Detailed information on hybridisation in big cats. Includes tigons, ligers, leopons, cabbits and others.

Cabbits in history and hoax:

The cabbit myth is backed up by spurious claims and hoaxes. This explains why there are no substantiated photographic evidence, genetic tests, dissections, or veterinary reports which might back up the claims. The hybridisation of cats and rabbits simply isn't possible. Despite this, the reports keep coming:

Early 1951: It was claimed that a woman in Canada had a siamese cat which had mated with her pet rabbit, producing hybrid offspring. Unlike most claimed cabbit hybrids these 'catabbits' had tails. The source turned out to be an author working on a children's book about her cat, but the story took flight in people's imaginations.

This story was further fuelled by an American reporter who produced a photograph to support an article he was writing. Amazingly, he created the photograph simply by pasting the head and tail of a cat onto a rabbit image. The truth about the hoax wasn't revealed until the year 2000.

Early 1970s: A cabbit was displayed on the American television show "That's Incredible". This television series was shown in countries as far afield as New Zealand.

1977: A wandering cat was identified as a cabbit and displayed as same. Like most unsupported claims it soon disappeared off the face of the earth and is now suspected to have been a manx cat with pelvic deformities.

1977: That same year, an Indiana resident claimed she was the owner of a cat/rabbit hybrid. Even at this stage when genetics had not yet established for certain that a cat/rabbit combination was impossible, disbelief among zoos and breeders was almost universal.

2001: A well-known news organisation aired a story about cabbits and future plans to breed them for the pet market. It was backed up by film of a cabbit showing what seemed to be a cat front and rabbit hindquarters.

This was a once-only story and may have been a prank pulled on viewers by the news agency.

Throughout the years there have been other cabbit reports, too. Certainly if they were possible animal biologists and other members of the scientific community would have documented and studied them by now.

Medical Curiosities - Page 1: Myths & Genetics | 2: The Manx As A Cabbit | 3: Twisty & Winged Cats |
4: Historic Cabbit Claims | 5: Cabbits In Japanese Anime

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