OCICAT page 1

OCICAT
Standard of Excellence

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Ocicat is found in many colours with darker spots appearing on a lighter background. There are twelve accepted Ocicat colours divided into five colour 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 colour of an Ocicat will be the colour of the tail tip without any comparison to the colour of other body markings (see Colours). Each hair except - on the tip of the tail – has several bands of colour. It is where these bands fall together that a thumbprint shaped spot is formed.

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. This powerful, athletic, yet graceful, spotted cat is particularly noted for its “wild appearance”.

Head	Shape	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.
	Muzzle	Broad and well defined with a suggestion of squareness and in profile shows good length.
	Chin/Jaw	Strong, jaw firm with a proper bite.
	Whisker Pad	The moderate whisker pinch is not too severe.
Neck		The head is carried gracefully on an arched neck.

Ears Shape Alert, moderately large.
When present, ear tufts extending vertically from the tips of the ears are a bonus.
Placement
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.

Eyes Shape Large, almond in shape, and angled slightly upwards towards the ears, with more than the length of an eye between the eyes.
Colour All eye colours except blue are allowed.
There is no correspondence between eye colour and coat colour.
Intensive colour is preferred.

PAGE 1 OF 6

OCICAT
Standard of Excellence

PAGE 2

Body	Structure	Rather long-bodied, solid, hard, with depth and fullness but never coarse. Substantial bone and muscle development, yet with an athletic appearance. There should be some depth of chest with ribs slightly sprung. The back is level to slightly higher on the rear, and the flanks are reasonable level.
Legs		Medium long, of good substance and well muscled; powerful and in good proportion to the body.
	Paws	Oval and compact, with size in proportion to the legs.
Tail		Fairly long, medium slim with only a slight taper and with a dark tip.
Coat	Structure	Short, smooth and satiny in texture with a lustrous sheen; tight, close-lying and sleek, yet long enough to accommodate the necessary bands of colour. There should be no suggestion of woolliness and length.
	Colour	All colours should be clear and pleasing. The lightest colour is usually found on the face around the eyes, on the chin and lower jaw. The darkest colour is found on the tip of the tail. Contrast is scored separately. Ticking: All hairs except the tip of the tail are banded. Within the markings hairs are tipped with a darker colour, while hairs in the ground colour are tipped with a lighter colour. Markings: 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 colour may be darker on the saddle and lighter on the underside, chin and lower jaw. Penalties should be given if spotting is faint and blurred, though it must be remembered that pale colours will show less contrast than darker ones.
Pattern	Spotted	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 the cheeks. The eyes are rimmed with the darkest coat colour and surrounded by the lightest colour. There are broken necklaces on the throat and broken bracelets on the lower legs – the more the better. Rows of round spots run along the spine from the shoulder blades to the tail. Spots are scattered across the shoulders and hindquarters, extending as far as possible down the legs. Large well scattered thumbprint shaped spots appear on the side of the torso, with a subtle suggestion of a classic tabby pattern - a spot circled by spots in place of the bulls eye. The belly is also well spotted. The tail has horizontal brush strokes down the top; ideally alternating with spots, and ends in a dark tip.

PAGE 2 OF 6

OCICAT
Standard of Excellence

PAGE 3

Remarks

The Ocicat is medium to large in size; it should be noted that females are generally smaller than males.
An allowance is made for jowls in mature males.
The Ocicat should have surprising weight for its size.
The overall structure and quality of this cat should be of greater consideration than merely the size alone.
Preference is given to the athletic, powerful and lithe, and objection made to the bulky or coarse.
No reds, creams or torbies are allowed. Very rufous cinnamon and fawns may resemble red or cream, but never produce female torbies.

Faults Body
Bulky and coarse.

Coat
Faint and blurred markings.
Elongated spots following a mackerel pattern.

Disqualification Eyes
Blue eyes.

Coat
White locket or spotting
White anywhere other than around the eyes, nostrils, chin and upper throat – except white agouti ground in silvered colours.
Long hair.

Body
Kinked or otherwise deformed tail.
Incorrect number of toes.

SCALE OF POINTS
Total 100 points
Head (incl. skull, muzzle, ears & eyes – shape & colour) 30
Body (incl. torso, legs, feet & tail) 25
Coat (incl. colour, texture & contrast) 20
Pattern 25

RECOGNISED COLOURS:
Tawny, Blue, Chocolate, Lavender, Cinnamon, Fawn.
Silvers in Black (Ebony), Blue, Chocolate, Lavender, Cinnamon, Fawn.

ALLOWABLE OUTCROSSES:
Selected Breed Registration rules apply.
Jungala (Fully intermateable). All spotted progeny registered as Ocicats and all Classic patterned registered as Jungala.

PAGE 3 OF 6

OCICAT
Standard of Excellence

PAGE 4

TAWNY
Coat Colour Black or dark brown markings on a ruddy or bronze agouti ground.
Nose Leather Brick red rimmed with black.
Paw Pads Black or Seal
Tail Tip Black

BLUE
Coat Colour Blue markings on a pale blue or buff agouti ground.
Nose Leather Pink rimmed with dark blue.
Paw Pads Blue
Tail Tip Blue

CHOCOLATE
Coat Colour Chocolate markings on a warm ivory agouti ground.
Nose Leather Pink rimmed with chocolate.
Paw Pads Chocolate-pink
Tail Tip Chocolate

LAVENDER
Coat Colour Lavender markings on a pale buff or ivory agouti ground.
Nose Leather Pink rimmed with dark lavender.
Paw Pads Lavender-pink.
Tail Tip Lavender

CINNAMON
Coat Colour Cinnamon markings on a warm ivory agouti ground.
Nose Leather Pink rimmed with cinnamon.
Paw Pads Pink or rose.
Tail Tip Cinnamon.

PAGE 4 OF 6

OCICAT
Standard of Excellence

PAGE 5

FAWN

Coat Colour	Fawn markings on a pale ivory agouti ground.
Nose Leather	Pink rimmed with fawn.
Paw Pads	Pink.
Tail Tip	Fawn.

SILVERS

EBONY SILVER
Coat Colour Black markings on a pale silver/white agouti ground.
Nose Leather Brick red rimmed with black.
Paw Pads Black.
Tail Tip Black.

BLUE SILVER
Coat Colour Blue markings on a white agouti ground.
Nose Leather Pink rimmed with dark blue.
Paw Pads Blue.
Tail Tip Blue.

CHOCOLATE SILVER
Coat Colour Chocolate markings on a white agouti ground.
Nose Leather Pink rimmed with chocolate.
Paw Pads Chocolate-pink.
Tail Tip Chocolate.

LAVENDER SILVER
Coat Colour Lavender markings on a white agouti ground.
Nose Leather Pink rimmed with dark lavender.
Paw Pads Lavender-pink.
Tail Tip Lavender.

PAGE 5 OF 6

OCICAT
Standard of Excellence

PAGE 6

CINNAMON SILVER

Coat Colour	Cinnamon markings on a white agouti ground.
Nose Leather	Pink rimmed with cinnamon.
Paw Pads	Pink or rose.
Tail Tip	Cinnamon.

FAWN SILVER
Coat Colour Fawn markings on a white agouti ground.
Nose Leather Pink rimmed with fawn.
Paw Pads Pink.
Tail Tip Fawn.

PAGE 6 OF 6