View source for Ocicat

{{short description|Breed of cat}}
{{bots|deny=OAbot}}
{{Infobox Catbreed
| name          = Ocicat
| image         = Topspot La Colombina (Liina) OCI c 24 female kitten EX1.JPG
| imagecaption  =Lilac spotted tabby Ocicat
| altname       =
| nickname      = 
| country       = United States
| cfastd        = https://cfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ocicat-standard.pdf
| fifestd       = https://fifeweb.org/app/uploads/2023/10/OCI.pdf
| ticastd       = https://tica.org/phocadownload/oc.pdf
| gccfstd       = https://www.gccfcats.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Ocicat.SOP_.Template.pdf
| acfastd       = https://www.acfacat.com/Breed%20Standards/OCICAT.pdf
| acfstd        =
| ccastd        = https://www.cca-afc.com/documents/BreedStandards/OCICAT_20200203_010749.pdf
| otherstd      =
| note          = Slightly larger than regular domestic cats.
}}
The '''Ocicat''' is an all-domestic [[cat breeds|breed]] of [[cat]] which resembles a [[wild cat]] but has no recent wild [[DNA]] in its [[gene pool]]. It is named for its resemblance to the [[ocelot]]. The breed was established from the [[Siamese (cat)|Siamese]] and [[Abyssinian (cat)|Abyssinian]] and later on [[American Shorthair]] would be added.

==History==
===Origin===
The Ocicat was created spontaneously by Virginia Daly of [[Berkley, Michigan]], who attempted to breed an Abyssinian-pointed Siamese in 1964. Daly bred a ruddy Abyssinian male named Dalai Deta Tim of Selene to a female seal point Siamese named Dalai Tomboy Patter. The first generation of kittens appeared Abyssinian and a female named Dalai She was kept. Dalai She was later bred to a chocolate point Siamese named Whitehead Elegante Sun. The resulting litter had the desired Abyssinian point Siamese type cats. She continued breeding them but this time one of the kittens was an ivory cat with golden spots. Virginia's daughter said he looked like an ocelot and wished to name him 'ocicat', instead he was named Tonga and was sold off to a medical student for $10 with an agreement to neuter him.<ref name="GCCF">{{cite web |title=Ocicat and Aztec |url=https://www.gccfcats.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/OcicatAztecBP.pdf |website=Governing Council of the Cat Fancy |access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref> Virginia read an article by Dr. Clyde Keeler of Georgia State College for Women that described the extinct egyptian spotted fishing cat. Realising Tonga looked similar to the cat she wrote to him about the cat. He replied and suggested that she breed Tonga back with his mother. Given that Tonga couldn't be used she bred his parents together again and this produced a tawny-spotted male named Dalai Dotson. The [[Cat Fanciers' Association]] (CFA) made an error when registering the breed and listed it as a mix between the Abyssinian and American Shorthair. This led to the current breed standard where American Shorthair is acceptable and added in more colour variation to the Ocicat. The Ocicat would first be brought to the [[United Kingdom]] in 1988 when two cats: Catoninetail Mr Smith and Catoninetail Miss Jones were imported from the [[United States]]. Four more would be imported a year later. A total of 33 cats would be imported before 2015.<ref name ="GCCF"/><ref name="tica">{{cite web |title=Ocicat |url=https://tica.org/breeds/browse-all-breeds?view=article&id=1504:the-ocicat-breed&catid=48 |website=The International Cat Association |access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref><ref name="mckee2001">{{Cite book|last=McKee |first=Bill |title=The Guide to Owning an Ocicat |publisher=TFH Publications |location=[[Neptune City, New Jersey]] |year=2001 |isbn=0-7938-2195-9 |oclc=47037281}}</ref> Other breeders joined in and used the same recipe, Siamese to Abyssinian, and offspring to Siamese. <ref name="thompson1999">{{Cite book|first=Stephanie |last=Thompson |title=The Ocicat |publisher=Stephanie Thompson |location=Buenva Vista, CO |year=1999 |pages=14–15}}</ref>

===Breed recognition===
In 1966 the breed was recognised with the CFA for registration only. It was more than 20 years later in May 1987 that the Ocicat achieved championship status with the CFA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cfa.org/breed/ocicat/|title=Ocicat: Breed Profile|publisher=CFA|access-date=16 June 2025}}</ref> [[The International Cat Association]] (TICA) recognised the Ocicat in 1986.<ref name="thompson1999"/> The [[Governing Council of the Cat Fancy]] gave preliminary recognition in June 1997. In June 2002 it promoted the Ocicat to provisional status. Championship status followed in 2006.<ref name="GCCF"/>

==Appearance==
[[File:Ocicat Fond Blanc.jpg|thumb|Chocolate spotted tabby Ocicat]]
The Ocicat is a medium to large cat with [[Cat coat genetics#Agouti|agouti]] markings. It has the appearance of an athletic animal: well-muscled and lithe. The muzzle is broad and well defined with gentle curvature of the head. Ears are set around a 45-degree angle. The eyes are large and almond shaped with good spacing so there is more than an eye-width gap between the two. All eye colours are accepted bar blue. Legs are of medium to long length and well muscled with a good proportion to the body. The tail is long, slim with a slight taper and has a dark tip.<ref name=CFA>{{cite web|title=Ocicat Standard|url=https://cfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ocicat-standard.pdf|website=Cat Fanciers' Association|access-date=16 June 2025|archive-date=16 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250616122409/https://cfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ocicat-standard.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Adult Ocicats weigh between 6–14 lbs (2.7–6.4 kg)<ref name="thompson1999"/>

===Coat===
The colour should be darkest at the tip of the tail with the rest of the markings being lighter than the tip.{{r|CFA}}

====Coat pattern====
{{See also|Cat coat genetics}}
Only the spotted tabby markings are permissible. There is a recognizable tabby 'M' pattern on the forehead. The markings extend all the way to the back of the neck from the forehead. Markings that resemble mascara are found around the eyes and cheeks. There are spots all throughout the body.{{r|CFA}}

====Coat colour====
There are 12 recognised colours for the Ocicat: Tawny (black), chocolate, cinnamon, blue (dilute of black), lilac (dilute of chocolate), fawn (dilute of cinnamon), black silver, chocolate silver, cinnamon silver, blue silver, lilac silver, and fawn silver.<ref name="GCCF"/>

==Health==
In a review of over 5,000 cases of [[Bladder stone (animal)|urate urolithiasis]] in the US the Ocicat had a much higher incidence rate than most other breeds with an odds ratio of 16.8.<ref name="pmid22443437">{{cite journal|last1=Albasan|first1=H.|last2=Osborne|first2=C. A.|last3=Lulich|first3=J. P.|last4=Lekcharoensuk|first4=C.|title=Risk factors for urate uroliths in cats.|journal=[[Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association]]|date=2012|volume=240|issue=7|pages=842–847|pmid=22443437|doi=10.2460/javma.240.7.842|doi-access=free|url=https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/240/7/javma.240.7.842.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107085652/https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/240/7/javma.240.7.842.xml|url-status=live|archive-date=January 7, 2024|access-date=July 26, 2025}}</ref> A Swedish study of [[pyometra]] in cats based on veterinary and insurance data found the Ocicat to have the third highest incidence of the condition with it being six times the rate for all cats.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Hagman | first1=Ragnvi | last2=Ström Holst | first2=Bodil | last3=Möller | first3=Lotta | last4=Egenvall | first4=Agneta | title=Incidence of pyometra in Swedish insured cats | journal=Theriogenology | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=82 | issue=1 | year=2014 | issn=0093-691X | doi=10.1016/j.theriogenology.2014.03.007 | pages=114–120| doi-access=free | pmid=24726694 }}</ref>

==Aztec==
In 2013 the GCCF recognised the Aztec as a separate breed. The Aztec is a mackerel tabby coated version of the Ocicat that would often occur in litters but not meet the standard of the Ocicat as it called for spotted cats only. Aside from the coat it is otherwise identical to the Ocicat. As of 2024 the Aztec has been merged back with the Ocicat and is now the Ocicat Classic, a variant of the Ocicat.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ocicat|url=https://www.gccfcats.org/getting-a-cat/choosing/cat-breeds/ocicat/|website=Governing Council of the Cat Fancy|access-date=16 June 2025}}</ref>

==Temperament==
Their temperament is often described as that of a "[[Puppy cat|dog in a cat's body]]". Most can be trained to fetch, walk on a leash and harness, come when called, speak, sit, lie down on command and other canine-style tricks.<ref name=mckee2001/>
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==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Moosegrove Ícaro Idílico, JW (Ikaro) OCI n 24 young male EX1 BIV NOM.JPG|Tawny spotted
File:Ocicat Rizzo moving.jpg|Tawny spotted
File:Tawny ocicat kitten with cinnamon ocicat mother.jpg|Tawny spotted kitten with cinnamon spotted mother
File:Oreo and Shadow Ocicats.jpg|Ebony silver spotted (oreo) and tawny spotted (shadow)
File:Essocicat.JPG|Ebony (black) silver spotted
File:Chocolate-Spotted-Ocicat.jpg|Chocolate spotted
File:Lavender Chocolate Ocicats.jpg|Lilac spotted and chocolate spotted
File:Ocicat kanelsilverspotted.jpg|Cinnamon silver spotted
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Ocicat}}
*[https://fifeweb.org/cats/breeds/ocicat/ Federation Feline international Breed Profile: Ocicat] 
*[https://cfa.org/breed/ocicat/ Cat Fanciers' Association Breed Profile: Ocicat]
*[https://cfa.org/ocicat-article/ Jim DeBruhl, Sonja Moscoffian, and Shana Otis-Kuhnert, ''The Ocicat;'' CFA Yearbook, 1996 ]
*[https://www.ocicatbc.org/ CFA Ocicat Breed Council]


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[[Category:Cat breeds]]
[[Category:Cat breeds originating in the United States]]