A cat weighing about twenty pounds was recently found in a Marbella garden after escaping from a home in the same town, about twenty kilometers away. The animal is thought to be a karakat, a crossbreed between a black- Eyed Abyssinian-like look and a caracal, a wild African lynx. The name karakat comes from an abbreviation of caracal and cat in English.
Karakat is considered a lynx-like hybrid because it blends the wild caracal, native to the African savanna, with a domestic cat that carries the grace and elegance of an Abyssinian. The result is a striking, athletic feline that combines wild traits with a family-friendly temperament.
graceful and cunning
The Abyssinian parent contributes elegance and poise, while the caracal lineage brings intelligence and a touch of cunning. The karakat inherits a balanced mix of charm and shrewdness from both sides of its family tree.
Karakat individuals are relatively new to the world of feline hybrids. The first documented encounter between a caracal and a domestic cat occurred in 1998 at a Moscow zoo, where a cross produced offspring that were initially labeled as hybrids and sometimes viewed as imperfect reflections of the paternal traits.
more docile
A German veterinary reference describes the birth of this new breed as a moment that captivated many and helped popularize the karakat as one of the most sought-after hybrid felines in Russia and the United States. The breed is praised for being relatively easy to breed and highly intelligent, with a tendency to be more amenable to domestication than pure wild caracals.
History notes that the Moscow zoo episode was unusual because caracals do not typically mate with animals that are easy prey, and so karakats required deliberate human-assisted breeding. This intervention helped shape the current understanding of the hybrid, along with ongoing ethical considerations about breeding practices.
Size, weight and fur
The karakat sits between its wild caracal cousins and the Abyssinian parent in size. It tends to weigh around 13 to 14 kilograms, stand roughly 36 centimeters tall, and stretch about 140 centimeters from nose to tail tip.
When the Abyssinian influence blends with the caracal, the coat often mirrors the caracal palette: rich browns, coppery-orange tones, and darker accents. Expect a white chest and belly that provide a striking contrast to the outer fur.
You can spot the same facial and fur cues associated with caracats: dark tips on the ears, long ear tufts, a black nose, large eyes with a keen, wild expression, and a powerful yet elegant body silhouette.
Roar
Early-generation hybrids, those born directly from a caracal and an Abyssinian partner, tend to display more energy and a wilder edge compared to later generations. As the hybrid line continues across generations, karakats generally become more domesticated and affectionate.
The vocal profile also shifts with genetic makeup. A higher caracal percentage typically brings louder vocalizations, leaning toward a mix of roaring and a distinctive rattle or scream rather than a simple meow.
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These distinctions highlight how the karakat adapts to domestic life while retaining several hallmark traits of its wild ancestry.