In-Breeding Coefficient

 ICC stands for 'In-breeding Co-efficient Complete' - it is a statistical ratio that measures the degree of inbreeding in the cat or kitten calculated as far back in the pedigree as possible. It is a measure of the proportion of loci that are homozygous because of the relationship between the parents.

It calculates the percentage of probability that a particular locus is homozygous due to the relationship between the parents. So 100% would mean that the cat is homozygous in every locus. That is, for every gene the cat inherited from the mother, an identical gene was also inherited from the father. This occurs when the father and mother are closely related. Conversely, an inbreeding coefficient of 0% would mean that no locus is homozygous because of any relationship between the parents - that the parents of the cat are not related.

However, if you search back far enough, all cats are ultimately related. And as the Ocicat is a relatively new breed - bred no more than 60 years ago - there will always be an In-Breeding Coefficient measure in all Ocicats in the world today.

The task of any responsible Ocicat breeder, therefore, is to keep the ICC as low as possible. At Oz Catz, our primary aim is for healthy, genetically strong kittens, so we aim for an ICC of less than 25% for any kitten - generally achieving ICC's of around 20% or lower.

Click on this link - click here - for the method of calculating the ICC index for a particular cat or for an intended mating of cats.

This page last updated : December 15, 2011