Ocicat activity, from daily play to leash training

The Ocicat looks like a small wildcat and behaves more like a sociable, trainable house cat. According to the Cat Fanciers' Association, many will fetch, walk on a leash and learn voice cues, and the breed does best in a home with other animals or someone around during the day. The CFA also describes Ocicats as energetic but not overly active, with a base activity level lower than that of an Abyssinian or Siamese. An Ocicat needs daily interactive play and company more than it needs athletic training.

There is no wild blood in the breed. The first Ocicat, a spotted kitten named Tonga, was born in 1964 from an attempt to cross an Abyssinian with a Siamese, and the breed was later built from those two breeds and the American Shorthair. The standard calls for a medium to large, well-muscled cat that feels heavy for its size, with females generally smaller than males.

Play and daily activity

Play in an indoor cat is mostly hunting behavior: watching, stalking, chasing, pouncing and catching. Short, frequent sessions match how cats hunt better than one long workout. A useful day for an adult Ocicat includes:

Food puzzles deserve a place in any indoor cat's routine. A review for veterinary professionals in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery describes food puzzles as a way to use a cat's instinct to work for food, with case reports of health and behavior benefits. The authors note that research on them is still new, so the evidence is mostly practical experience rather than trials.

Fetch and leash training

Fetch

Many Ocicats retrieve with little teaching. A hallway limits where the toy can go. Toss a small foam ball or a crumpled paper ball, and reward the cat with a treat or another throw when it brings the toy back toward you. Keep sessions short and finish before the cat walks away, so the game stays interesting. Treats used in training come out of the day's food.

Leash training

Leash walking suits confident cats and should be dropped for a cat that crouches, pulls to hide or tries to back out of its gear. Progress at the cat's pace:

1. The walking jacket indoors. Use a snug, escape-resistant vest-style walking jacket made for cats. Put it on for a few minutes at mealtime or with treats, and take it off before the cat gets upset.
2. A light leash indoors. Clip on the leash and follow the cat around the house, keeping the leash slack.
3. A quiet outdoor space. A closed garden or yard, with no dogs or traffic. Let the cat sniff and sit.
4. Short walks. Lengthen trips gradually, always with a way back inside. Keep vaccinations and parasite control up to date for any cat that goes outdoors.

Health points to watch

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM thickens the heart muscle, is common in cats of all kinds and is often silent. When a veterinary team examined 103 apparently healthy pet cats with echocardiography, 15 had HCM. There is no DNA test for HCM in Ocicats, and little published data on whether the breed is more at risk than other cats. A heart murmur, a gallop rhythm, fast breathing at rest, open-mouth breathing after play, fainting or sudden hind-leg weakness needs prompt veterinary attention. Breeders may screen cats with an echocardiogram. A cat diagnosed with HCM should have its exercise discussed with the vet.

Amyloidosis. Two of the Ocicat's founding breeds carry inherited forms of amyloidosis, in which an abnormal protein builds up in organs. Abyssinians have a familial form that affects the kidneys. In Siamese and Oriental Shorthair cats, amyloid builds up mainly in the liver and thyroid, signs usually appear between 1 and 7 years of age, and the disease is fatal. How often it occurs in Ocicats has not been well studied. Weight loss, increased thirst, poor appetite or lethargy in a young adult Ocicat justifies blood and urine tests.

Teeth. Gum disease is common in cats of every breed. Tooth brushing, a yearly dental check, and attention to bad breath, drooling or chewing on one side keep it from progressing unnoticed.

Feeding a muscular, active cat

Ocicats are heavy for their size because of muscle, so weight alone can mislead. Judge by feel: ribs easy to feel under a thin covering, a waist behind the ribs, and no hanging belly pad that has grown over time.

The Merck Veterinary Manual gives resting energy requirement as 70 × (body weight in kg) raised to the power 0.75. A neutered adult cat needs about 1.2 times that, an intact adult 1.4 times, and an obesity-prone cat about 1.0 times. For a 4 kg Ocicat that is roughly 240 kcal a day neutered and 280 intact. For a 6 kg cat, about 320 neutered and 380 intact. These are starting points to adjust by body shape.

• Animal protein. Cats need taurine in the diet, and Merck notes that plant proteins contain none. Taurine deficiency causes dilated cardiomyopathy and retinal degeneration. A complete and balanced cat food covers it, so extra taurine is not needed for an HCM worry.
• Meals and play. Several small meals suit cats well. A play session followed by a meal matches the hunt, eat, groom, sleep sequence many cats settle into.
• Water. Wet food raises total water intake. Several water bowls or a fountain away from the food bowl encourage drinking.
• Treats. Count training rewards and fetch treats as part of the day's food.

Sources

1. Ocicat breed profile and standard. The Cat Fanciers' Association.
2. Food puzzles for cats: feeding for physical and emotional wellbeing. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2016.
3. Prevalence of cardiomyopathy in apparently healthy cats. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2009.
4. Multi-omic analyses in Abyssinian cats with primary renal amyloid deposits. Scientific Reports, 2021.
5. Complex segregation analysis of familial amyloidosis in Oriental shorthair cats. The Veterinary Journal, 2020.
6. Nutritional requirements of small animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.