1
Getting a Cat or Kitten
17 min read
| Family-friendly: | 1/5 |
| Playfulness: | 4/5 |
| Intelligence: | 4/5 |
| Tendency to Vocalise: | 4/5 |
| Likes Other Pets: | 3/5 |
| Grooming needs: | 2/5 |
| Shedding: | 2/5 |
Ocicat
This medium to large breed has a well-muscled athletic build with a strong, dense bone structure. This makes them surprisingly heavy for their size, which combined with their low-slung stance and often ‘stalky’ walk, lends much to their ‘big cat’ appearance, even though this is a purely domestic cat with no wild ancestry at all!
The Ocicat is spotted all over, with the pattern forming a distinct bullseye on the sides and a clear M shape between the ears above the eyes. The Ocicat coat should be short and close lying with a satiny sheen that highlights the beautiful spotting pattern.
Lifespan
10 - 15 years
Weight
2.7 - 6.8kg
Colours
The Ocicat comes in 12 colours; Tawny, Cinnamon, Chocolate, Blue, Lilac and Fawn, and these same six again but on a silvery background colour.
The need-to-know
- Benefits from an experienced owner
- Needs high-level of enrichment including simulated hunting games and interactive play
- Highly active and inquisitive cat
- Sociable and dependent cat
- Very talkative cat
- Lean and elegant cat
- Requires grooming once a week
- Needs extensive outdoor space
- Not ideal for family homes
- Can be regularly left for a few hours
- Needs a calm environment
Generally healthy breed
The Ocicat breed can suffer from:
- Progressive retinal atrophy which is an inherited disorder where part of the eye degenerates and wastes away which can result in blindness.
Testing available:
- DNA testing for progressive retinal atrophy which tests whether or not a cat has the potential to be affected by this condition.
Personality
Highly intelligent, active, social and people-oriented, the Ocicat may not be a big-cat, but they very much have the personality and the presence of one! Described by owners as having dog-like tendencies, they love interacting with family members and visitors, will follow people around the home, supervising and sometimes interfering in all that they do. They are incredibly athletic and can jump to high spots, balance on narrow ledges and get to places other cats probably wouldn’t think of.
This is an ‘extra chaos’ type of cat, enjoying a lot of attention and very able to demand it when they feel it is necessary and get that attention by fair means or foul!
The Ocicat was created by accident in 1964 by a breeder trying to produce a Siamese type cat with the ticked point pattern of the Abyssinian. These mating’s ended up producing a stunning spotted kitten that looked remarkably like a wild Ocelot, which led to the name Ocicat. This kitten was used to create a line incorporating Siamese, Abyssinian and American Shorthair genetics, to create the Ocicat breed, with the first Ocicats coming to the UK in the late 1980’s.
A large and extremely secure cat-run will be needed for the Ocicat, unless you can securely cat-proof your entire garden. They need space to run, climb and jump, and you’ll almost certainly need a safe space to leave your Ocicat when you go out unless your whole house is cat-proofed!
Ocicats should not be given unsupervised access to the outdoors, as although bold and athletic they are very curious, large and inclined to get themselves into trouble, as well as being a theft risk.
The Ocicat is probably as demanding as a dog when it comes to attention, enrichment, training and play. Clicker training will help teach your cat useful behaviours such as having them to go a specific bed or place marker, go into a cat carrier, get off certain surfaces and of course, amusing tricks that show off their athleticism. On top of this training, it would be wise to feed most food from puzzle toys that use hunting, searching and climbing skills to find, retrieve and empty food from. You’ll need to take household furniture and décor into account when housing an Ocicat, knick-knacks and ornaments will be pushed from shelving, paperwork shredded and shiny objects stolen and hidden. The Ocicat can become very demanding in a loud way if not given sufficient mental and physical exercise, and failing to meet their needs can result in some very unpleasant behaviour problems including inappropriate toileting, scent marking, self-harm and aggression towards humans.
Every cat is unique and each has their own particular likes, dislikes, and needs when it comes to food. However, cats are carnivores and every cat must obtain 41 different and specific nutrients from their food. The proportion of these nutrients will vary depending on age, lifestyle and overall health, so it's not surprising that a growing, energetic kitten needs a different balance of nutrients in her diet than a less active senior cat. Other considerations to bear in mind are feeding the right quantity of food to maintain 'ideal body condition' in accordance with feeding guidelines and catering to individual preference regarding wet or dry food recipes.
Brush or comb your Ocicat once a week, this provides good handling practice and bonding time as well as taking care of their coat. A greasy coat is a sign your cat is not self-grooming at all and this may indicate poor health.
As with all cats, regular vaccination and parasite control is recommended.
The Ocicat whilst fairly moderate in appearance is often quite extreme behaviourally and they require secure and appropriately Ocicat-proofed housing - and owners who actively wish to amuse and entertain a big strong cat with big strong opinions. Better suited to a calm, quiet household with older teenagers and lots of space.
Found your perfect breed?
Have a read through these articles selected by our in-house vet.
