1	Ocicats
2	History In 1964 the original Ocicat was the unexpected result of an experimental breeding which attempted to produce an Aby-pointed 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!
3	"The Ocicat is a medium..." 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 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.
4	"If there is a hidden..." If there is a hidden message in the Ocicat standard, it is about BALANCE. The term “athletic” is used 4 different times in our standard The Ocicat, whether male or female and regardless of total size and weight, is a WELL BALANCED, ATHLETIC and MUSCULAR cat. Females are normally smaller than the males and this is perfectly acceptable
5	"Body 25 points" Body 25 points Head 25 points Coat and Color 25 points Pattern 25 points Please note that the body, head, coat and color, and pattern are equal in point value.
6	"Skull 5 points" Skull 5 points Muzzle 10 points Ears 5 points Eyes 5 points
7	SKULL AND MUZZLE
8	SKULL AND MUZZLE
9	SKULL AND MUZZLE - PROFILE
10	SKULL AND MUZZLE BREED COUNCIL NOTES Please note that our standard uses the word “SUGGESTION OF SQUARENESS” We DO NOT want a perfectly square or boxy muzzle. Neither do we want a severe whisker pinch. The emphasis is on sufficient length and breadth to suggest squareness without being excessive.
11	EYES Eyes are large, almond shaped, and angling slightly upwards toward the ears with more than the length of an eye between the eyes.
12	EYE COLOR All eye colors except blue are allowed. There is no correspondence between eye color and coat color. Depth of color is preferred
13	EARS Ears are to be alert, moderately large, and set so as to corner the upper, outside dimensions of the head. When they occur, ear tufts extending vertically from the tips of the ears are a bonus. 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.
14	BODY BODY (25) 15 .. Torso 5 .. Legs and Feet 5 .. Tail
15	TORSO TORSO: solid, hard, rather long-bodied with depth and fullness. 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.
16	BREED COUNCIL NOTES Regarding Size – Our standard states Medium to Large. Although our standard still gives 5 points to “Size” please be aware that this is the result of a split vote of the breed council when the discussion was whether or not to award the 5 points to torso or pattern. The Ocicat in perfect show condition may not APPEAR impressively large. However, they should display a solid, well-muscled feel. Bone and muscle should be FELT as well as SEEN. The ocicat is a GRACEFUL AND ATHLETIC cat. NEVER BULKY or COURSE. Ocicats which are OVERWEIGHT, FLABBY or with POOR MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT are not considered to be in proper condition.
17	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
18	TAIL Tail should be fairly long, medium-slim with only a slight taper and with a dark tip Again --- the emphasis is on BALANCE BE AWARE that the final determinant of an ocicat’s color is the TAIL TIP.
19	COAT, COLOR and PATTERN The Ocicat WEARS 50% of the available points to our standard Pattern 25 points Contrast 10 points Texture 5 points Eye Color 5 points Color 5 points
20	PATTERN (25 points) Pattern is the single highest point allotment in our standard. HEAD MARKINGS 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. The eyes are rimmed with the darkest coat color and surrounded by the lightest color.
21	PATTERN 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.
22	PATTERN 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.
23	BREED COUNCIL NOTES Spots are scattered across the shoulders and hindquarters, extending as far down the legs as possible. Some barring over the shoulders is acceptable as long as it does not detract from the overall spotted look of the cat. Our standard calls for the SUGGESTION of a bull's-eye. Spots should be clear and distinct and thumb print SHAPED with an obvious clear delineation between spot edge and background Our standard DOES NOT call for random spotting as seen on the Mau. The suggestion of a bull's-eye should be evident on a well spotted cat
24	CONTRAST (10 points) 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.
25	CONTRAST - DILUTES Dilute coloration will not show as much FLASH as dominant, but spotting to background contrast should be clear and distinct!
26	CONTRAST – DILUTE SILVERS Dilute Silvers may appear flashier than non silvers dilutes due to the white undercoat related to the inhibition of the background color Contrast – regardless of color needs to be based on clarity and distinction from the background – not comparatively between color classes
27	TEXTURE The ocicat coat should be 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.
28	COAT COLOR You will note we left coat color until last. The reason being is although it is only 5 points, it will take the longest to explain In general, all colors should be clear and pleasing. The ocicat standard states NO PREFERENCE for any given shade within each of our colors. All are equally acceptable as long as they are “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.
29	COAT COLOR BASICS Our basic dominant colors are Tawny (the genetic equivalent to brown tabby) Chocolate Cinnamon Each of these colors is also represented in its dilute Blue Lavender Fawn All 6 of these colors also has a silver equivalent Ebony Silver Chocolate Silver Cinnamon Silver Blue Silver Lavender Silver Fawn Silver
30	COAT COLOR Each of our colors have a wide range of shading within. Tawny can range in spotting from a dark brown to a coal black Chocolates can range from a dark brown to a rich reddish brown Cinnamons can range from the rich mahogany of cinnamon bark to a nearly orange red If that wasn’t enough variety --- some breeders chose to work to increase the level of rufousing or warmth of the back ground while allowing others to focus on the colder shades and varieties and this also adds shades to our spotting factors within each color classification based on the level of background “warmth” preferred/achieved.
31	TAWNY Black or dark brown spotting on a ruddy or bronze agouti ground. Nose leather: brick red rimmed with black. Paw pads: black or seal. Tail tip: black. All of these cats are tawnies. All are Grand Champions Non of these cats is the exact same shade! All are correct per the standard for color Remember our standard does not give a shade preference. It simply states “Clear and Pleasing”.
32	CHOCOLATE Chocolate spotting on a warm ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with chocolate. Paw pads: chocolate-pink. Tail tip: chocolate The Spotting and darker markings range from a rich russet with hot copper tones to the deep dark browns of antique mahogany furniture As in tawny, our standard does not give a shade preference. It simply states “Clear and Pleasing”.
33	CINNAMON The cinnamon color is not to be confused with the sex-linked red of the ASH or Persian. Cinnamon spotting on a warm ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with cinnamon. Paw pads: pink or rose. Tail tip: cinnamon. Remember cinnamon can range from the dark rich color of cinnamon bark to a nearly orange red of a nearly ripe tomato Again - the standard does not give a shade preference. It simply states “Clear and Pleasing”.
34	DILUTES While all ocicats in the show ring exhibit agouti, the amount of melanin or pigment in each hair shaft determines the color intensity. When there is 50% or less melanin in the hair shafts, the result is the “dilute” version of the dominant color Tawny à Blue Chocolate à Lavender Cinnamon à Fawn
35	BLUE Blue spotting on a pale blue or buff agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark blue. Paw pads: blue. Tail tip: blue.
36	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. Shading can be as varied as the dominant counterpart, chocolate. Remember our standard does not give a shade preference. It simply states “Clear and Pleasing”.
37	FAWN Fawn spotting on a pale ivory agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed in fawn. Paw pads: pink. Tail tip: fawn.
38	SILVER VARIAITONS Each of our 6 colors has a silver derivative. The silver is caused by the inhibition of the shaft color on the ground which gives a white undercoat. As the cat is still agouti, one can expect to see a gentle “shading” of the color on the tips of the hairs causing a misting of the base color, but when the coat is divided the white undercoat is evident.
39	EBONY SILVER Black spotting on a pale silver/white agouti ground. Nose leather: brick red rimmed with black. Paw pads: black. Tail tip: black
40	CHOCOLATE SILVER Chocolate spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with chocolate. Paw pads: chocolate-pink. Tail tip: chocolate. The spotting and darker markings range from a rich russet with hot copper tones to the deep dark browns of antique mahogany furniture
41	CINNAMON SILVER Cinnamon spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with cinnamon. Paw pads: pink or rose. Tail tip: cinnamon. Remember cinnamon can range from the dark rich color of cinnamon bark to a nearly orange red of a nearly ripe tomato
42	BLUE SILVER Blue spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark blue. Paw pads: blue. Tail tip: blue
43	LAVENDER SILVER Lavender spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed with dark lavender. Paw pads: lavender-pink. Tail tip: lavender.
44	FAWN SILVER Fawn spotting on a white agouti ground. Nose leather: pink rimmed in fawn. Paw pads: pink. Tail tip: fawn.
45	Disqualifications If the following traits are observed, the cat should be disqualified 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. Some cinnamons and fawns may resemble red or cream, but never produce female torbies.
46	NOT ADDRESSED IN THE STANDARD The Ocicat Breed Council has chosen not to address in any form the following coat coloration issues which may be addressed in other breed standards. Tarnish (as seen on silvers) Mouse Coat
47	WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION