Ocicat Breed Guide
Explorer | Spotty | Wild-ish. Is it a Jaguar? Is it an Ocelot? No, it’s an Ocicat! This breed of kitty-cat has all the looks of a wildcat but without the savage tendencies. However, with an active purrsonality they’re not suited to pawrents who want a cat that’s just going to sit there and look pretty. If you’re after a kitty who loves jumping around just as much as they adore their furmily this one’s for you!
OCICAT BASICS
Average Lifespan: 12 - 18 years
Average Weight: 2.5 - 6.5kg
Coat Length: Short
Colouring: 12 different colours - tawny, chocolate, cinnamon, blue, lilac and fawn - and then the same but on top of a silver undertone.
Shedding: Low
WHAT IS THE ANCESTRY OF THE OCICAT?
Whilst admiring the Ocicat, you might think they have some wildcat genes in their ancestry like the Bengal cat. However, this kitty is a domestic cat through and through. The first Ocicat was bred entirely by accident in the USA in 1964 when Mrs Virginia Daly attempted to create a cat with an Abyssinian ticked coat with all the other features of a Siamese.
The result wasn’t exactly what Mrs Daly intended, however, she recognised the uniqueness of this spotted kitty-cat, naming it an Ocicat after its resemblance to wild jungle-dwelling Ocelots. The popularity of this wild-looking kitty spread like wildfire across the globe with the first of the breed making its way to the UK in the late 1980s and gaining GCCF recognition as a pedigree breed in 2013.
WHAT DOES AN OCICAT LOOK LIKE?
Resembling a baby Ocelot, the Ocicat is a medium-sized muscular cat with a magnificently wild spotted coat. With strong legs and a long slender tail, their walking style is more like a strut as they make their way around their territory, surveying the area for any vermin intruders or delicious cat treats to pounce on. Ocicats come in twelve different colours with each hair on their furry body having several bands of colour making each floof entirely unique.
WHAT IS THE PURRSONALITY OF THE OCICAT?
Ocicats have the bewitching look of an Ocelot without the untamed temperament. These cats are affectionate and easygoing and make great family pets. They’re intelligent and have many dog-like tendencies, like learning to play fetch as well as following simple commands. They’re adaptable and don’t take life too seriously, blending well with other floofs, dogs and young children.
Although these cats have no wild lineage, they do still like to live on the wild side. They enjoy active play and showing off their jumping and pouncing skills, trying ever so hard to convince their pawrents that they really are a wild jungle cat. With this, they’re better suited to being an outdoor cat so that they can let loose every now and then and express their inner hunting desires. However, if this isn’t possible you can keep them content by making your home cat-friendly with cat trees, shelves, scratching posts or a secure catio.
CAN OCICATS BE LEFT ALONE?
Ocicats are social butterflies and don’t do well if left alone for long periods. They’re highly intelligent and with an energy level to match so need to be kept stimulated to keep them happy. As such they’re ideally suited to active furmilies, particularly those with other fur babies who can keep their Ocicat company during the day.
OCICAT FEEDING REQUIREMENTS
Ocicats have a diverse gene pool coming from three different pedigree breeds, being the Siamese, Abyssinian and American Shorthair. This has done wonders for their genetic health as they aren’t linked to any inherited cat disorders or diseases and tend to live long and wild lives.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean you can slack off with their nutrition. Always look for top-quality pet food with natural ingredients and high levels of animal meat to provide your carnivorous Ocicat with all the essential amino acids and nutrients they need to keep them living long into their golden years.
Many Ocicat owners prefer feeding their floofs gut-friendly recipes, to reduce tummy upsets and stinky farts. Look for recipes with added prebiotics or probiotics and natural hypoallergenic ingredients to keep even the most sensitive of Ocicat tummies happy.
SCRUMBLES, THE PAWFECT FOOD FOR OCICATS
Ocicats and their pawrents love our gut friendly cat food for several impawtent reasons:
- Natural Hypoallergenic Ingredients - Our recipes contain 100% natural ingredients and never any of the added B.S. like artificial additives, preservatives or added salt and sugar. They’re nutritionally dense and provide only goodness to your floof.
- Protein Rich - We use up to 77% human-grade fish or meat and never use plant proteins which some sneaky brands use to bulk up the protein content of their recipes but are poorly digested and absorbed by cats.
- Gut-Friendly - We add either prebiotics or probiotics to all of our wet cat food and dry cat food recipes to soothe sensitive Ocicat tummies and follow a polo-pescatarian diet as red meat is harder to digest for Ocicats.
- Tailored Recipes: We offer tailored formulas for all Ocicat ages, supporting your floof from kittenhood right through to their golden years.
- Climate Conscious - Providing our cats with proper nutrition shouldn’t cost the planet. That’s another reason why we use natural ingredients, eco-friendly packaging and 100% recyclable tins, and we try to reduce our food miles where we can by sourcing our poultry from British farms. We don’t use red meat which is far more emission-intensive than chicken, turkey and fish and we’re proud to be a B-Corp member with a pledge to donate 1% of all sales to environmental causes.
