Breeds of wild cats: review, features, types and interesting facts

Keep a wild cat at home is very difficult. Tigers, lions, jaguars babies look harmless and cute, but they grow and become dangerous to their owners. Of course, if you are a circus trainer or an Arab sheikh, then you will have enough experience in the first case, and in the second - money for a similar whim. And what if you just love wild cats? How not to expose animals to suffering, but to yourself-danger? As if specifically for this case there are breeds of cats similar to wild cousins.

Cat the toy

Can you imagine a small tiger? A kind of beautiful short-haired toy with a recognizable striped-tiger color. Using the word "toy", we do not want to offend a beautiful animal. When breeding the breed, Judy Sagden set out to create a mini-tiger from the genotype of a domestic cat crossed with a Bengal cat. The name of the breed is made up of two English words: "toy" and "tiger".

Toyger was introduced in 1993. To date, the breed has been recognized by several international associations, but the process is not yet complete. According to the breed standard, the cat should have an elongated low body, a dense shiny fur with a clear striped pattern.

The head of the toger should be decorated with circular marks, which in simple domestic cats do not exist.

Special requirements are imposed on the color of fur. The background color should be brown, orange-brown or golden brown. Strips are obliged to decorate not only the back, but also the stomach, and chest, and head, and even ears. An obligatory condition is the absence of longitudinal strips on the body of the animal. To the touch, the fur of the toger should look like a plush. Ideally, the sides of the muzzle are decorated with tanks. The shape of the ears in this breed is rounded, the eyes are not large. They are slightly covered overhanging eyelids.

Despite the wild look, the toyger is a very playful pet. He is sociable and non-aggressive, and is strongly attached not only to the house in which he lives, but also to the owners.

Marble cat

Pardofelis marmorata, or marble cat, is a wild breed. This representative of the cat in its appearance resembles a smoky leopard, although in size it is slightly larger than a domestic cat. According to genetic examinations, the Kalimantan cat and the Asian golden cat are direct relatives. In 2002, it was listed in the Red Book as a species that is being extinct.

Description of appearance:

• The marble cat has a brownish-gray color with a reddish tinge. The wool is decorated with stripes of black color.
• The shape of the head is round, short. The forehead is wide.
• The cat has large brown eyes.
• Legs are short, but the paw is quite wide.
• The tail is very fluffy, of great length, sometimes it can exceed the size of the body and head.

Breed ociscet

Not all rare breeds of wild cats can boast of true predatory ancestors. Here, for example, the representatives of the Ocicat breed are insanely like wild ocelots. But they do not have genes for these predators. The breed is completely bred on the basis of pets. In the long list of grandparents you can find a Siamese, Abyssinian, American short-haired cat.

Ocicata have light brownish-gray hair with elongated dark spots. The base of the tail, neck and head are decorated with rings and stripes.

Bengal cat

This breed of cats is amazingly beautiful. It resembles a small leopard, not only by appearance, but by habits. The creation of this hybrid laboriously worked in America. The first attempt to cross a wild Bengal cat with the usual home "Murchik" occurred in 1961. American Djinn Mill brought a wild kitten from a trip to Bangkok. He produced a very beautiful offspring, but most of them died from leukemia. So it happened in every litter. Around 1976, the University of California took up the issue of breeding a new breed. Here they managed to achieve the appearance of a viable breed of wild cats for domestic maintenance.

The Bengal cat turned out to be a bit larger than the usual domestic breeds. She is mobile, strong and graceful. But the most important quality for the owners is an extraordinary mind. Animal is considered the most intelligent breed of felines. The Bengal cat has rounded paws and a medium-long smooth tail. The muzzle of the cat is wide, and the large oval eyes are widely planted. The color of the eyes can be anything, but if you were offered a colored cat with blue eyes, then this is not a Bengali breed. Blue eyes are only in snow bengal. So called silver color, which in this domestic breed of wild cats is the rarest and most expensive. The ears of the animal are average, but they are somewhat inclined forward, which is also considered a sign of the breed.

The fur of the Bengal cat is dense and short. It shines as if it had been rubbed with a special remedy. Regardless of the basic color, the wool is covered with clear spots or rosettes, the color of which can be either brown or black.

Savannah

This is another hybrid, obtained by crossing a carnivorous cat (serval) with domestic breeds. Savannah was brought out in about 1986. The work was carried out by lovers of the breed of large wild cats, so the result exceeds the size of ordinary pets. The first kittens were received by Patrick Kelly and Joyce Srouf. The breed standards are approved by the international association, but they were recognized only in 2001.

At the withers the savannah can exceed 60 cm, and weighs a unique pet up to 15 kg. And speech in this case is not about overfed, beloved pets, but about active, lean animals. The body of these cats is elongated, the neck is elongated, and the legs are rather long. Ears are large and round, because of them the head seems somewhat small. The coat is short, pleasant to the touch and very thick. Color can be quite diverse. There are brown, chocolate, golden and silver savannahs. The wool of the representatives of the breed is covered with numerous spots.

A wild domestic cat (a savanna breed) is a vivid representative of the struggle of opposites. She is both active and calm. The cat needs to move, she spends a lot of time on the street. But at the same time she is betrayed like a dog by the owner. And savannas are absolutely not afraid of water.

Cat Asher

In 2007, specialists were introduced to the wild breed of cats asher. It was positioned as a large hypoallergenic pet derived on a gene basis of African servals, Asian Bengal cats and domestic breeds. The price of a kitten reached up to 27 thousand dollars, an adult cat could be bought for 6 thousand.

Later it turned out that the new breed was not that new. Enterprising swindler just tried to cash in on the love of unusual pets. Breeder Chris Shirk suggested that a wild breed of cats, whose name is asher, does not exist, and the specimens presented are cats of savanna from his nursery. To prove his assumption, the breeder demanded a DNA test. The official examination exposed the swindler.

Serval

We have already talked about several hybrids, derived from the crossing of the African serval with other breeds. But it turns out, wild predatory servalov can be kept at home in a clean, rather than a hybrid form. If a servant takes a kitten into the house, he is well domesticated. But with such a pet you need to be careful. Although the animal becomes a loyal and affectionate pet, but it does not lose the reflexes and habits of predatory ancestors. By the way, servals are wonderful swimmers. They are absolutely not afraid of water.

Barkhan cat

We described the breeds of domestic cats similar to wild cats. But our story was about large animals. And now imagine an adult fluffy animal that looks like a kitten all his life. This is a barchan cat, which is the smallest representative of wild cats. The body length of the baby with the tail is about 80 cm. The maximum weight of an adult male is 3.5 kg, the female is slightly smaller.

Barkhannye cats are not badly domesticated. Of them, you get pretty, fluffy pets with curious wide muzzles. The head of the animal seems slightly flattened, and on the sides beautiful whiskers grow. Ears of a longhaired cat are large, slightly pointed. The animal has a wonderful ear.

Pixie Bob

Many breeds of wild cats look funny, not aggressive. These include a pixie-bean obtained by crossing domestic cats with a short-tailed forest cat. Externally, the pixy-Bob looks like a wild lynx. The breed is often confused with Maine Coon and domestic trot, but there is a slight difference - a short tail and a special look. The eyes of cats are planted deeply, their shape is similar to a closed triangle.

Among the features of the breed are multi-fingered paws. Animals with a similar deviation are even allowed to exhibitions.

By nature, the pixy-bean is very similar to a dog. This is an intelligent and loyal animal, amenable to learning. He is attached to the host family and participates in her life, and does not make any special demands on the content.

Bombay

Remember the beauty of a Mowgli cartoon panther? Would you like to have such a house? Of course, a large predatory cat is not very suitable for home keeping, but a miniature bomb is just right! Mickey Harner worked for the creation of the breed for almost 20 years, but the result was worth it. The mini-panther bomb looks amazing. The animal has blue-black shiny hair and bright orange eyes. The movements are smooth and graceful, like a real wild beast.

Cat Shausi

The breeds of wild cats can be very different. But strangely enough, most often they are sociable, unpretentious, loyal pets. The breed of Shausi, obtained as a result of crossing reed cats with domestic cats, was no exception. The animal turned out to be large, tall and heavy. An adult cat can weigh more than 15 kg.

For the breed is characterized by an elongated triangular shape of the head with a small muzzle. Ears are large, with a wide base and pointed tips. Brushes are often visible. By standard, the tips of the ears and tail should be black. The wool of Shawzi has a unique structure. She has a very dense undercoat, and each hair is decorated with two distinct dark strips. Of these bands, a pattern is formed on the legs and tail, and on the body it is almost invisible. Color can be black, gold, brown, silver. The chest and stomach are always lighter than the back.

The nature of the breed is curious and energetic. Cats are very fond of jumping and climbing.

Every cat owner is sure that his pet is unique. But some breeds of animals are really unusual. If you like the feeling that there is a manual predator in your house, then you get a breed of cats that looks like wild animals.