Pedigree Cat Breeds - Owyhee Bob

The recorded beginnings of the Owyhee Bob started in the late 1990’s in the Western United States. The name Owyhee evolved because of some Hawaiian Islanders in 1818 disappearing in the area. Later the river and area become known as “Owyhee” a derivation of the word Hawaii. The river bridges the states of Nevada, Idaho and Oregon and this is where the breed started to be intentionally bred by mating Siamese and Manx cats, or cats with characteristics of Siamese and Manx. The personalities are playful, extremely smart, loyal (very much like a dog), sweet-tempered and social. They love to be part of a family and love all ages. The cats also get along well with other breeds of pets including dogs.

The most distinctive feature of this cat is its color and build. It is of medium to large size and body conformation. Females range from 8 to 12 pounds, and the males from 12 to 16 pounds.



The head is wide and round with full cheekbones with a well developed muzzle that has prominent whisker pads. The strong chin gives a balanced appearance to the head. The ears are medium to large, wide set, full at base and tapering with sometime feathering to a rounded tip that is often tufted. The large oval sometimes slightly almond shaped eyes are slightly slanted and wide set. The body is medium in length, hard and muscular with a broad chest. The legs are sturdy and well muscled.

Paws are large and can be polydactyl. You often find tufts of hair between the toes. This breed is slow to mature. The hair length comes in both long and short with less shedding than many other breeds.



The tail may be any length but preference is given to the stumpy length or lacking entirely, as in the Manx. The coat patterns are in all Colorpoint color and patterns including particolor colorpoints. The eye color is blue. The Owyhee Bob and Mountain Bob are in the same breed group. The cats are identical except for color. Mountain Bobs come in non-colorpoint colors in all colors patterns and can have other colors of eyes besides blue. Both breeds are in the beginning phases. Outcrosses to cats with similar types are allowed. Much thought should be put into the crosses, which should complement the overall breed type of the Owyhee Bob or Mountain Bob.

The cats will be registered as follows:
All colorpoint kittens (with or without the particolor white spotting gene) are registered as Owyhee Bobs. They have blue eyes.
All other colors (including minks and sepias) are registered as Mountain Bobs.
Note that the polydactyl toes is a dominant gene and the Manx tail gene is incompletely dominant.

Profile written by (Click to view profile): Magic Whiskers Owyhee Bobs

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*Breed standards may vary according to cat governing body