Wednesday 28 October 2009

ABC Wednesday Round 5 - O is for Ocicats

Winston and Monty as kittens, still growing into their ears
O is for Ocicats. The Ocicat is a 'man-made' breed, the result of an American breeder trying to create an Aby-pointed Siamese. She crossed an Abyssinian with a Siamese and one of the kittens was spotted, looking rather like an Ocelot. Her daughter remarked on this and so the kitten was called an Ocicat. He was never bred from - in fact he was neutered - but spotty kittens from subsequent litters were kept and bred. Outcrosses were made to American Shorthair cats to introduce the silver gene and greater body substance. Consequently there is a fairly large and diverse gene pool and Ocicats are not subject to the inherited problems of more selectively-bred cat breeds. It is permissible to breed them with Abssinians and this again increases the gene pool. Monty curls up with Frodo

Winston relaxes with Jenna

Monty with his favourite dog

Winston about to join Monty in Dominie's bed
A litter of Ocicat kittens can contain kittens of Abyssinian appearance, referred to as 'mountain lions', the expected spotted striped kittens and those with a classic tabby marking.
Ocicats are strong athletic cats and are heavier than they look.
Our two, not related, are neutered chaps. Winston is chocolate and Monty is chocolate silver.They are very dog-like in their interaction with humans and are extremely affectionate. They live very happily with our dogs and can often be found curled up with one. Monty particularly likes Jenna and frequently seeks her out.
Gillian's Foxy enjoying Monty's company. Foxy's own cat in Dorset won't tolerate such behaviour!
They don't always sleep together and sometimes squabble but usually they are the best of friends.
Thank you to Mrs Nesbitt for hosting this meme. Why not visit her here for other interpretations of the letter 'O'.

21 comments:

  1. Adorable kitties! Beautiful captures of them snuggling with the sweet dogs! Those are precious photos of precious moments!

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  2. Oh, I love your post for the O day! And I love Monty and Winston! Your photos are delightful! Love the ones of the dogs and cats sleeping together -- how cool is that!!! Such fun!

    Have a great day, Jabblog!

    Sylvia

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  3. So cute:-) Nice pictures, I like the 1. 2 cats!:-)

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  4. What lovely cats. I had never heard of them, but they look very beautiful.
    Good O!

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  5. I have never heard of this breed!
    They are very darling cats too.
    I learn so much on ABC Wednesday.
    Sherry

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  6. Thank you all for your kind comments. I do enjoy reading them.

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  7. What a beautiful breed of cat, the dogs are rather adorable as well.

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  8. Thank you Joy - naturally I agree with you ;-)

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  9. Beautiful animals with an history. Only, I'm forbidden by doctor's order from even touching them.

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  10. Ooh RuneE, I'm sad for you but I do understand :-)

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  11. Lovely exotic looking creatures, - and going further afield to your next posting, the Moon poem is a favourite of mine, from childhood days, as well.

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  12. Ah, I think our school days must have been rather similar ;-)

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  13. They look wonderful cats. Burmese and Ocicat are the two breeds at the top of the list if we ever get another cat.

    It's been ages since we had a kitten and I have been getting broody. This is not likely to change if you keep tempting me with Winston and Monty photos!

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  14. how are we supposed to resist cute cats. snuggling with dogs, no less. not fair!

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  15. Wonderful! I'd never heard of these cats but find them quite fascinating. Thanks for the post!

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  16. Interesting. I'm a big cat person and these photos are precious.

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  17. Oh my, your cats are precious! Blogs continue to educate me. I had never heard of this type of cat. Photos are adorable. I love seeing the cat curled up on top of the doggie. Awww! (I'm so glad I joined ABC Wed. Am finding a lot of interesting blogs!)

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  18. hey jenna
    tell your human to mail me your picture and your message so that you can be featured on Pet Pride all week next week in celebration of your birthday on 06nov09.

    cheers

    bozo
    Pet Pride

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  19. What lovely pictures of handsome cats! We had a Siamese cross once and she was beautiful ... much more dog-like than the average moggy. I like the 'oriental' breeds. Sadly now allergic to cats, so we don't have them anymore.

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  20. could you mail me monty's pic and message to be featured on Pet Pride in celebration of her birthday on 20oct. The pic and message will be featured on Pet Pride starting 15nov till 21nov.
    please mail me at blownmagic@yahoo.co.in

    cheers

    bozo

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