The Ocicat is a strikingly beautiful domestic cat breed that captivates with its wild appearance, reminiscent of its ocelot namesake. Despite its exotic look, the Ocicat is a friendly and sociable companion, making it a popular choice for cat enthusiasts. This guide delves into the breed’s characteristics, including its physical traits, accepted colors, and temperament, providing a comprehensive overview for potential owners and admirers.
Understanding the Ocicat’s Physical Attributes
The Ocicat is a medium to large-sized cat, characterized by a muscular and athletic build that conveys both grace and power. Its body is solid, well-muscled, and lithe, with a notable fullness in the chest, giving it a substantial presence. The breed’s alert demeanor and high vitality are evident in its every movement.
Head and Facial Features
The Ocicat’s head is a modified wedge shape, featuring a slight curve from the muzzle to the cheeks. A gentle rise from the bridge of the nose to the brow adds to its refined profile. The muzzle is broad, well-defined, and has a suggestion of squareness, with good length when viewed in profile. A strong chin and firm jaw with a proper bite are essential, complemented by a moderate whisker pinch that is not overly severe. Mature males may have allowances for jowls.
The ears are moderately large, alert, and set at a 45-degree angle, aligning with the upper outer dimensions of the head. Ear tufts, if present, extending vertically from the tips are considered a bonus. The eyes are large, almond-shaped, and angle slightly upwards towards the ears, with a spacing between them greater than the length of a single eye.
Body Structure and Build
The Ocicat’s torso is solid and muscular, conveying a sense of depth and fullness without being coarse. This breed possesses substantial bone and muscle development, contributing to its athletic appearance and surprising weight for its size. The chest has good depth with slightly sprung ribs, and the back is level to slightly higher at the rear, with a reasonably level flank. While females are generally smaller than males, the overall structure, quality, and athletic prowess of the cat are given greater consideration than mere size.
The legs are of good substance, well-muscled, medium-long, and powerful, in good proportion to the body. The feet are oval and compact, with five toes in the front and four in the back, proportionate to the legs. The tail is fairly long, medium-slim with a slight taper, and a distinctive dark tip.
Coat, Color, and Pattern
The Ocicat’s most defining feature is its spotted coat, which mimics the appearance of wild cats. The coat texture is short, smooth, and satiny, with a lustrous sheen. It lies close to the body, sleek yet long enough to accommodate the distinct color banding of each hair. A woolly texture is undesirable.
Ticking and Ground Color
Each hair, except on the tail tip, is banded with multiple colors. This banding creates the characteristic thumbprint-shaped spots. Within the markings, hairs are tipped with a darker color, while hairs in the ground color are tipped with a lighter color. The ground color can vary, but all colors should be clear and pleasing. The lightest color is typically found on the face around the eyes, chin, and lower jaw, while the darkest color is on the tail tip.
Contrast and Markings
Contrast is a crucial element, with distinctive markings clearly visible from any orientation. Spots on the face, legs, and tail may be darker than those on the torso. The ground color might be darker on the saddle and lighter on the underside, chin, and lower jaw. Faint or blurred spotting incurs penalties, though paler colors naturally show less contrast.
Accepted Colors and Patterns
There are twelve accepted Ocicat colors, divided into eight color classes. All varieties exhibit darker spots in distinct contrast to a lighter background. The determining factor for color accuracy is the tail tip.
The intricate tabby “M” marking is present on the forehead, with markings extending over the head between the ears and breaking into small spots on the lower neck and shoulders. Mascara markings surround the eyes and appear on the cheeks. Rows of round spots run along the spine from shoulder blades to the tail. The tail features horizontal brush strokes, ideally alternating with spots, and a dark tip. Spots are scattered across the shoulders and hindquarters, extending down the legs. Broken bracelets adorn the lower legs, and broken necklaces appear at the throat, with more broken patterns being preferred. Large, well-scattered, thumbprint-shaped spots appear on the sides of the torso, with a subtle suggestion of a classic tabby pattern. The belly is also well-spotted. The eyes are rimmed with the darkest coat color and surrounded by the lightest color. Elongated spots that follow a mackerel pattern are penalized.
The accepted colors include:
- Tawny: Black or dark brown spotting on a ruddy or bronze agouti ground.
- Chocolate: Chocolate spotting on a warm ivory agouti ground.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon spotting on a warm ivory agouti ground.
- Blue: Blue spotting on a pale blue or buff agouti ground.
- Lavender: Lavender spotting on a pale buff or ivory agouti ground.
- Fawn: Fawn spotting on a pale ivory agouti ground.
- Ebony Silver: Black spotting on a silver agouti ground.
- Chocolate Silver: Chocolate spotting on a silver agouti ground.
- Cinnamon Silver: Cinnamon spotting on a silver agouti ground.
- Blue Silver: Blue spotting on a silver agouti ground.
- Lavender Silver: Lavender spotting on a silver agouti ground.
- Fawn Silver: Fawn spotting on a silver agouti ground.
Eye Color
All eye colors except blue are permitted, with no correspondence between eye color and coat color. Depth of eye color is preferred.
Temperament and Behavior
Beyond their striking appearance, Ocicats are known for their friendly, sociable, and outgoing personalities. They are intelligent and trainable, often enjoying interactive play and puzzle toys. Their curious nature means they can be quite vocal and enjoy being involved in household activities. Ocicats typically bond closely with their families and can even be trained to walk on a leash. They generally get along well with children and other pets when properly socialized from a young age.
Breed Standard and Disqualifications
The Ocicat breed standard emphasizes its spotted appearance, athletic build, and moderate type. Specific disqualifications include white locket or spotting (except around the eyes, nostrils, chin, and upper throat, and in silvered colors), kinked or deformed tails, blue eyes, incorrect number of toes, and long hair. Due to the genetic complexities of the spotted tabby (torbie) pattern, reds, creams, and torbies are not allowed, although very rufous cinnamons and fawns might resemble these colors but do not produce female torbies.
The Ocicat is a remarkable breed that offers a unique combination of exotic beauty and affectionate companionship, making it a cherished pet for many.
