American Lynx

by Michael
(London, UK)

The name "American Lynx" is I feel a bit confusing. It is meant to describe a domestic cat wildcat hybrid that is rare but "current" meaning not proposed or archaic. It is a term that is also used sometimes to describe the Lynx, a wildcat whose range includes North America.

In this very short article I write about the domestic cat called the American Lynx. Please click on the link for details of the Lynx wildcat.

It was claimed that this breed of cat was an American bobcat hybrid (a wildcat hybrid) that was the equivalent, on my estimation, of a fourth generation (F4 - fourth fillial) hybrid with about 12.5% wildcat genes.

However, it is probably quite well known that this cat is in fact not a wildcat hybrid (on DNA testing for wildcat marker genes).

In appearance the cat is a shorthaired, spotted cat with a bobtail.

I have never seen a photograph of this cat. Searches for photographs produce images of the Lynx wildcat. As I said it is confusing!

That is about it. There is one last snippet of information. There is a domestic cat that is a wildcat hybrid called the Desert Lynx (new window). The Desert Lynx is a cross between the American Bobcat and a domestic cat (what the American Lynx was claimed to be). The domestic cat in this mating can be an American Lynx! That is just a bit of trivia, you can bring out in a game of trivial pursuits.

Finally this cat is connected to the Highlander another rare purebred cat.

From American Lynx to Domestic Cat Breeds