Indeed they are! This magnificent spotted cat never fails to steal the show, not to mention the hearts of those fortunate enough to own them.

The Ocicat is an agouti spotted cat of moderate type. Originating from interbreeding of Abyssinian, Siamese and American Shorthair, it is the only spotted domestic breed selectively bred to emulate the cats of the wild.

The ideal Ocicat is a large, active animal with an athletic appearance. It is very solid and well-muscled and has a short, tight coat with a satin sheen that shows off muscles and spots to their best advantage.

In 1964 the original Ocicat was the unexpected result of an experimental breeding which attempted to produce an Aby-point Siamese. Virginia Daly, noted CFA breeder living in Michigan, knew the possibility of getting the sought after Aby-point and was willing to invest the time she knew it would take to breed the two generations that were necessary. But the ivory kitten with golden spots was a surprise! Mrs. Daly's daughter named the breed the Ocicat, because of its resemblance to the ocelot. Tonga, the first Ocicat, was neutered and sold as a pet. When the Detroit newspaper publicized the lovely spotted cat and when noted geneticist, Dr. Clyde Keeler, expressed his desire to see a domestic cat which would mimic some of the vanishing wild species, the breeding was repeated to produce more Ocicats. Other breeders followed Mrs. Daly's recipe to develop other Ocicat lines with a broad genetic base.

Feline enthusiasts have always been awed by the spotted cats of the wild: ocelots, margays, leopards and others. Never before was there such an effort to breed an entirely domestic cat which can offer the spotted beauty of the wild cats, while maintaining the lovely, predictable disposition of the domestic cat. With so many wild spotteds disappearing as their native habitats are destroyed and invaded, it is increasingly important that this man-made breed can satisfy people who want something ‘'exotic." How sad that so many wild spotted cats have suffered abuse and destruction. Perhaps the Ocicat will do its part in preventing the poaching and importation of the endangered wild cats.

While the Ocicat looks wild, its temperament is anything but ferocious. It is a lot like a dog in that it is absolutely devoted to its people. The Ocicat is not a demanding, clinging-vine type, but is confident as well as dedicated to its owners. Most Ocicats are also quite extroverted around strangers, not at all bashful about checking out the possibilities for a few playmates or a lap to curl up on when visitors come to call.

Ocicats are quite bright and easily trained. Many will fetch, walk on a leash, respond to voice commands and readily adapt to household rules. Because of their adaptability, they are a joy to work with and easily get used to traveling. Their sociable nature may make them less suited than some other breeds to being left alone for long periods of time, but it does make them a good choice for a household already blessed with other cats or dogs.

Though Ocicats fill the need for the exotic, they are easy to keep and require no special care. Their diets are the same as any domestic and their short coats need only the occasional bathing and grooming. They are not prone to any particular health problem and their broad genetic background gives them vigor and vitality.

There has been tremendous controversy about the genetics of inheritance associated with the spotted pattern. In the earlier days of the cat fancy, when life was simpler, all patterned cats were believed to display one of the three tabby patterns: ticked (Aby), mackerel (tiger striped), or classic (blotched or bull's eye). The spotted pattern of the Ocicat, at least on the better examples of the breed, is notedly different from other spotted breeds or varieties. While some believe this comes from a different gene altogether, there is no conclusive evidence and it might be that selective breeding is responsible for the Ocicat's lovely pattern.

Ocicats come in many colors and at least all those colors associated with the three foundation breeds: tawny, chocolate, cinnamon, blue, lavender, fawn, silver, chocolate silver, cinnamon silver, blue silver, lavender silver, and fawn silver.

HEAD: the skull is a modified wedge showing a slight curve from muzzle to cheek, with a visible, but gentle, rise from the bridge of the nose to the brow. The muzzle is broad and well defined with a suggestion of squareness and in profile shows good length. The chin is strong and the jaw firm with a proper bite. The moderate whisker pinch is not too severe. The head is carried gracefully on an arching neck. An allowance is made for jowls on mature males.

EARS: alert, moderately large, and set so as to corner the upper, outside dimensions of the head. If an imaginary horizontal line is drawn across the brow, the ears should be set at a 45 degree angle, i.e., neither too high nor too low. When they occur, ear tufts extending vertically from the tips of the ears are a bonus.

EYES: large, almond shaped, and angling slightly upwards toward the ears with more than the length of an eye between the eyes.

TORSO: solid, hard, rather long-bodied with depth and fullness but never coarse. The Ocicat is a medium to large cat with substantial bone and muscle development, yet with an athletic appearance, and should have surprising weight for its size. There should be some depth of chest with ribs slightly sprung, the back is level to slightly higher in the rear, and the flank reasonably level. Preference is given to the athletic, powerful, and lithe, and objection taken to the bulky or coarse. It should be noted that females are generally smaller than males. The overall structure and quality of this cat should be of greater consideration than mere size alone.

LEGS and FEET: legs should be of good substance and well-muscled, medium-long, powerful and in good proportion to the body. Feet should be oval and compact with five toes in front and four in back, with size in proportion to legs.

TAIL: fairly long, medium-slim with only a slight taper and with a dark tip.

COAT TEXTURE: short, smooth and satiny in texture with a lustrous sheen. Tight, close-lying and sleek, yet long enough to accommodate the necessary bands of color. There should be no suggestion of woolliness.

TICKING: all hairs except the tip of the tail are banded. Within the markings, hairs are tipped with a darker color, while hairs in the ground color are tipped with a lighter color.

COAT COLOR: all colors should be clear and pleasing. The lightest color is usually found on the face around the eyes, and on the chin and lower jaw. The darkest color is found on the tip of the tail. Contrast is scored separately.

CONTRAST: distinctive markings should be clearly seen from any orientation. Those on the face, legs, and tail may be darker than those on the torso. Ground color may be darker on the saddle and lighter on the underside, chin, and lower jaw. Penalties should be given if spotting is faint or blurred, though it must be remembered that pale colors will show less contrast than darker ones.

EYE COLOR: all eye colors except blue are allowed. There is no correspondence between eye color and coat color. Depth of color is preferred.

PATTERN: there is an intricate tabby "M" on the forehead, with markings extending up over the head between the ears and breaking into small spots on the lower neck and shoulders. Mascara markings are found around the eyes and on cheeks. Rows of round spots run along the spine from shoulder blades to tail. The tail has horizontal brush strokes down the top, ideally alternating with spots, and a dark tip. Spots are scattered across the shoulders and hindquarters, extending as far as possible down the legs. There are broken bracelets on the lower legs and broken necklaces at the throat - the more broken the better. Large well-scattered, thumbprint-shaped spots appear on the sides of the torso, with a subtle suggestion of a classic tabby pattern - a spot circled by spots in place of the bull's eye. The belly is also well spotted. The eyes are rimmed with the darkest coat color and surrounded by the lightest color. Penalties should be given for elongated spots following a mackerel pattern.

DISQUALIFY: white locket or spotting, or white anywhere other than around eyes, nostrils, chin, and upper throat (except white agouti ground in silvered colors). Kinked or otherwise deformed tail. Blue eyes. Incorrect number of toes. Long hair. Due to the spotted patched tabby (torbie) cats resulting from the sex-linked O gene, no reds, creams, or torbies are allowed. Very rufous cinnamons and fawns may resemble red or cream, but never produce female torbies.

OCICAT COLORS

CHOCOLATE: chocolate spotting on a warm ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with chocolate. Paw pads: chocolate-pink. Tail tip: chocolate.

CINNAMON: cinnamon spotting on a warm ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with cinnamon. Paw pads: pink or rose. Tail tip: cinnamon.

BLUE: blue spotting on a pale blue or buff agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark blue. Paw pads: blue. Tail tip: blue.

LAVENDER: lavender spotting on a pale buff or ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark lavender. Paw pads: lavender-pink. Tail tip: lavender.

FAWN: fawn spotting on a pale ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed in fawn. Paw pads: pink. Tail tip: fawn.

EBONY SILVER: black spotting on a pale silver/white agouti ground. Nose leather: brick red rimmed with black. Paw pads: black. Tail tip: black.

CHOCOLATE SILVER: chocolate spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with chocolate. Paw pads: chocolate-pink. Tail tip: chocolate.

CINNAMON SILVER: cinnamon spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with cinnamon. Paw pads: pink or rose. Tail tip: cinnamon.

BLUE SILVER: blue spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark blue. Paw pads: blue. Tail tip: blue.

LAVENDER SILVER: lavender spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark lavender. Paw pads: lavender-pink. Tail tip: lavender.

FAWN SILVER: fawn spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed in fawn. Paw pads: pink. Tail tip: fawn.

GENERAL: the Ocicat is a medium to large, well-spotted agouti cat of moderate type. It displays the look of an athletic animal: well-muscled and solid, graceful and lithe, yet with a fullness of body and chest. It is alert to its surroundings and shows great vitality. There are twelve accepted Ocicat colors divided into eight color classes with all specimens possessing darker spots which appear in deep contrast to a lighter background. The determining factor in answering any and all questions as to the correct color of an Ocicat will be the color of the tail tip without any comparison to the color of other body markings (see Ocicat colors). Each hair (except on the tip of tail) has several bands of color. It is where these bands fall together that a thumbprint shaped spot is formed. This powerful, athletic, yet graceful spotted cat is particularly noted for its "wild" appearance.

HEAD: the skull is a modified wedge showing a slight curve from muzzle to cheek, with a visible, but gentle, rise from the bridge of the nose to the brow. The muzzle is broad and well defined with a suggestion of squareness and in profile shows good length. The chin is strong and the jaw firm with a proper bite. The moderate whisker pinch is not too severe. The head is carried gracefully on an arching neck. An allowance is made for jowls on mature males.

EARS: alert, moderately large, and set so as to corner the upper, outside dimensions of the head. If an imaginary horizontal line is drawn across the brow, the ears should be set at a 45 degree angle, i.e., neither too high nor too low. When they occur, ear tufts extending vertically from the tips of the ears are a bonus.

EYES: large, almond shaped, and angling slightly upwards toward the ears with more than the length of an eye between the eyes.

TORSO: solid, hard, rather long-bodied with depth and fullness but never coarse. The Ocicat is a medium to large cat with substantial bone and muscle development, yet with an athletic appearance, and should have surprising weight for its size. There should be some depth of chest with ribs slightly sprung, the back is level to slightly higher in the rear, and the flank reasonably level. Preference is given to the athletic, powerful, and lithe, and objection taken to the bulky or coarse. It should be noted that females are generally smaller than males. The overall structure and quality of this cat should be of greater consideration than mere size alone.

LEGS and FEET: legs should be of good substance and well-muscled, medium-long, powerful and in good proportion to the body. Feet should be oval and compact with five toes in front and four in back, with size in proportion to legs.

TAIL: fairly long, medium-slim with only a slight taper and with a dark tip.

COAT TEXTURE: short, smooth and satiny in texture with a lustrous sheen. Tight, close-lying and sleek, yet long enough to accommodate the necessary bands of color. There should be no suggestion of woolliness.

TICKING: all hairs except the tip of the tail are banded. Within the markings, hairs are tipped with a darker color, while hairs in the ground color are tipped with a lighter color.

COAT COLOR: all colors should be clear and pleasing. The lightest color is usually found on the face around the eyes, and on the chin and lower jaw. The darkest color is found on the tip of the tail. Contrast is scored separately.

CONTRAST: distinctive markings should be clearly seen from any orientation. Those on the face, legs, and tail may be darker than those on the torso. Ground color may be darker on the saddle and lighter on the underside, chin, and lower jaw. Penalties should be given if spotting is faint or blurred, though it must be remembered that pale colors will show less contrast than darker ones.

EYE COLOR: all eye colors except blue are allowed. There is no correspondence between eye color and coat color. Depth of color is preferred.

PATTERN: there is an intricate tabby "M" on the forehead, with markings extending up over the head between the ears and breaking into small spots on the lower neck and shoulders. Mascara markings are found around the eyes and on cheeks. Rows of round spots run along the spine from shoulder blades to tail. The tail has horizontal brush strokes down the top, ideally alternating with spots, and a dark tip. Spots are scattered across the shoulders and hindquarters, extending as far as possible down the legs. There are broken bracelets on the lower legs and broken necklaces at the throat - the more broken the better. Large well-scattered, thumbprint-shaped spots appear on the sides of the torso, with a subtle suggestion of a classic tabby pattern - a spot circled by spots in place of the bull's eye. The belly is also well spotted. The eyes are rimmed with the darkest coat color and surrounded by the lightest color. Penalties should be given for elongated spots following a mackerel pattern.

DISQUALIFY: white locket or spotting, or white anywhere other than around eyes, nostrils, chin, and upper throat (except white agouti ground in silvered colors). Kinked or otherwise deformed tail. Blue eyes. Incorrect number of toes. Long hair. Due to the spotted patched tabby (torbie) cats resulting from the sex-linked O gene, no reds, creams, or torbies are allowed. Very rufous cinnamons and fawns may resemble red or cream, but never produce female torbies.

OCICAT COLORS

CHOCOLATE: chocolate spotting on a warm ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with chocolate. Paw pads: chocolate-pink. Tail tip: chocolate.

CINNAMON: cinnamon spotting on a warm ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with cinnamon. Paw pads: pink or rose. Tail tip: cinnamon.

BLUE: blue spotting on a pale blue or buff agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark blue. Paw pads: blue. Tail tip: blue.

LAVENDER: lavender spotting on a pale buff or ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark lavender. Paw pads: lavender-pink. Tail tip: lavender.

FAWN: fawn spotting on a pale ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed in fawn. Paw pads: pink. Tail tip: fawn.

EBONY SILVER: black spotting on a pale silver/white agouti ground. Nose leather: brick red rimmed with black. Paw pads: black. Tail tip: black.

CHOCOLATE SILVER: chocolate spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with chocolate. Paw pads: chocolate-pink. Tail tip: chocolate.

CINNAMON SILVER: cinnamon spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with cinnamon. Paw pads: pink or rose. Tail tip: cinnamon.

BLUE SILVER: blue spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark blue. Paw pads: blue. Tail tip: blue.

LAVENDER SILVER: lavender spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark lavender. Paw pads: lavender-pink. Tail tip: lavender.

FAWN SILVER: fawn spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed in fawn. Paw pads: pink. Tail tip: fawn.