AY Honors/Cats - Advanced/Answer Key
The Ocicat is a new and still-rare breed of cat which has spots resembling a 'wild' cat and the temperament of a domestic animal, named for its resemblance to the ocelot.
Despite its appearance, there is no 'wild' DNA in the Ocicat's genepool. The species is actually a mixture of Siamese and Abyssinian, and later American Shorthairs (silver tabbies) were added to the mix and gave the breed their silver colour, bone structure and distinct markings.
The first breeder of Ocicats was Virginia Daly, of Berkley, Michigan, who attempted to breed an Abyssinian-pointed Siamese in 1964. The first generation of kittens appeared Abyssinian, but the surprising result in the second generation was a spotted kitten, Tonga, nicknamed an 'ocicat' by the breeder's daughter. Tonga was neutered and sold as a pet, but further breedings of his parents produced more spotted kittens, and became the base of a separate Ocicat breeding program. Other breeders joined in and used the same recipe, siamese * aby, and offspring * siamese. Today the ocicat is found all around the world, popular for it's mild temperament but wild appearance.
There are twelve colours approved for the ocicat breed. Tawny, chocolate and cinnamon, their dilutes, blue, lavender and fawn, and all of them with silver: black silver (ebony silver), chocolate silver, cinnamon silver, blue silver, lavender silver and fawn silver.
External links
Template:Commons Associations: and their Ocicat Breed Profiles
- AACE - Breed Profile - American Association of Cat Enthusiasts
- CFA - Breed Profile - Cat Fanciers' Association
- TICA - Breed Profile (PDF) - The International Cat Association
- FIFé - Breed Profile - Fédération Internationale Féline
- ACFA - Breed Profile - The American Cat Fanciers' Association
Miscellaneous:
