General |
Appearance |
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". |
Size |
Medium to large. |
Head |
Shape |
The skull is a modified
wedge showing a slight curve from the muzzle to the cheeks,
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 with a firm jaw with
a proper bite. |
Whisker pad |
The moderate whisker pinch
is not to severe. |
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 45° angle, i.e. neither too high nor
to 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. |
Color |
All eye colors except blue
are allowed.
There is no correspondence between the eye color and the
coat color.
Intensive color is preferred. |
Neck |
|
The head is carried
gracefully on an arched neck. |
Body |
Structure |
Rather long-bodied, solid,
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 reasonably level. |
Legs |
|
Medium long, of good
substance and well muscled, powerful and in good proportion
to the body. |
|
Paws |
Oval and compact, with size
proportion to the legs. |
Tail |
|
Fairy long, medium slim with
only a slight taper and with a darker 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 color.
There should be no suggestions of woolliness and length. |
Color |
All colors should be clear
and pleasing.
The lightest color is usually found on the face around the
eyes, on the chin and lower jaw. The darkest color 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 color, while
hairs in the ground color are tipped with a lighter color.
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 color 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 colors will show less
contrast than dark ones.
For darker varieties refer to following tables. |
Pattern |
|
The pattern is that of a
spotted cat, for the general description of the spotted
pattern refer to the General Part. Here only the features of
the pattern which are characteristic of this breed are
described.
The markings on the head are the same as for spotted cats.
There are broken necklaces on the throat and broken
bracelets on the lower legs – the more broken 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
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.
CFA breed
Standard
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.
Rows of round spots run along the spine from shoulder blades
totail.
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.
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.
The belly is also well spotted.
The eyes are rimmed with the darkest coat color and
surrounded by the lightest color.
Penalties should be given for elongated spots following a
mackerel pattern.
|
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 objections 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 |
|
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
silver colors.
|