Conference misery::feline_v1

    I never owned one, but my vet when I lived in Huntsville, Alabama,
    once doctored one whom I met.  His name was Socrates, and he was
    _big_!  He made my Morgan (a large, slender, 18-pound orange & white
    shorthair) like a little guy.  
    
    Socrates seemed pleasant enough.  But who would try to rub him the
    wrong way?
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    
    P.S.: Bobcats are protected, I understand, though queens in heat
    aren't. :-)
    
    -SD
    

	from: "That Yankee Cat - The Maine Coon" by Marilis Hornidge

	       'Next in order of biologically based theories comes the bob-
	cat/housecat cross.  This theory, much denigrated at one time, has
	a great deal to recommend it and many devoted adherents. While it is
	not a frequent occurrence, the mating of bobcats (which I uses as
	a general term to cover bobcats, lynx and small wildcats) and domestic
	cats has been documented and authenticated by authorities as recently
	as Sanderson's "Living Mammals of the World" published in 1970. There
	are eyewitness accounts of matings producing offspring in Texas in
	1949 and in North Dakota in 1954 and articles in national magazines 
	about the resultant offspring. The kittens are described in all cases
	as sturdy, heavily furred specimens with large tufted ears and equally
	outsized furry feet. Many of the physical characteristics of the
	bobcat are those distinguishing the Maine Coon, even as a kitten.
		Just as the wolf/dog cross is not considered improbable or
	undesirable, neither is the bobcat/housecat cross. ...'

	The above from the first chapter on the origin and legends surrounding
	the Maine Coon.  

	A bobcat/housecat would probably be very hard to find and very 
	expensive.  Have you thought about a Maine Coon ?   - Chris
	

    See also 227.20.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    

	Well I sent off mail to Kathleen Denham about her "cat" and I'll post 
whatever she sends me (with her permission of course). What exactly is a Maine 
Coon ???  Is it a thoroughly domesticated version of the "Fisher cat" ?? 

	I guess what I'm really after is an interesting cat, something 
different but still amiable.

	/harry

    As a breed, Maine Coons tend to be large, intelligent, sturdy, beautiful,
    and almost uniformly good tempered. With wide-eyes, tufted ears,
    and large feet...they tend to appear somewhat lynx-like.
    
    They make a truly wonderful pet. There is a note somewhere back
    in this notesfile that contains a lot of Maine Coon information.
    
    -nn (still mourning Hobbit)
    
                           
    

    If you want a different type of cat how about an Ocecat. I'm not
    sure if that's the official name but you can find out from any cat
    magazine. There are pure domestic cats but they look just like small
    ocelots. I've wanted one ever since I saw one in a magazine three
    weeks ago.
    
    Of course I get all my cats from animal shelters so I'll probably
    never get one of these, but I love my calico, Harlequin, so I don't
    really care.
    kris

    
    /HARRY
    A "FISSHERCAT", to my knowledge, is not a cat (kitty) at all, but
    a weasel type animal..maybe even a wolverine.  It is generally 
    credited with the loss of small farm animals, and around these 
    parts (NH, that is) everytime the dog next door had puppies and
    the parents disposed of them, or the cat had kittens, and the same
    happened, they told the kids that "The Fishercat got them."  
    
    At any rate, you don't want one in your house.
    
    

       The ocelot-looking cat is an ocicat (note spelling).  They were
    originally derived  in the U.S. by crossing a Chocolate-point Siamese
    male with a half Abby/half Siamese female.
    
       I've seen pictures and I've seen a few in person.  THey are truly
    beautiful cats.  Another one on our "someday" list.
                       
    tlh
    

	Well I got a book on Maine Coon cats - the one by Sharon Bass. The
first picture in it is a black & white bi color Maine coon - looks EXACTLY
like Minky, a cat we picked up in a pet store. Minky has the tuffs on the
ears, the hairy paws and all the other features of the coat that Main Coons
are noted for. Minky also has 6 rear toes (Maine coons are supposed to have
4). I figure Minky is some mix or just a reject since his toe count precludes
him as breeding stock or show.. He does have the most amazing "personality",
something Maine Coons are noted for. The "Maine Coon" doesn't seem like that
rare a cat, I've seen lots of cats that could pass for them, complete with the
ear tuffs and the coat. 

	As for the 1/2 breed Bobcat/domestic cat, I'm still *very* interested. 
I've found some information about them in books, they do exist and seem to 
make very good pets. Finding a breeder is another matter, if someone could 
help me with this venture I would really appreciate it.

/harry

Just a bit of folk lore on fisher-cats.  Where I lived in central New 
Hampshire fisher-cats were the descendants of housecats that had gone 
wild.  They were usually big, very intelligent and amazing hunters. We 
half-domesticated a female fisher-cat, and it would bring home rabbits 
half again its own size to repay us for the food we'd give it.  The 
female left after having a litter of kittens, and the kittens had most 
of the good qualities of fisher-cats mixed with more common qualities 
that make a cat a safe animal to keep in a house.

Out where we were, the fisher-cats got blamed for everything that 
happened to livestock smaller than a cow.  Pheasant farmers complained 
that the fisher-cats were killing the birds, ice fishermen complained 
that the fisher-cats ate all the trout.  I was told that they got the 
name fisher-cat because they were supposed to be quite good at catching 
fish.  (I have seen one get a fish through a hole in the ice, but I'm 
still not sure I believe the story.)

From the size, it's entirely possible that they have crossed with other, 
wilder cats.  Or it could just be that small cats don't do so well in 
the wild.  Kittens a generation or two removed from the wilderness 
should make fun pets.
					>>>==>PStJTT

    I've never heard of a fisher-cat before, either as weasel-kin or
    as feline.  But I *have* heard of a plain ol' fisher as a member
    of the weasel family.  These may be two different animals.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

I would be extremely skeptical about rumors of cross-breeds between
domestic cats and lynxes or bobcats.  The lynxes and the domestic cats are
quite far apart genetically.  There is an article on the Cheetah in a recent
Scientific American that points this out.  Since tigers and lions (which are
much closer than domestic cats and lynxes) can interbreed but do not produce
fertile offspring, I would expect cat/lynx hybrids to be sterile, if they
are possible at all.

The Maine Coon Cat is the purebred version of the common domestic mutt cat
prevalent in northern New England.  Cats that resemble Maine Coons to varying
degrees are extremely common in New Hampshire and Maine.

--PSW

	Quite the contrary, I was watching a nature show on PBS about Bobcats 
(a relative of the Lynx) and they mentioned that they do interbreed with 
domestic cats when the occassion arises. Also I have read in several books 
about such accounts, one book mentioned mating the bobcat/domestic with 
another generation of domestic cats. They do exist. There is conjecture as to 
how "domesticated" they are though, ranging from "just-like-a-normal-cat" to 
"never-really-tame", I would believe the latter.

	They are real, but they are rare...

/harry

    I COULD SEE BREEDING WITH A BOBCAT, BUT A LYNX??!!!
    
    A BOBCAT IS ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS A CAT AND MORE COMMON TO OUR
    NH/VT AREA, WHEREAS A LYNX IS QUITE LARGER AND MORE COMMON TO
    OUR CANADIAN NEIGHBORS.  A LYNX WOULD PROBABLY EAT YOUR CAT BEFORE
    IT WOULD BREED IT!!!
    
    
    DJB

    re .14:
    
    Not if the domestic cat were a male and the lynx queen were desperate.
    :-)
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    
    P.S.: Bobcats are larger than average cats, but not that much larger.
    
    -S
    

	Well for browny points a Bobcat is of the Lynx family. What is 
commonly called "Lynx" isn't to common around here, whereas there are lots of 
Bobcats (they've actually extended their range since olden days).

	Mating would probably best be accomplished via artificial insemination 
of a domestic female. This could produce interesting kittens, bobcats kept as 
pets have some nice qualities, a mix would surely retain most of these.

	All the literature I've read seems to hint that the 1/2 breed variety 
is a good pet, whereas a pure bred still has some wild in them. I would think 
a second generation of domestic cat would produce an adorable animal, 
hopefully keeping the dense fur of the bobcat. Of course I'm not a biologist 
so I really don't know...

/harry