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Can a Bobcat breed with a House Cat?

38K views 28 replies 24 participants last post by  azscorpion 
#1 ·
We have a couple of huge cats running around our property. We've never seen them until the last month or so. Now we're seeing them all the time. I'd guess the one is close to 25-30 lbs. The thing is HUGE!!!!! Strangley it looks mostly like a house cat. The thing is scared when seeing people anywhere near it. I got withing about 50 yds on the ATV but that's been about it. I asked a couple of GW's and they said they didn't know why not, but they didn't have a definitive answer. Thus I bring this question to you!
 
#2 ·
From my experience, bobcats can definately breed with house cats. My best friend's family lives in Northern Pennsylvania and they have a few house cats that run around the woods. One of their female cats had a litter of kittens and they ALL came out with stubby bobcat tales. We've been seeing more and more bobcats in their area in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Saw a couple during rifle season this past year about 30 yards from my treestand as the snow was coming down. Beautiful sight.
 
#4 ·
Bobcats are felis rufus and house cats are felis domesticus, so I guess buns can come out of the oven if they get together for dinner. They do share the same genus, so babies are definitely a possibility.
 
#5 ·
smashing_01 said:
I have heard that they can more than once, but I have no idea. You should shoot one and send its DNA in then we could get an answer for sure. I would be really interested to see. (No sarcasim intended):beer:
Actually the GW told me if it has a long tail then go ahead and shoot it. I wasn't even thinking of that. I was just curious of the possibility. We do have a couple of small dogs in the family, one is grandmas, and for the dog's safety we would maybe consider shooting it if we thought it posed a threat for the dog.
 
#8 ·
YES THEY DO.... MY BUDDY HAS ON.. and i SWEAR that i have him.. he's 1yr old and 20lbs!!! not fat. but REALLY long.. the only thing is he is orange..
 
#9 ·
ACooper1983 said:
YES THEY DO.... MY BUDDY HAS ON.. and i SWEAR that i have him.. he's 1yr old and 20lbs!!! not fat. but REALLY long.. the only thing is he is orange..
PIC? Does it go by Bob or Robert?
 
#11 ·
Could you stop him??

I would say that if a Bobcat really wanted to breed, that the House cat would have little choice.....:eek:
 
#12 ·
i dont have one of his.. i got one of mine.. but he looks nothing bobcat beside he's HUGE... he's probably main **** or sumthin like that.
 
#14 ·
Yep.....we have a two cats whose grandpa was a bobcat.....They look like regular cats other than the spots but the little suckers can JUMP like no other cat I've seen!!!! I woke up one morning to find one of the little turds on top of my mule deer mount!!!!!! 6 feet off the ground!!!!!!! got a picture of that one becasue I couldn't believe it!!!
 
#18 ·
...yes, but...

Can they?...yes...theoretically...and it happens in captivity...Will they?...unlikely, but odder things happen...again, theoritically, the first generation hybred would likely weigh around 3 times as much as an average housecat...beyond this generation, genetics would largely determine what you will end up with...i.e...a first generation (F1) female bred to a bobcat would likely throw larger kittens than would a first generation (F1) male, bred to a tabby...I would believe a male tomcat would be more likely to breed a female bobcat in the first instance than the other way around...who knows what might happen in 5 or more generations...I am more familiar with coyote/dog hybreds than felids...cheers...:cocktail:
 
#24 ·
A shark looks like a dolphin but they don't breed. More over a Black tip shark and bull shark look almost identical.........do they breed as well? How about a Turkey and a Buzzard? Or a Robin and a black bird? Deer and a pronghorn?

I think in 12 years maybe we have learned this is really proof that people have a hard time identifying animals and are reaching for things that don't exist......lol. If animals that were similar to each other bred we'd have a LOT more species out there.......

PS that's also why people never see anything but poisonous snakes..........
 
#27 ·
Wow this is n old thread !!
just a quick search turned up that as far as anyone has proven this cross hasn't happened . Though it seems small cats and big cats can and have been crossed successfully with a lot of other cats !
 
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