
REGISTERED WITH R.E.F.R
Mohave Bobs
cats were developed by crossing two existing breeds--Desert Lynx cats and
Selkirk Rex cats. The primary foundation breed for Mohave Bobs is the Desert
Lynx. Outcrosses to the Selkirk Rexs were made specifically to add the
unique curled hair to the cats. Essentially, Mohave Bobs are Desert Lynx
with curled hair. They are large boned, strong muscular cats which are
stocky yet cobby to medium in length with longer hind legs, ears and toe may
be tufted. They are very alert, intelligent cat. Males are
larger than females and slower to mature. These cats come in both long
and short hair.
The head
is a large broad but not round head with ears setting low , with a broad
pronounced muzzle that is almost square in appearance, with prominent
whisker pads. Their chin is inline with the nose leather, nose leather
being wide and inline with inside corners of the eyes, yet having a
broad spacing between the eyes.
The ears
are large and set wide apart, usually with feathering and tufts on the
tip.
The wide
set eyes are large and expressive, with eyes being triangular in shape
and holding the wild look to them, pronounced by heavy brows that give
the profile of the head as having parallel planes for the muzzle and
forehead, with colors ranging from gold to green, with blue or aqua eyes
in the snows.
The tail
may come half way to the ground, or it may be lacking entirely, as in
the Manx, or it may be any length in between, with a natural short to
hock length bobtail being preferred.
Mohave
Bobs officially come in three coat patterns in all eumelanistic and
melanistic colors--ebony, blue, sorrel, fawn, chocolate, lilac, red, and
cream --including silvers, cameos, sepias, minks, and snows. The coat
patterns are tawny (ticked), leopard (spotted), and clouded leopard.
Solid colored cats, as well as cats in classic and mackerel tabby, do
sometimes occur.
The
leopard pattern is a spotted tabby pattern. It is marked by spots of the
darker color, most prominent on the sides of the body and the belly. The
spots may vary in size and shape, but should be evenly distributed.
Preference is given to rosette spots which are formed by a part-circle
of spots around a distinctly lighter center. Contrast with ground color
may not be as distinct as in some spotted breeds . A dorsal stripe runs
the length of the body to the tip of the tail. The stripe is ideally
composed of spots. The markings on the face and forehead are typical
tabby markings, with the underside of the body having distinct spots.
Legs and tail are barred. In the sepia, mink, and snow subdivisions, it
is desirable for ghost leopard spots to appear on the bodies.
The tawny
pattern is a ticked tabby pattern marked by ticking on the body hair
with various shades of the marking color and ground color, with the
outer tipping being the darkest and the undercoat being the ground
color. The body may exhibit a barely perceptible spotted pattern. The
tail, legs, and face will have tabby penciling. Necklace tracings will
are also frequently seen.
The
clouded leopard pattern, while derived from modifications to the classic
tabby gene, is different from the classic tabby pattern, with as little
bull's eye similarities possible. The pattern gives the impression of
marble, preferably with a horizontal flow. Vertical stripes are
undesirable. Contrast should be good, with distinct shapes and sharp
edges. The belly must be spotted.
Outcrosses
to either unregistered or purebred cats are permitted. However, such
crosses should be carefully chosen to complement the overall type of the
Highland Lynx cat.
Desert
Lynx, Highland Lynx, Alpine Lynx, and Mohave Bobs are part of the
Desert Lynx breed group in the Rare & Exotic Feline Registry. In
other words, Mohave Bobs, Highland Lynx, Desert Lynx, and Alpine
Lynx may be bred together, with offspring registered as follows:
-
All white kittens (including straight and curled coats and
straight or curled ears) are registered as Alpine Lynx.
-
All non-white kittens with curled coats are registered as Mohave
Bobs.
-
All non-white kittens with straight coats and straight ears are
registered as Desert Lynx..
-
All non-white kittens with straight coats and curled ears are
registered as Highland Lynx.
The
curled ears of the Highland Lynx are caused by a dominant gene which
both curls the ears and somewhat reduces the size of the ears. When
these breeds are bred together, the straight-eared kittens resulting
from the breeding do not carry any genes for curled ears.
Non-white kittens do not carry the gene for white color. Therefore,
breeders wishing to work with Desert Lynx only would not have to
worry about getting curled-eared recessive genes in Desert Lynx who
have Highland Lynx in their ancestry. Breeders not wishing to work
with the Alpine Lynx would not have to worry about white kittens as
long as neither parent is an Alpine Lynx.
The
curled coat is caused by a dominant gene. Breeders not wishing to
work with Mohave Bobs do not have to worry about this as long as
neither of the parents have curled coats.
These
breeds are identical in body type.
