Native Country

United States

Breed Description

Head: Triangular in shape. Slightly concave profile without a clear break. High cheekbones. Angular muzzle. Nose moderately long and very broad. Strong chin. Relatively short, very powerful jaws.
Eyes: Almond-shaped, slightly slanted. All colors are allowed. Blue eyes in the colorpoint.
Body: Large in size, rectangular in shape. Slightly curved back.
Paw: Long, massive. Hind legs are slightly longer than forelegs. Round paws. Hair between the paw pads.
Tail: Short like that of the wild lynx. Its minimum length of 10 cm should not extend below the knee. It must be flexible.
Coat: Short to semilong coat. Longer on the belly and thighs. A ruff or beard is preferable. Thick, silky texture with a heavy, nearly waterproof undercoat. All eumelanistic colors: black, blue, cinnamon, fawn, chocolate, lilac, either in a light or dark shade or in combination with the silver factor for spotted and ticked patterns only, or the above colors in a colorpoint pattern. Typical agouti markings on the forehead and face. The legs are striped or, preferably, spotted. Well-defined spots on the belly. The tail is ringed with a black tip. Reddish-brown and tortoiseshell coloring do not exist in this breed. There is also a “snow” version, that is, with blue eyes and Siamese markings on a light, spotted body.
Fault: Disqualify: reddish-brown coloring. White markings. Tail too short or too long.

History

A tame little wild cat, this new breed was created in the 1980s in the United States by crossing the small bobcat and Canadian lynx with domestic cats. “The ideal in breeding is a cat as similar as possible either to the bobcat or to the Canadian lynx or jungle cat (Felis chaus), with the gentle, trusting nature of a domestic cat”. The Domestic Lynx is still very rare.

Behavior

This cat is gentle and sociable. He gets along well with dogs but is rather dominant toward other cats. The affectionate Domestic Lynx makes a good pet.