Ocicats are still relatively unknown in Australia, so without doubt, the most frequently asked question is -

"Aussie-what?" or "Okki-What?"

Because most people have not yet heard of the wonderful Ocicat, they mistake the name for Aussie-cat or Okki-cat!

Ocicat is pronounced 'Oss - i - cat' - just as you would pronounce 'Ocelot' after which the Ocicat is named.

So here are some of the other questions we get asked -

Q : Where does the Ocicat come from?

A : It was first bred in America about 50 years ago

Q : What are its foundation breeds?

A : Abyssinian, Siamese and the American short hair cat

Q : It looks like a wild cat - is it bred from a wild cat?

A : It may look like a wild cat - but it has absolutely NO wild blood at all. It is bred from all pedigreed cats.

Q : So how come the Ocicat looks wild?

A : The Ocicat is bred specifically to LOOK wild.   It has spots like a Leopard or Ocelot.   It is meant to have a wild look about its face.   Its gaze should share the same hypnotic impact as a wild cat.   Its body is long and lean with the look of the athletic wild cat.

Q : What is its personality like?

A : Affectionate, loyal, intelligent, active, curious, friendly - just wonderful!!

Q : Does its coat need grooming?

A : The Ocicat's coat is short, sleek and shiny.  The fur sits close to its body.  It does not moult very much.  The only grooming needed is a daily smoothing with the hands.  It doesn't need bathing, but you can do this occasionally if you wish.

Q : How come I haven't heard of the breed before?

A : The Ocicat is very popular and well-known in America where it was first bred and its popularity has long since spread to Europe and UK.  It is still a relatively rare breed in Australia.

Q : How does an Ocicat differ from a Bengal?

A : The primary difference is that the Bengal has been bred with wild blood - the Ocicat has NO wild blood in its breeding.  The Bengal gets its wild look from its heritage.  The Ocicat has been bred specially to LOOK like a wild cat, with the temperament and personality of a domestic pedigreed cat.

Q : How does an Ocicat differ from a Burmese?

A : Those who have visited this website in the past, will know that I used to breed to Burmese alongside the Ocicat, thereby enabling me to closely compare the two breeds. The fact that I chose to concentrate on breeding the Ocicat says it all. However, for those who ask the question, these pictures go some way to showing some of the differences in characters and personalities.

The Burmese are one of the most wonderful breeds of cat - perfect for the family or the single person. The Ocicat has very similar characteristics - both breeds are intelligent, affectionate, smoochy, loyal and loving. The difference is in the degree! Add another 50% to everything that the Burmese offers and you have the Ocicat!

In the pictures, notice how the Ocicats are more alert, curious, showing greater awareness of their surroundings, whilst remaining completely comfortable, smoochy and cuddly? That's what I fell in love with - they are every bit as gorgeous as the well-respected Burmese, but I believe they offer another 50% of everything the Burmese offers.

Q : Do Ocicats have any particular health problems?

A : No. The Ocicat also has no particular health problems associated with the breed.

Q : What does the 'ICC' ratio mean?

A : ICC stands for 'Inbreeding 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.   Of course, taken back as far as possible, every cat on earth is related!

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.  The ICC index has limited relevance to our pet kittens, but is included as an indicator to other Ocicat breeders interested in our breeding kittens.

Q : Some of your breeding cats have an 'ICC' ratio of above 20% - what does this mean?

A : There are two reasons for this. Firstly, we needed to import new breed lines to Australia. Some of our imported cats have higher ICC ratios - for instance, Merrydancer Cocolatino at 25% and Abyrose Kiwi Magic at 22.3%. The slightly higher ICC ratios in both cases was more than compensated by the infusion of new blood lines into Oz Catz Ocicat breeding program. 

However, to make sure the relevance of these ICC ratios is clear, compared with some other breeder standards, these ICC's are still remarkably low. For instance, few breeders in UK and Europe would blink at an ICC of say 30 to 35%.

The second reason that some of our studs and queens have ICC ratios above 20% relates to line breeding. Sometimes, breeders may try a mating between close lines of cats - this is called 'line breeding' (as opposed to in-breeding). We do this hoping to produce kittens with the best qualities of both sire and dam.   Line breeding will generally result in either excellent quality kittens or very poor kittens. The mating between Ocivalley Flek and Ocicalley Lai (they have the same mother, but different fathers) was one such line breed, happily resulting in excellent kittens, two of which remained at Oz Catz - Silver Champion Ozspots True Blue Aussie and Ozspots Leopard Princess.  At Oz Catz, we limit our involvement in line-breeding.

Q.  What are the most popular colours in Ocicats?

A.  Chocolate spotted is the colour that is most common in the USA, however, we have been able to breed a variety of colours in Australia, so can offer several of the other colours, like black spotted silver, tawny, cinnamon, cinnamon silver, chocolate silver, lavender and lavender silver. The choice of colour is often very difficult, but ultimately it comes down to personal choice.

Q : Are you biased in favour of Ocicats?

A : Of course! I am very much one of the greatest fans of the wonderful Ocicat!!!

 Ocicats  by  Oz Catz 

www.OzCatz.com                nolakim@optusnet.com.au

Last modified: July 28, 2008