Ocicat
Breed history:
In 1964, the American Virginia Daly from Michigan, who is also an honorary member of the CFA, began a breeding programme with the aim of obtaining a Siamese type cat with points in the ticked tabby pattern of the Abyssinian. She started with a mating between a male Abyssinian and a seal point Siamese female, which produced a litter of ticked tabby kittens resembling Abyssinians. From this litter she kept a female named Dalai She who bred to a chocolate point Siamese named Whitehead Elegante Sun. The litter from this mating included Siamese and Abyssinian points. She repeated this breeding. To her surprise, the litter included a male kitten coloured ivory with golden spots. This male kitten was named Tonga. Mrs Daly’s daughter declared that Tonga looked like an Ocelot, She wanted to call him Ocicat, as a result, the breed was named. Tonga was neutered and sold as a pet. However, a well-known geneticist, Dr Clyde Keeler, heard about Tonga from Mrs Daly. He became very interested because he wished to create a cat that was similar in looks to the extinct Egyptian Spotted Fishing Cat. As Virginia Daly could not use Tonga she, therefore, re-mated his parents. That mating produced a yellow-spotted male, she named the kitten ‘Dalai Dotson’. Throughout the 1960s Mrs Daly worked on her new breed. However, progress slowed when she became unable to continue her work, in the same way, during the 1980s when other breeders became fascinated by the spotted cats. They took up Mrs Daly’s work wanting to develop new lines. American Shorthairs were used to bring in the silver colour. The American Shorthair also increased the muscularity of Ocicats.
Character:
The Ocicat is highly intelligent, playful, very active and cuddly. A gentle and sociable cat that pursues its goals very intensively. They are very affectionate and require a lot of attention. Most of them like to “talk”. After extensive play of their choice, they just as determinedly seek out a lap to snuggle in! They are a very sociable breed and get on well kept in groups. This is not least due to their personal charisma and strength of character. Nevertheless, they are real “cuddly tigers”, including the tomcats, which is reflected in their loving treatment of their offspring. Although decidedly larger than its Siamese and Abyssinian relatives, the Ocicat has an Oriental-like active temperament, although in a less pronounced form than the true Orientals. They are vocal but not shrill or loud, very sociable and they often choose one person in the family with whom they build a close relationship.
Iruskha Thor, International Winner and Breed Winner at CFA
Despite its wild appearance, the Ocicat is by nature the gentlest, most lovable and sociable cat breed. Their affection for their people is one hundred percent genuine and they show it. Some Ocicats are very talkative and take part in every conversation that takes place in the family circle. Ocicats definitely want to know what's going on in the house at all times and also want to participate in all household activities Even in adulthood, the Ocicat retains its puppy-like character. If an Ocicat is the only cat in the family, it needs a lot of company and exciting things to do.
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Ocicats are smart and easily learn tricks like opening doors and picking up toys. Playing ‘fetch’ is one of their favourite games. They can be trained to walk on a leash. With training they perform well in Cat Agility competition. Ocicats love high places and will delight in surprising their owner by jumping down on or near them, landing surprisingly lightly.
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Excerpt from the studbook XI – Ocicat breed portrait by Gaby Jäger:
"In essence, the wild-looking spotted beauties are anything but untamed. An Ocicat is talkative, gentle and friendly. She shows a curious interest in her surroundings without being terribly intrusive. Children and dogs are no problem for her if she has known them from an early age. After all, they have things in common, especially when it comes to their desire to play... Loneliness, however, is not their thing, so people should really spend a lot of time with them (if the cat has their way, all day long) or, if they are working, adopt two of these exotic-looking jewels.”
Breed Standard
The Ocicat is a medium to large well-spotted agouti cat of moderate type, noted for its "wild" appearance. It is athletic and powerful, yet graceful and lithe. The spots are well-scattered in a distinctive pattern on the sides of the body, across the shoulders and hindquarters and extending down the legs, with a well-spotted belly. The head accentuates the wild appearance, with moderately large ears and large expressive almond-shaped eyes. The body is solid, rather long, with a well-muscled chest and substantial muscle and bone development, surprising in this elegant cat. The tail is fairly long, not whippy, the coat is sleek and close-lying.
Recognised Colours
The Ocicat is recognized in 12 different colours: black (tawny), chocolate, cinnamon and the dilutions of blue, lilac, fawn. All of these colours are also available in combination with silver, where the dots of colour lie on a silver-white base colour.
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The colour designations according to the EMS code are:
OCI stands for the Ocicat breed, the letter (n, b, o, a, c, p) stands for the colour and the number 24 stands for spotted.
OCI n 24 – Ocicat, black (tawny) spotted
OCI b 24 – Ocicat, chocolate spotted
OCI o 24 – Ocicat, cinnamon spotted
OCI a 24 – Ocicat, spotted blue
OCI c 24 – Ocicat, lilac
OCI p 24 - Ocicat, fawn
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For the silver versions of these colours, the letter s is added, for example OCI ns 24 - black silver spotted Ocicat.
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In some registries the Ocicat Classic is also recognised: an Ocicat with the classic tabby pattern instead of the spotted tabby pattern. These cats have occurred in Ocicat breeding programmes from the early days of the breed and they have gained status as a recognised variety in cat shows with registries including the ACF, Catz Inc, GCCF and NZCF. There have been some different variations in the naming of the classic tabby variety; for some time the GCCF used the name Aztec, then reverted to Ocicat Classic, Jungala has been used in Catz Inc in New Zealand and Classicat has been used by the NZCF also in New Zealand.
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The EMS code for the Ocicat Classic uses tabby code 22 for classic pattern instead of 24 for spotted, for example OCI b 22 - chocolate Ocicat Classic.
Recognition Timeline
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The CFA registered the kittens as early as 1966, but it wouldn't be until more than 20 years later in May of 1987 that the Ocicat would achieve championship status with the CFA.
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The International Cat Association (TICA) recognised the Ocicat in 1986.
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The first purebred specimens reached Europe in 1991 and were recognized by the FIFe in Budapest in 1992. The first European champion of this breed was a female called “Zohora's Sepeheria”. The breed is still very rare in European countries.
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The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy would give preliminary recognition in June of 1997. In June 2002 it was promoted to provisional status and achieved championship status by 2006. The Ocicat Classic gained preliminary recognition in 2008, provisional recognition in 2011 and full championship recognition in 2013.
