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The Paw Peds database at www.pawpeds.com was set up in about 2000 and provides information on a number of pedigreed cat breeds, including the Ocicat. It is an interactive online website that provides essential resources for any breeder who wishes to research their chosen breed and its ancestry.
For each breed, there is a database hosted by an expert in their own particular breed. For the Ocicat, these experts are Ann McCulloch and Denise of Catiators Ocicats. Anne and Denise's website is at www.Catiators.Ocicat.com
Using the Paw Peds database provides opportunity to track desired traits as well as unwanted inherited problems. You can -
 | calculate inbreeding coefficients |
| do test matings |
| list all ancestors of a particular cat |
| list all offsprings of a particular cat |
| check pedigrees for many generations back |
You may also be able to view photos of a particular cat or link to a website.
Where to Start
In order to explore the pedigrees of a breed, start by selecting the database for your breed - the Ocicat.
This will bring you to a starting page for that database, where you will have links to breed specific information and also a link to the page from which you can search in the database.
A note about the Search System -
The Pawpeds search system uses a search algorithm which can handle misspellings. Usually, the best match is displayed. But your best results will result if you are careful with your spelling. The search is case insensitive.
Number of Generations shown in the Pedigree -
On the search page, you can select how many generations you want to see for the cat of your choice. You can also change this when you are on the page with the pedigree by clicking on the numbers just above the pedigree, to the left.
Date Format -
The date of birth is given in the form - 'yyyy-mm-dd'. For example, '1997-04-19' means April 19, 1997.
Inbreeding Coefficient (IC)
The Inbreeding Coefficient is a mathematical measure to determine the relationship between two cats. It it 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.
Some comparison matings would produce the following inbreeding coefficients -
| when a cat is mated with a sister/brother - 25% |
| when a cat is mated with a parent - 25% |
| when a cat is mated with a halfsister/halfbrother - 12.5% |
| when a cat is mated with a grandparent - 12.5% |
| when a cat is mated with a cousin - 6.25% |
If we knew the background of a cat for thousands of years, then all the cats in that huge pedigree would be related and the inbreeding coefficient would be quite high.
When we are comparing pedigrees, we must always consider the number of generations for which we are calculating the inbreeding coefficient.
Coefficient for the number of generations that are shown on the pedigree
The Paw Peds program will give you the inbreeding coefficient for the number of generations that the pedigree shows.
| For example, I checked my Abyrose Kiwi Magic's inbreeding coefficient for 4 generations - 0% |
| For example, I checked my Abyrose Kiwi Magic's inbreeding coefficient for 9 generations - 7.04% |
Coefficient for as far back as possible
If you would like to have the inbreeding coefficient calculated as far back as there is info in the database, you can click on the word "inbreeding'. This coefficient will then be calculated.
| For example, I checked my Abyrose Kiwi Magic's inbreeding coefficient for entire database - 22.3% |
Coefficient increase per generation
The coefficient should increase by less than 0.25% to 0.5% per generation. If the increase is higher, the population will be at risk of health problems due to inbreeding. It may take many generations before the problems are visible, but when the problems arise they will be difficult to remove from the line.
Coefficients and the Ocicat breed
Relatively speaking, the Ocicat has a rather small gene pool as it is has only been established since the 1960's. Although Siamese, Abyssinians and the American Shorthairs were originally used to develop the breed, the only permitted outcross these days is to the Abyssinian.
Consequently, even an apparent outcross mating with no common ancestors over 3 or 4 generations would still result in a considerable degree of inbreeding.
Percentage of Foundation Cats
A special feature of the Paw Peds database allows breeders to calculate the percentage of foundation cats in the breed, and in some cases one particularly heavily used foundation cat. In the Ocicat, it is estimated that the genetic makeup of the average pedigree now consists of 65-70% of the top 4 foundation cats. These are :-
| Dalai She - about 30-35% |
| Whitehead Elegant Sun - about 15% |
| Mai-Ed Tabitha Blair - about 13% |
| Dalai Qucksilver - about 7% |
I checked this analysis for my Abyrose Kiwi Magic, and got a result of -
| Dalai She - 31.6% |
| Whitehead Elegant Sun - 14.3% |
| Mai-Ed Tabitha Blair - 12.3% |
| Dalai Quicksilver - 6.61% |
This is all as expected - a total of 64.7%.
The 'Chevy Percentage'
In Ocicat breeding, one particular stud was very heavily used in the US in the early days. This was 'Chevy' or Dalai Golden Cavalier of Ociville, a chocolate spotted boy who became the first CFA Grand Champion Ocicat.
Nowadays, it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a pedigree without Chevy, and on a 10 generation pedigree it would not be unusual to find his name 50-60 times, making him more or less equivalent to a grandsire of the cat named on the pedigree.
Because of this very heavy influence, the database also makes provision for calculation of the 'Chevy percentage' in any given cat's pedigree.
| Abyrose Kiwi Magic has a Chevy percentage of 23.7% - about average. |
There is a standard warning that gives a Reliability of Analysis as 96.09% as a small amount (a little less than 4%) of the pedigree could not be traced to foundation.
Listing of Offspring
To list offspring of a particular cat, click on "offsprings" above the pedigree.
You will get a list with all the offspring that are in the Paw Peds database.
The other parent of these offspring will also be listed. Click on the name of any of these cats to get its pedigree.
Test Matings
Click on 'Test Mating' to get an empty pedigree, in which you can fill in cats from the database to create your test mating.
| To add a cat -
 | click on 'add cat' in the position you want to enter a cat. |
| Continue until the pedigree is completed. |
| You can then look at inbreeding coefficients and pedigree analyses as usual. |
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| To use this cat -
| if you click on 'use this cat as sire', the cat, with its entire pedigree, will be moved so that it will be sire in a
test mating pedigree with empty positions on the dam's side. |
| Alternatively, if you click on 'use this cat as dam' instead, the cat will be moved to the position of dam in the
pedigree with empty space on the sire's side. |
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| Cat 2, Cat 3, etc -
| you can also click on the words Cat 2, Cat 3, etc. or on the name of a cat in order to look at the pedigree of the selected cat and make calculations for that pedigree. |
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| Change cat -
| By clicking on 'change cat' you can replace a cat already in the test mating pedigree. |
| Click on 'add cat' in the position you want to enter a cat. |
| Continue until the pedigree is completed. |
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Test Mating Example -
Let's do a test mate for Ozspsots Leopard Princess -
| Select 'Test Mating' from the Ocicat database starting page. You will get an empty 3 generation pedigree chart |
| In the pedigree chart, click on 'Add Cat' under 'Cat 3', the dam , which takes you to the Test Mating Search page. |
| Type in 'Ozspots Leopard Princess' and click 'Search'. The 3 generation pedigree chart now shows Ozspots Leopard Princess as the dam in the test mating, together with her pedigree for 3 generations |
| Assume I don't know the full name of the sire I want to test mate with, but I do know it is a Low Country cat. Type 'Low Country' and click 'Search'. A list of all the cats on the database which have 'Low Country' in their name is shown. Select the cat you want, in this case, I will select Low Country Stranger Among Us. |
| Click on your selection. |
| The Test Mating pedigree now has both dam and sire with pedigrees to 3 generations. |
| Do pedigree analysis -
| inbreeding coefficient for 3 generations - 0% |
| inbreeding coefficient for 9 generations - 6.68% |
| inbreeding coefficient as far back as possible - 15.6% |
| foundation analysis - 57.9% |
| Chevvy analysis - 20.9% |
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Breeding by Numbers
With the Paw Peds database, we have the ability to apply a mathematical approach to determine inbreeding in our Ocicats. We can use this approach to help us to know whether we are choosing more inbreeding or not. However, just what determines a 'safe' inbreeding coefficient has not yet been determined in cats.
So, go ahead and use the inbreeding coefficient software in the Paw Peds database, but also be alert for signs of inbreeding depression in your own cat population, such signs as -
| small litters |
| small size of individual kittens |
| poor immune systems (increase in infectious disease) |
| poor fertility |
| reduced "sex drive" in males and heat cycles in females |
| an increase in congenital desease (birth defects) |
If any of these signs are increasing in your cattery, you need to consider bringing in some new blood - no matter what 'the numbers' may say.
Inbreeding coefficients is based on random breeding. The number can be deceptive when we selectively breed for desired characteristics.
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