St-elmo Ocicats
Ocicats - Exclusive & individual
Wild look with affectionate character
The Ocicat and Ocicat Classic are beautiful athletic and wild looking cats with a gentle, intelligent and playful temperament.
Often described as ‘a dog in cat fur’ they are fun, devoted and the perfect companion.
Whilst some wild looking cats do indeed have wild genes the Ocicats does not. Ocicat genes are from long standing domesticated cats and so they combine to create a lovely, gentle and predictable disposition but with the spotted beauty of the big wild cats, and this makes the Ocicat a very sought after breed.
Ocicats are classed as a rare breed and there are only a handful of breeders in the UK. Our aim is to produce healthy, friendly cats with a low inbreeding ratio by importing new lines from outside the UK to increase the genetic pool whenever possible.
Ocicat & Ocicat Classic History
Whilst the Ocicat could be called a relatively new breed its genetics are from two ancient breeds. In 1964 Virginia Daly, in Michigan USA, hoped to breed a Siamese type cat with the ticked point look of the Abyssinian. She was successful but in her second litter there appeared a distinctive spotted kitten, later named Tonga. In subsequent litters more of these distinctive spotted kittens were born. The spots and physique so resembled the wild ocelot that it inspired the name Ocicat.
Soon after a cross of the Ocicat with the American Shorthair introduced the distinctive silver background giving the 12 colour variations tawny, chocolate, cinnamon, lilac, blue and fawn and again with a silver background. Occasionally a beautiful classic tabby marked kitten appeared in a litter, today in the UK these have been recognised as the sister Aztec breed (Ocicat Classic) and, in the same 12 colours, they are gaining popularity.
Ocicat & Ocicat Classic
breed standard
Ocicats and Ocicat Classics are bred to maintain their distinctive natural wild look and super character. The long athletic, muscular body with a deep chest makes them graceful and agile. The head has a broad muzzle, strong chin on an arching neck and large expressive almond shaped eyes.
Their shiny lustrous coat with its pattern of well defined spots (Ocicat) or tabby markings (Classic), with the ever tempting spotted belly, makes stroking them irresistible. With their keen intelligence and agreeable nature they are the perfect companion.
The Classic Tabby Ocicat
Following introduction of the beautiful classic tabby patterned Ocicats to the UK in the 1980s an increased number these Ocicat Classics were born. Following active breeding to increase their numbers. In 2013 they were fully recognised by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy as a sister breed in their own right.
