OCICAT
The Ocicat was developed accidentally in the early 1960s by Virginia Daly, a Berkeley, Michigan, breeder. Daly worked with several breeds and was known as she put it, to experiment with “rare, unusual, nearly developed varieties.” This experimentation did not always sit well with other breeders, one of whom said to Daly one day, “The next thing you’ll be making will be an Abyssinian-pointed Siamese.” Until then, said Daly, “I had never dreamed of such a thing, but I decided to take up the challenge.” Daly bred a seal point Siamese female to a ruddy Abyssinians, but they carried the recessive gene for the Siamese pattern. When Daly bred one of them a female named She -to a Siamese, She produced the Aby-pointed Siamese that Daly had been looking for. She also produced a large, ivory cat with bright, golden spots and copper eyes. Daly name the cat Tonga. Daly’s daughter called Tonga an Ocicat because of his resemblance to an Ocelot.
