Cat breed Ocicat: description and care

2024 Author: Arianna Cook | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:23

The origin of the breed. Ocicat's appearance standard. Breed color standards. The nature of the animal. Health. Ocicat care. Kittens. Purchase price. With their wild appearance, the Ocicat cats resemble their famous wild relatives: the Egyptian fishing cat; the jungle cat (swamp lynx) and the small leopard of South America - the ocelot. But the Ocicat's wild appearance is quite deceiving and certainly does not correspond to the remarkably friendly nature of this pet. And the breed itself was obtained exclusively from domestic short-haired cats of the American, Abyssinian and Siamese breeds, without any admixture of "wild" blood.

Ocicat breed origin

The history of this cute spotted breed dates back to 1964 in Michigan (USA), when an American Virginie Dale, who had previously been exclusively breeding Siamese cats, set out to get a Siamese with an unusual color - "tabby", that is, with a pattern on the coat.

To this end, she crossed a purebred Siamese cat with an Abyssinian-Siamese mestizo cat, thus obtaining a kitten with an unusual cream color and a pattern on the coat in the form of golden leopard spots. The kitten, more similar in color to the wild cat of the ocelot, received the corresponding name - Tonga.

In the future, genetic scientists joined in the breeding solution of the problem, together with Virginie Dale, by doing a series of experimental crosses of various breeds of short-haired spotted cats. Ultimately, the long-awaited successful result was obtained, and in 1987, a new cat breed, the Ocicat, was registered in the United States.

The name of the breed was composed of two English words: "ocelot" (South American wild cat with leopard color) and "cat" (cat).

External standard of Ocicat cats

In 1988 the first Ocicat breed standard was developed by the TICA. Subsequently, this standard was revised several times:

Head rounded wedge-shaped in shape with a smooth bend from the muzzle to the flaps and a slight gradual transition from the nose to the forehead. The muzzle is closer to a square shape in front and elongated in profile. Strong chin and lower jaw. Correct bite is required. According to the standard, the presence of a double chin (dewlap) is allowed in adult cats of this breed. The neck is long and graceful.
Ears alert, rather large, triangular in shape. The landing of the auricles is such that their silhouette, as it were, continues the outer upper corners of the muzzle silhouette. On the tips of the ears, there are possible "lynx" tassels, which not only gives the animal a kind of wild charm, but also significantly adds advantages when assessing.
Eyes large, almond-shaped, oblique. The standard allows all possible eye colors, including those that do not even correspond to the color, except for blue. The rich color of the iris has the advantage.
Torso Ociceta is long and strong, with heavy bones. Wide chest with rounded ribs. The body is muscular, athletic. The back line is raised towards the tail. Due to the heavy skeleton, the mass of the animal, in comparison with other breeds of cats of this size, is quite large. In females - from 3, 5 to 5 kg. In adult males - 4.5–7 kg. When evaluating, it is not size and weight that matters, but the proportionality and athleticism of the build of the cat.
Paws Ociceta proportional, of medium length, well-muscled. The forelimbs are five-fingered, the hind legs are four-fingered.
Tail long, thin, tapering towards the tip. The color of the tip of the tail is dark (in accordance with color standards).
Wool cats are short, dense, smooth-silky to the touch and, as it were, glossy, with a shimmer. Any hint of fluffiness is excluded. Ticking is obligatory - a clear contrasting pattern on the coat.

Standards for the color of the breed of the feline "domestic leopard"

The range of possible coat colors of this cat breed is quite extensive. There are six main types of wool color in Ocicat:

reddish brown (Tawny) - warm brown or light bronze basic coat color with dark brown or black spots;
chocolate (Chocolate) - light brown, agouti or ivory, the main color of the coat with chocolate spots;
brown (Cinnamon) - the main color of the coat is either light agouti or ivory with reddish-brown spots in color close to the color of cinnamon;
blue (Blue) - saturated blue spots on a faint blue background;
lilac (Lavender) - on a pale yellow or dull beige color, lavender-colored spots are scattered;
yellow-brown (Fawn) - yellowish-brown spots of color are almost not pronounced and more reminiscent of faint shadows in the main color of the agouti or ivory coat.

In addition to the main six color options, there is a combination of the same variations, but in silver (six more types) - the same spots are scattered over the silver-white, gray or even silver-black field of the main wool color.

Regardless of the specific color standard, the color of the cat should be of a distinct contrasting pattern and visually attractive.

There are Ocicats with other drawings on the body (Any Other Variety):

ticked (no spots);
solid - color spots are almost not pronounced and are more reminiscent of faint shadows in the main color of the coat;
classic (Сlassic tabb) - marble, professionals call it Aztec.

True, the listed color standards have so far been adopted only by felinological associations of European countries and cannot claim to participate in world championships. Ocicat cats of marble tabby color are allocated by the New Zealand felinological organization into a separate breed, called the Jungala, for which separate championships are held.

Color spots are common throughout the body. On the back and sides of the cat, the spots go in the form of peculiar imperfect rows - from the shoulder blades to the base of the tail, somewhat descending to the hind legs.

Ocicat's belly and flanks are also decorated with fingerprint-like spots.
The color of the cat's paws corresponds to the main one, but instead of spots, the paws are framed with torn bracelet rings. Moreover, the more this fragmentation, the better.
The tail has a pattern in the form of dark bracelets, becoming more frequent towards the tip of the tail. The tip of the tail is colored dark (by standard).
The animal's neck is decorated with a half-collar (torn necklace), and on the forehead there is a mandatory and well-recognizable design in the form of the letter "M". Often this drawing is also called "scarab" by experts. It really resembles in its outlines the famous Egyptian scarab beetle.
The cat's eyes are consistently framed by peculiar contours, in color - from the darkest to the lightest color tone.

Representatives of the breed who have:

spots of white color anywhere other than those specified by standards;
visual and latent tail defects;
blue eyes;
long wool;
more than defined by the standard, the number of fingers of the extremities;
coat color not permitted by the standard.

Ocicat character

Ocicat cats are not only outwardly similar to their wild relatives. They are also mobile, active, and sometimes restless and too talkative. And yet their behavior is much more civilized than that of the wildlife. They are great for people who love energetic, sociable and absolutely non-aggressive pets.

Ocicats are friendly, tolerant of people and other pets. Loving and affectionate, they sometimes behave more like dogs than cats. Just like dogs, these pets choose only one single owner in their family, to whom they demonstrate all their love and devotion in every possible way. They meet and see off, miss the chosen one during periods of his absence, are constantly nearby, accompanying him in moving around the house, observing and controlling his actions. They play and talk with pleasure. Yes, they talk. Cats of this breed are big talkers.

The Ocicat, possessing considerable intellectual potential, just like a good dog, very quickly remembers his name and, with appropriate training, clearly performs commands and simple tricks. Able to even bring certain items on command. But do not forget that the intelligence of this pet is so strong that he invents individual tricks on his own. For example, he can easily open the closed doors of rooms, cabinets and refrigerators, enter places with stored food, climb into the most inaccessible places of the house, while showing wonders of ingenuity.

Leads a very clean lifestyle and is easy to get used to the litter box.

This is a bold and self-confident animal with a strong character, which is not so easy to scare. The arrival of strangers and even animals to the house where such a cat lives does not bother him at all. The sociable, curious extrovert Ocicat will not run or hide, but will definitely come out to meet, sniff and "chat" with the guests. Like the Siamese and Abyssinians, the representatives of this breed are very social and strongly need human society or, in extreme cases, the campaign of some other pet, even a parrot. Therefore, the Ocicat is not very suitable for keeping people who are rarely at home and do not have other animals in the apartment.

Being very active by nature, the Ocicat needs items on which this "perpetual motion machine" would be able to expend its irrepressible energy. In the absence of such things and toys, from a mischievous spotted daredevil, and of any age, the atmosphere at home can easily suffer.

Ocicat cats love to travel. They easily get used to a harness or leash and enjoy walking in the company of the owner in nature. They like to ride in the car, observing the rules of cat etiquette and, if necessary, politely asking to use the toilet.

Ocicat health

The bred breed is distinguished by excellent health, general endurance and a long life span, which, with careful care and good living conditions, is within 15-18 years, and sometimes even more.

However, we must not forget that this breed was obtained as a result of selective selection by crossing at least three breeds of cats, each of which had its own predisposition to certain sores. In particular, the Abyssinian breed is prone to anemia and renal amyloidosis, the Siamese - to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Which of these diseases, inherited at the genetic level, is capable (and is capable of at all) manifesting itself in your pet, it is sometimes difficult to say even to a specialist.

But the tendency to the formation of plaque, tartar and inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) in Ocicat veterinarians has already been established quite definitely. Therefore, the necessary preventive measures here will be just in place.

Caring for an Ocicat cat

There is no particular difficulty in caring for this magnificent spotted beast. You just need to regularly (once a week) brush their short, smooth coat with a special soft brush and avoid heavy contamination. After brushing, it is a good idea to run a suede cloth over your spotted pet's coat to give it that extra shine.

Bathing the Ocicat should not be frequent. Once every two or three months is enough. More often - only with heavy pollution. In preparation for the exhibition, bathing is carried out 2-3 days before the championship.

The shampoo used for washing the coat is selected individually, depending on the color of your pet. For a silver version of the coat color, a colorless shampoo is better; for a blue or brownish-red coat, you can use a colored shampoo of the appropriate shade. After bathing and thoroughly rinsing off the remaining shampoo from the surface of the coat, the cat must be well wiped off with a soft towel and given the opportunity to run in a warm and draft-free room. After that, gently comb the dried fur with a soft brush.

Cats of this breed do not need any special diet. A well-balanced, quality food for shorthaired cats, in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, is sufficient for them.

With a properly organized diet, cats of this breed practically do not shed. The only thing that needs to be paid close attention and regular care is to brush the cat's teeth with special zoos against periodontal disease, due to the general predisposition of the breed to the formation of dental calculus and gingivitis.

Kittens "domestic leopard"

Ocicat females tolerate pregnancy well and give birth to young without complications. There are from two to six kittens in a litter. Ocicat mothers are very caring, patient and affectionate, who devote most of their time to their children. Therefore, only timely vaccination is required from the owner. The mother cat is able to do the rest herself.

Kittens need to be taught from an early age to the hands and communication with a person, to the rules of behavior in your house, and if in the future you plan to participate in exhibition shows, then to a noisy environment, unfamiliar cats, unusual sounds and smells.