Ocicat Cat Names, Names For Ocicat Kittens, Page 5

The Ocicat looks like a small ocelot. It contains zero wildcat DNA. CFA's breed standard states the point explicitly: the Ocicat is '100% domestic hybrid' with no wild ancestry, despite the spotted coat, the brow ridge, and the bull's-eye flank pattern that suggest otherwise.

The breed traces to a single Michigan litter in 1964. Virginia Daly was trying to breed a Siamese with Abyssinian-coloured points. The litter produced an unexpected spotted kitten. Daly's daughter said he looked like a baby ocelot, so they named him Tonga, and 'oci-' stuck as the breed prefix. Daly later added American Shorthair to the foundation gene pool — TICA's breed page is direct about why: 'for the boning and substance — and to introduce silver.' So the Ocicat is built from three fully domestic breeds (Abyssinian, Siamese, American Shorthair), nothing else.

The path to recognition was unusually slow. CFA registered the breed in 1966 but did not grant Championship status until 1987 — over two decades — partly because Daly's personal circumstances paused breed development in the early 1980s. TICA was faster, granting Championship in August 1986. GCCF in the UK granted Preliminary in 1997 and Championship in 2006.

The coat carries 12 recognised colour variations: tawny, chocolate, cinnamon, blue, lilac, fawn, plus silver versions of each. Spots are thumb-print shaped, randomly distributed on the body but typically forming bull's-eye patterns on the flanks. The temperament is the second counter-intuitive layer — Ocicats greet strangers, learn fetch, walk on leash, and respond to voice commands. Owners often pick names typically associated with dogs precisely because the cat behaves like one.

Name ideas, then. Tonga (the founder). Domino, Dot, Pip, Pebble, Polka (the spot pattern). Ocelot, Cheetah, Lynx, Bobcat, Serval (the wildcat-look-but-not joke). Rex, Duke, Buddy, Max, Charlie (the dog-temperament wink).