Devoted NW native cat pixie-bob thinks it's a dog

It plays fetch, takes walks on a leash, plays in the water and loves to ride around in the car with you, but it's not a dog.

It's fond of stealing shiny objects, hiding toys under furniture, watching TV and sulking, but it's not a child.

It's a pixie-bob, a breed of domestic cat with what breeders insist is bobcat ancestry (despite having no scientific proof). Developed in Western Washington in 1985, the pixie-bob has seen its popularity take off in recent years, mostly due to its curious mix of doglike devotion and feline ease of care. This Pacific Northwest barn cat has risen from obscurity to become the pet of the moment for some of Hollywood's glitterati.

Among the pixie-bob's characteristics are its size (males grow to be more than 20 pounds); its loving, tractable nature; and its extra toes, which some of the more talented pixie-bobs use to pick up things like Q-Tips and kibble.

Pixie-bob owners say their cats follow them from room to room, answer to their names and don't mind being carried around like a sack of potatoes. Some tell stories of their pixie-bobs wrestling good-naturedly with the family dog or jumping into the shower with them. They are the dogs that never need to be walked and the cats that never meow (they chirp).

In short, a pixie-bob has been described as a dog in a cat's body. Sometimes the stories of its door-opening, keyboard-operating antics can get a little creepy. But remember, it didn't come from the Island of Dr. Moreau. It came from Bellingham.

Tale of cat's origins

The pixie-bob legend goes like this: Bobcat meets domestic cat in rural barn, mating ensues, kittens result. According to Carol Ann Brewer of Bellingham, several of the cats approached hikers near Mount Baker, and some kittens were found in a woodpile near an abandoned cabin. Brewer started selectively breeding these barn cats to produce a certain bobcat-like look: tall, muscled, short tail, hooded eyes, spotted fur. "Pixie" was the first offspring of two found cats, and Brewer wrote the pixie-bob standard to her.

"I was so enamored of her face," Brewer said. "I said to myself, 'I want a thousand more.' "

Any bobcat ancestry has not been borne out scientifically, said Alice Rhea, regional director of The International Cat Association (TICA). Wild cats have certain enzyme markers in their bloodstream and pixie-bobs do not, so the pixie-bob legend may be just that — a legend.

"It's a legend we believe, but can't prove," said Brewer.

Breeds can be created in a variety of ways, said Solveig Pflueger, a geneticist with TICA. Some originate with a single cat possessing a unique trait, such as a curly coat. Others come from crossing two breeds. And breeds such as the Maine coon and the pixie-bob are developed by selecting from a naturally occurring population.

Qualities set cats apart

The legend of pixie-bobs' canine qualities, intelligence and lovability, however, is confirmed by owners from Utah to Connecticut. An elderly gentleman in Park City, Utah, takes his pixie-bobs with him everywhere in his truck. A sales manager in Salt Lake City has two pixie-bobs who open doors and know which button to press to turn on her stereo and computer; her stepson takes his cat on walks around the neighborhood.

"Right away we could tell that they were different," said Lindsey Carmichael, a graduate student in Edmonton, Alberta, who in September drove 500 miles across the Canadian Rockies to pick up her two new kittens from Marysville breeder Sharleen Horne.

It wasn't just their unusual appearance — the rangy build, black-tipped ears, the big paws with extra toes, the spotted coat. Carmichael and her boyfriend, Brian Dust, discovered that their kittens, Sasquatch and Jagular, didn't have the aloof, high-strung temperament usually ascribed to cats.

They enjoyed traveling in the car. And they were affectionate — when Carmichael and Dust had company, Sasquatch and Jagular played with everyone for two hours, then went from lap to lap, cuddling with each guest and spreading the love around, thick.

"They're definitely a lot snugglier than other cats," she said. "My friends couldn't believe it."

Sought-after breed

Horne's home is a tribute to the pixie-bob, with more than 200 show ribbons hanging on the walls. People fly across the country to get pixie-bobs from her. She spends more than $400 a month on cat food and travels the country to promote the breed.

"You have to be slightly insane to do this," admitted Horne.

She has several adult pixie-bobs running around her house and 14 kittens in the bedrooms. She brings a few kittens out onto the living-room rug, where they romp.

So why are pixie-bobs smarter than many domestic cats? (After all, nobody tries to snuggle with a bobcat.) Rhea said one reason could be that barn cats have long had to survive by their wits.

"Animals that survive without human protection are smarter," Rhea said. "That's what we reap the benefit of when we bring these cats out of the barn and into the ring."

While it's true that dogs are inherently more trainable than cats due to their willingness to accept a different reward system, Rhea said, "You know you can call a cat simply by turning on the can opener. They're not stupid animals; they're just not that excited about pleasing us. They please themselves."

Odd behavior isn't exclusive to the pixie-bob. Rhea said Maine coon cats also have been known to play in water and eat with their paws. American bobtails, a breed similar to the pixie-bob, also are happy travelers; the cats make great companions for long-haul truck drivers, according to the Cat Fanciers' Association.

Price tag: up to $1,500

Even though more and more people are jumping on the pixie-bob bandwagon, with breeders popping up across the country, the majority of pixie-bob breeders are in the Northwest. A pixie-bob kitten costs anywhere from $500 to $1,500, depending on whether the kitten has "show-quality" physical traits.

The pixie-bob is not recognized by the Cat Fanciers' Association. The question of the pixie-bobs' ancestry remains a source of conflict among breeders, Pflueger said, and the association will not recognize cats with nondomestic ancestry.

But this fact doesn't bother most enthusiasts. Paulette Cary, the sales manager from Salt Lake City, went on about the precious antics of her pixie-bobs, O.J. and Jack. O.J. is hysterical, an extrovert who loves to play fetch. Jack is shy, and he chirps until Cary picks him up. Both love to chase the CNN news tickers across the television screen. Cary has to cover her bedside stereo to keep them from waking her up at night.

"My impression of most cats was that they did their own thing," she said. "But when we come home, they're waiting by the door. They're like dogs that way."

Caitlin Cleary: ccleary@seattletimes.com.