Ocicats and In-breeding

• Inbreeding or Line Breeding
  
  Dr. Howard Myers of Oregon State University discusses the question - "What are your feelings on a scientific basis for line-breeding? Specifically, breeding a son to his mother .... "
• Inbreeding Coefficient Explained
  
  At Oz Catz, we use the ICC (Inbreeding Coefficient Complete) to choose matings. Here is an explanation of the ICC and links to calculation of the ICC.
• Paw Peds Database

At Oz Catz, we ensure the genetic health of our Ocicat kittens by keeping the ICC index of our kittens, both for pet and for breeding, as low as possible. We include the relevant ICC index for each of our matings for the information of other Ocicat breeders interested in our breeding kittens as well as Ocicat pet owners who value the long-term health of their kitten.

Our aim to keep the ICC for each mating below 25%. Many other breeders do not factor in the ICC in choosing matings for their cats, but our aims are to improve the Ocicat breed in Australia and also to provide the very best of health in our kittens.

Many European and American Ocicat breeders find an ICC index of 30 - 35% acceptable in their matings, but at Oz Catz, we aim high - or in the case of the ICC, low!!

The ICC is but one way we can check on our progress towards reaching our goals.

Take a look at the contribution Oz Catz has made (and is continuing to make) to the health of the Ocicat breed in Australia with our imported Ocicat blood lines - click here.

[   Lilac spotted kitten from Ozspots Meister   ]

This page last updated : December 15, 2011