Lifespan	10 – 15 years
Height (at the withers)	Males and Females: 9in – 11in. Generally, male Ocicats are taller than females
Weight	Males: 8.8lb – 15lb, Females: 6.6lb – 8.8lb
Coat	Short, smooth and shiny coat
Color	Tawny, ebony silver, blue, blue silver, chocolate, chocolate silver, lavender, lavender silver, cinnamon, cinnamon silver, fawn, fawn silver
Eye color	Their eyes can be any color except blue
Common health issues	Gingivitis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, anaemia, amyloidosis

The loyal and playful Ocicat loves people and will follow their family from room to room. These cats don’t even mind being picked up and carried or riding on a shoulder! So long as they’re with you, they’re happy. Extroverts by nature, Ocicats are comfortable making friends with guests – especially if it results in them getting more attention and an extra lap to sit in!

Being highly intelligent, the Ocicat is quick to learn new tricks and puzzle toys are a fur-bulous way to keep the occupied and entertained. They also enjoy retrieving toys and learning to walk on a lead! Just be careful putting the Ocicat’s toys away… these clever kitties are capable of figuring out how to open doors and undo latches.

With Siamese ancestors, the Ocicat can be chatty, however they aren’t as loud or demanding as their relatives! In fact, they respond well to verbal correction. While the Ocicat is adaptable, these social cats don’t like being left alone for too long and like the company of another cat or dog if their humans are out often.

The first Ocicat was quite the sur-paw-rise, born as a result of experimental breeding between Abyssinian and Siamese cat breeds.

In 1964, Dr. Virginia Daly, a cat breeder, attempted to create a Siamese cat with Abyssinian points. First, she mated a male ruddy Abyssinian with a female, seal point Siamese, which resulted in kittens with Abyssinian looks. Following this, she mated a half-Abyssinian female from the previous litter with a Siamese cat, which resulted in the Siamese cat breed with Abyssinian points.

After repetitive breeding, Dr. Daly spotted an ivory-colored kitten with golden spots on it, she named this kitten “Tonga” and he was given the nickname of “Ocicat”, due to his resemblance to the Ocelot cat breed. Tonga was neutered and then sold as a pet.

With the interest of the renowned geneticist Dr. Clyde Keeler, Dr. Daly repeated the breeding in 1980 to produce more Ocicats! These kitties gained recognition by the Cat Fanciers Association in 1987.