Thu, 25 Apr 2024

  

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BREED INFO > THE OCICAT > HISTORY

The very first Ocicat was born in 1964 as an unexpected result. Mrs. Virginia Daly tried to breed a Siamese with Abyssinian points. She knew she needed at least two generations for a basis. To her surprise in the second generation a ivory coloured kitten was born with golden spots. The daughter of Mrs. Daly named it an Ocicat, because it looked very much like an Ocelot. This first Ocicat was neutered and sold as a house-pet.

A newspaper in Detroit published an article about the kitten and that drew the attention of geneticist Dr. Clyde Keeler. He expressed the desire for a house cat that - in appearance - looked like some of the wild species that were getting extinct, like the Egyptian Fishing Cat. Because of this interest the breeding was repeated to produce more Ocicats. Other breeders followed Mrs. Daly's recipe to create a broad genetic base.


The crossbreeding of a Siamese and an Abyssinian gave us the beautiful Ocicat. Later an American Shorthair was used too in the breeding program. Because of that the cat became larger and the bone structure became heavier. This way the silver gene was introduced as well.

The Ocicat was acknowledged by the CFA in 1966, but it would take another 20 years to develop the breed and gain the support for its temporary status. By now the breed has spread around the world and is present at many shows. Because of this their popularity still increases.

Cat lovers have always been impressed by the wild spotted cats such as the Ocelot, the Margay, the Jaguar, the Leopard and so on. Never before one could see such an effort to develop a house cat with the spotted beauty of the wild cats, but maintaining the wonderful and predictable behavior of the house cat.

Many spotted cats living in the wild are disappearing more and more because of the destruction of their natural habitat, poaching and abuse. That's why it is getting increasingly important that this breed (created by man) can satisfy all those that want something "exotic". Maybe the Ocicat can even play a part in the prevention of poaching and the (illegal) importation of endangered wild cats.

The Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis of Felis pardalis)


The Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus of Felis viverrinus

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