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Mojave Spotted cat
Federations: IPCBA

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History

The Mojave Spotted was developed to preserve the bobcat in the mojave desert. The mojave desert is located in the southwestern United States, riding through California, Nevada and Arizona.

The Gato of the mojave desert was discovered in 1980 by April Langford, an American breeder. Your number has not been registered, but the colonies lived under bushes or in burrows to protect the young from the harsh desert climate.

The first colony he observed was in the small town of Hesperia, in southern california. All its members were very homogeneous in terms of their morphology: they were bigger than the domestic cats and they had powerful and raised bodies and very muscular legs that ended in feet polydactyls (of 6 to 7 fingers on each leg). His coat color was not uniform -silver, brown, gold or even black-, but they all had the same pattern of spots. Later, April Langford realized that the individuals of the different colonies shared the same appearance, except for the color of its fur.

April Langford decided to breed them to preserve this feline from extinction, endemic to mojave desert. He observed that it reproduced very slowly and began to disappear. But, his first attempts were unsuccessful, since these wild cats were not allowed to be tamed.

In 1984, accidentally found a litter of kittens under a juniper. How food was scarce during the winter, it seemed that their mother had abandoned them to survive herself. He decided to take them in instead of abandoning them to their fate. He placed them in a closed enclosure under a cedar and fed them a substitute for cat milk.. But, they were not domesticated and remained wild.

April Langford decided to cross them with him Bengal cat, also a spotted cat, which was a cross between a Domestic cat and European wildcat, the cat bengal leopard. The result was a cat thirteen with a spotted fur. But, even though they were born and raised in captivity, the first generations were still wild and were not domesticated.

At that time, to the polydactyl cats they were often called Hemingway cats, in honor of the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway. A Hemingway they gave him a gata polidáctila, which is known to have given birth to many litters.

Cats with six or seven toes on some legs are not a special breed.; on the contrary, they are found in many different breeds. It is simply an inherited genetic defect that can occur in any individual, regardless of race or gender. Most of the time, the sixth or seventh extra toes are on the front legs, but sometimes they are in the back, and even more rarely in all four. Far from being a disease or having any effect on the health of the animal, this particularity is rather an advantage, since it gives you greater agility.

April Langford decided to call the race he was trying to create Mojave Spotted, in reference both to its geographical origins and to the stains that its representatives present.

In the Decade of 1990, the natural habitat of mojave desert wildcat was being invaded by construction, and the feline, already in danger of extinction, was disappearing.

April Langford accelerated his breeding program by continuing to cross the Mojave Spotted with the Bengal cat, but also with him American Polydactyl Cat of other races. From 2007, these crosses are no longer necessary. In effect, the created population had reached a sufficient number of individuals to be able to continue breeding only from the cats already obtained, inbred.

It also, with the passing of the generations, the Mojave Spotted began to be tamed, although there is still a long way to go.

Breed recognition and popularity

The only organization that recognizes Mojave Spotted is the International Progressive Cat Breeders’ Alliance (IPCBA), an organization specialized in new breeds of cats.

So, no major body recognizes this cat, whether international -such as the World Cat Federation (WCF), The International Cat Association (TICA) o the International Feline Federation (FIFé)- or national, as the American Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA), la Canadian Cat Association (CCA), el British Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) o the Official Book of Feline Origins (LOOF) French. Given its extremely confidential distribution, there is little chance this will change in the near future.

In any case, the Mojave Spotted was created primarily as a reaction to the extinction of the mojave desert wildcat, to try to keep it another way, not with the aim of developing a new breed and spreading it as widely as possible.

Just a hatchery, Cheshire Cattery, with sede in EE.UU., participates in the development of Mojave Spotted. Giving cats are systematically neutered, to avoid parallel breeding and maintain control.
All of these factors combined limit the reputation of the Mojave Spotted.

Physical characteristics

Larger than most house cats, the Mojave Spotted it's a long and powerful body type (or long and substantial).

The body have strong bones and muscles, but the skin on the belly is slightly distended, so they are not too prominent. The back is prolonged with a tail that can be short or medium long.

The legs they are long, wide and very muscular, slightly larger at the rear than at the front. The vast majority of individuals are polydactyls, that is to say, have of 6 to 7 fingers on one or more feet. This specificity is due to a dominant gene, that is to say, it is enough for an individual to have inherited this genetic mutation from one of their parents to be thirteen. In general, the phenomenon is symmetrical, that is to say, affects both hind legs (that normally only have 4 fingers) or the front two (in which there are usually 4 fingers and a spur), the latter being the most common case. Some individuals are even polydactyls on all fours. In all cases, the claws are powerful and sharp.

The head it is quite fine, slightly oval and medium in size. Ears are medium to large, with a wide base and rounded tips. Some individuals have a tuft of hair at the base. The eyes they are big, oval and widely spaced. The snout it's wide, short and square. The leather of the nose, that is to say, the part where the nostrils meet, it is solid pink, black or brown. Last, whiskery areas are prominent.

The fur of the Mojave Spotted it's short and silky. Accepted colors and patterns are brindle, the leopard, snow leopard, the rose window, Marten, Brown, the fawn, the silver, blue and charcoal. On the other hand, the coat has dark spots that may fade with age.

But, remember that the Mojave Spotted is still a very new and developing breed. So, It is possible that, in the future, and in particular in the context of a possible recognition by some important organization, details are added about the appearance that this or that part of your body should have. It also, there may also be changes in your current appearance.

Varieties

The Mojave Spotted comes in 4 varieties:

  • Mojave Spotted short-tailed polydactyl;
  • Mojave Spotted semi-long-tailed polydactyl;
  • Mojave Spotted short-tailed;
  • Mojave Spotted medium long-tailed.

The same litter can combine representatives of the four varieties.

Apart from differences in the number of toes or the length of the tail, all individuals of the breed have the same physical appearance and temperament.

Character and skills

The Mojave Spotted developed a handful of decades ago in response to the extinction of the mojave desert wildcat. Numbers are still low, so you have to be cautious when generalizing about their temperament. But, whatever the individual observed, your wild ancestors are never far away in your family tree. Although he appreciates the company of man, this wild cat is still very independent, and only with successive generations is domestication possible. In any case, it is difficult to have him locked up, so you can't be happy in a flat, even more so when it is very active and its hunting instinct is still very present.

They need a garden to thrive, and they won't hesitate to explore beyond it if they get the chance: it is difficult to contain them in a concrete environment. In fact, being extremely curious, they usually have a strong desire to exceed the limits of their territory. Agile and athletic, they don't get tired of climbing trees, search and capture small prey, and even playing in the water, as they are one of the few cat breeds that love water.

As the breed is still new and developing, it's hard to say if he Mojave Spotted will eventually behave like most house cats, and when will, as successive selections are made. But, it is true that with each new generation, being increasingly away from the wild cat, becomes a little more tame.

Health

Since the Mojave Spotted is still very new and is in full development, information about your health and, in particular, about the possible diseases to which you are predisposed.

On the other hand, a trait inherited from European wildcat from which it descends, and that explains in part that the latter is close to extinction, is its very low fertility. the number of litters (from one to three a year) is comparable to domestic cats, but instead the number of kittens they produce (of 1 to 3 at most) is significantly less. Obviously, this is not unrelated to the fact that the number of specimens of the breed grows very slowly.

1 thought on "Mojave Spotted cat”

  1. Thanks! We found one of these cuties a few years back. His name is Chewi and he is such a little brat…always so curious and sneaking through our stuff haha.

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