixie-Bobs


* A Pixie-Bob is not a hybrid.
* A Pixie-Bob is not a American Bobtail.
* A Pixie-Bob is not a Snow-Bob.
* A Pixie-Bob that weighs in at 20+ is the rarity, not the norm.
* A Pixie-Bob does not have a 'regional' look.
* A Pixie-Bob does not have a 'wild blood percentage' based pedigree.
* A Pixie-Bob has never bred with a captive full blooded bobcat - be wary of those that claim they have.

The info I have found so far is that while a bobcat may breed with a regular cat, that type of cat is NOT a Pixie Bob in the breeder world.

A comment on one site I visited raised the idea that since Bobcats are so much bigger than most domestics, the BCs would see the smaller cats as dinner rather than sweethearts! Apparently bobcats can kill each other when mating in captivity.

I hope your uncle has something specific in mind...also, male hybrids are often sterile. If there is a way for your vet to figure this out, and Brat IS sterile, then you can get him neutered with no guilt.

Slightly OT, I wonder about breeders like this:http://www.mokavecats.com/

[StarandBratsmom]

So...what kind of cat would your uncle like Brat to breed with? If Brat is 6 months old or older and has been outside a lot, he may have produced a litter or more of kittens not far away.

Here's some info I found on Pixie Bobs. First, Wikipedia (where there are some lovely pictures!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie-bob_cat





http://www.pixie-bobs.com/


The info I have found so far is that while a bobcat may breed with a regular cat, that type of cat is NOT a Pixie Bob in the breeder world.

A comment on one site I visited raised the idea that since Bobcats are so much bigger than most domestics, the BCs would see the smaller cats as dinner rather than sweethearts! Apparently bobcats can kill each other when mating in captivity.

I hope your uncle has something specific in mind...also, male hybrids are often sterile. If there is a way for your vet to figure this out, and Brat IS sterile, then you can get him neutered with no guilt.

Slightly OT, I wonder about breeders like this:http://www.mokavecats.com/

Thank you for your replies and links. I found them to be very informative. I got Brat from my uncle, he has a full blood pet bobcat he rescued. Anyways, he ended up breeding another pixie bob, my uncle's cat, and she had 3 kittens, Brat being one of them, and the rest died. I fell in love with Brat, he was the cutest fluffiest kitten. So of course we made the deal, my uncle would get one breeding out of him. Brat is more than six months old, actually he's 15 months old and the vet said he is still too young to breed. lol. They mature slower than regular cats.

I added an update to Brats condition. Great news.