Ocicat | |
---|---|
Origin | United States |
Breed standards | |
CFA | standard |
FIFe | standard |
TICA | standard |
ACFA/CAA | standard |
CCA-AFC | standard |
GCCF | standard |
Notes | |
Slightly larger than regular domestic cats. | |
Domestic cat (Felis catus) |
The Ocicat is an all-domestic 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 and Abyssinian and later on American Shorthair would be added.
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. [1] 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. [1] [2] [3] [4] Other breeders joined in and used the same recipe, Siamese to Abyssinian, and offspring to Siamese. [5]
In 1966 the breed was recognised with the CFA for registration only. It wouldn't be until more than 20 years later in May of 1987 that the Ocicat would achieve championship status with the CFA. [4] The International Cat Association (TICA) recognised the Ocicat in 1986. [5] The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy would give preliminary recognition in June of 1997. In June 2002 it'd be promoted to provisional status and would achieve championship status by 2006. [1]
The Ocicat is a medium to large cat with 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. [6] Adult Ocicats weigh between 6-14 lbs (2.7-6.4 kg) [5]
The colour should be darkest at the tip of the tail with the rest of the markings being lighter than the tip. [6]
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. [6]
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. [1]
In a review of over 5,000 cases of urate urolithiasis in the US the Ocicat had a much higher incidence rate than most other breeds with an odds ratio of 16.8. [7] 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. [8]
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. [9] As of 2024 the Aztec has been merged back with the Ocicat and is now the Ocicat Classic, a variant of the Ocicat. [10]
Their temperament is often described as that of a "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. [3]
The British Shorthair is the pedigreed version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, thick coat, and broad face. The most familiar colour variant is the "British Blue", with a solid grey-blue coat, pineapple eyes, and a medium-sized tail. The breed has also been developed in a wide range of other colours and patterns, including tabby and colourpoint.
The Siamese cat is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. Derived from the Wichianmat landrace, one of several varieties of cats native to Thailand, the original Siamese became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America in the 19th century. Siamese cats have a distinctive colourpoint coat, resulting from a temperature-sensitive type of albinism.
The Australian Mist is a breed of cat developed in Australia. It is a cross between the Abyssinian cat, the Burmese cat, and the Australian Tabby cat. The Australian Mist has a distinct and unique coat pattern hence the name.
The Himalayan, is a breed or sub-breed of long-haired cat similar in type to the Persian, with the exception of its blue eyes and its point colouration, which were derived from crossing the Persian with the Siamese. Some registries may classify the Himalayan as a long-haired sub-breed of Siamese, or a colorpoint sub-breed of Persian. The World Cat Federation has merged them with the Colorpoint Shorthair and Javanese into a single breed, the Colorpoint.
The Birman, also called the "Sacred Cat of Burma", is a domestic cat breed. The Birman is a long-haired, colour-pointed cat distinguished by a silky coat, deep blue eyes, and contrasting white "gloves" on each paw.
The Somali cat is genetically similar to the Abyssinian cat. Due to inheriting 2 copies of the recessive gene for long hair, they have a characteristic luscious coat, unlike their cousin the Abyssinian.
The American Bobtail is an uncommon breed of domestic cat which was developed in the late 1960s. It is most notable for its stubby "bobbed" tail about one-third to one-half the length of a normal cat's tail. This is the result of a cat body type genetic mutation affecting the tail development, similar to that of a Manx cat. The breed is not related to other short-tailed breeds, such as the Cymric cat, or the Japanese Bobtail or Kurilian Bobtail, despite the similar name and physical type—the breeding programs are entirely unrelated, and the genetic mutation causing the bobbed tail are known to be different, as the mutation causing the American Bobtail's short tail is dominant; comparatively, the Japanese Bobtail, for example, has a tail mutation that is recessive.
The Burmese cat is a breed of domestic cat, originating in Burma, believed to have its roots near the Thai-Burma border and developed in the United States and Britain.
The Egyptian Mau is a small to medium-sized short-haired cat breed. They are one of the few naturally spotted breeds of domesticated cat. The spots of the Mau occur on only the tips of the hairs of its coat. It is considered a rare breed.
The Havana Brown was the result of a planned breeding between Siamese and domestic black cats, by a group of cat fanciers in England, in the 1950s. Early breeders introduced a Siamese type Russian Blue into their breeding. However, using current genetic testing, it is believed that almost none remain in the gene pool.
Tonkinese is a domestic cat breed produced by crossbreeding between the Siamese and Burmese. Members of the breed are distinguished by a pointed coat pattern in a variety of colors. In addition to the modified coat colors of the "mink" pattern, which is a dilution of the point color, the breed is now being shown in the foundation-like Siamese and Burmese colors: pointed with white and solid overall (sepia).
The American Shorthair (ASH) is a breed of domestic cat believed to be descended from European cats brought to North America by early settlers to protect valuable cargo from mice and rats. According to the Cat Fanciers' Association, it was the eighth most popular pedigreed cat in the world for 2020.
The Oriental Shorthair is a breed of domestic cat that is developed from and closely related to the Siamese cat. It maintains the modern Siamese head and body type but appears in a wide range of coat colors and patterns. Like the Siamese, Orientals have almond-shaped eyes, a triangular head shape, large ears, and an elongated, slender, and muscular body. Their personalities are also very similar. Orientals are social, intelligent, and many are rather vocal. They often remain playful into adulthood, with many enjoying playing fetch. Despite their slender appearance, they are athletic and can leap into high places. They prefer to live in pairs or groups and also seek human interaction. Unlike the breed's blue-eyed forebear, Orientals are usually green-eyed. The Oriental Longhair differs only with respect to coat length.
The Snowshoe is a rare breed of domestic cat originating in the United States of America in the 1960s. The Snowshoe is a short-haired bicolour colourpoint breed. Snowshoes were first produced when a Siamese breeder's cat gave birth to three kittens with white feet. The breeder, Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty, then began a breeding program to produce what were originally called "Silver Laces", crossing the strangely marked Siamese cats with bicolour American Shorthair cats and other breeds. Despite having existed for 45 years, Snowshoes are rare due to the difficulty of reproducing the correct coat markings.
The Oriental Longhair is a variety of domestic cat. It is closely related to the Oriental Shorthair. The Oriental Longhair in some registries, such as The International Cat Association (TICA), is a separate breed. In others, such as the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), it is a division, along with the short-haired variety, of a merged breed, the Oriental. With no globally recognised naming convention, other cat fanciers may refer to this type as Foreign Longhair, Javanese or Mandarin. It was formerly known as the British Angora before being renamed in 2002 by British cat fanciers in order to avoid confusion with the Turkish Angora.
The Colorpoint Shorthair is a variety of Siamese cat. The only major registries to recognise them are the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) and the World Cat Federation (WCF). This breed was established from breeding American Shorthairs with the Siamese to produce different point colors, beyond the four standard Siamese colors.
The LaPerm is a breed of cat. A LaPerm's fur is curly, with the tightest curls being on the throat and on the base of the ears. LaPerms come in many colors and patterns. LaPerms generally have a very affectionate personality.
The Asian or Asian group, is a cat breed similar to the European Burmese but in a range of different coat colours and patterns. Long-haired Asians of all varieties are called Tiffanies. Asians are grouped in section 5 (Burmese) by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy.
The Abyssinian is a breed of domestic short-haired cat with a distinctive "ticked" tabby coat, in which individual hairs are banded with different colors. They are also known simply as Abys.
The Persian cat, also known as the Persian Longhair, is a long-haired breed of cat characterised by a round face and short muzzle. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats might have been imported into Italy from Khorasan as early as around 1620, however, this has not been proven. Instead, there is stronger evidence for a longhaired cat breed being exported from Afghanistan and Iran from the 19th century onwards. Widely recognised by the North-West European cat fancy since the 19th century, and after World War II by breeders from North America, Australia and New Zealand. Some cat fancier organisations' breed standards subsume the Himalayan and Exotic Shorthair as variants of this breed, while others generally treat them as separate breeds.