Ocicat Picture

A man-made spotted (tabby) cat of presence and athleticism. This is a purebred cat and one of the rarer cat breeds. It looks like a wild cat hybrid but is, in fact a three way domestic cat hybrid: Siamese, American Shorthair and Abyssinian. However, from 1986 until 2005 breeders did not use the Siamese and American Shorthair in breeding programs and today (2011) the Abyssinian is not used either. This Helmi photograph gives the impression that this is a substantial cat and it is a larger than average cat. It has, what breeders call, a "moderate" appearance. This means not bred to extreme to create a slightly abnormal appearance. The moderate look probably originates in the desire to keep this cat breed looking like a wildcat. The original Ocicat, Tonga, was so named because he looked like a ocelot, a small but powerful and well patterned wildcat. Read more and see more pictures...