Hybrid cats are becoming increasingly more popular as breeders attempt to bring out the best characteristics of each breed into to make more glamorous and healthier versions of their previous self. The hybridization process is something that can take quite a while to create the perfect mix but over time it is possible to create a hybrid that is able to meet a certain standard that can be replicated. This is when a hybrid cat species is finally recognized and the true breeding process really begins. In fact, numerous current cat varieties exist purely because of breeders that took on the task of creating hybrids.
Many breeders have attempted to put together wild cats and house cats in order to create a tamer version of the wild animal so that it could be kept as a pet. This is the case with numerous different house cats and is quite possibly the only way the mainstream public could own many different types of cats that are currently kept as pets without major risk. The MARLOT is one such breed that was created in order to bring out house cat characteristics and apply them to a wild breed of cat in order to domesticate it somewhat for home life.
What is the Marlot?
The Marlot is a little known species of cat that is typically only well known with cat breeders. Since the Marlot is somewhat rare it is one that only a small group of cat lovers have ever actually seen in person. There are even few pictures that exist of this breed of cat and most of the pictures that do exist online are black and white pictures of the first known Marlot. This has created a very limited base of information about this particular breed of hybrid cat.
Marlots are a mix of male Margays and female Ocelots. Obviously the name is a combination of the two breeds of cat. Like all hybrid animals the idea was to attempt to bring out certain characteristics of each of the two breeds. For the Marlot it was a matter of bringing out the coloration and playfulness of the Ocelot while breeding in the margay to create more defined marbling. The result was a cat that looked as if it just came out of the wild but was able to be kept as a house pet without fear of destruction.
The first Marlot was created in the 1970’s by the Long Island Ocelot Club. However there hasn’t been a great deal of information that has been passed around about the animal since the original birth of the hybrid. It is hard to estimate how many of these cats exist because of this.
What does it look like?
The Marlot is typically described as having a marbled pattern with brown coloration. The closest true domesticated cat in appearance would probably be the Bengal. The Marlot is much like a wild cat with the spotted pattern but similar to a tabby in some of the striping that exists on the tail and legs. The spots are more similar to the pattern of the margay as is the facial structure. However, some of the spots do seem to take on the pattern of the ocelot as well. The coat normally has a nice shine to it and the animal is built for jumping and climbing just like the breeds that were used to create it.
