The Ocicat was originally created as a hybrid, when a Michigan cat breeder named Virginia Daly used an Abyssinian and a Siamese in an attempt to produce Abyssinian-pointed Siamese. Among the offspring in matings between second generation cats with Abyssinian points was a spotted kitten named Tonga.
Tonga was neutered and enjoyed life as a pet but breeders who were attempting to produce more Abyssinian-pointed Siamese cats took note of the beautiful spotted offspring that often occurred, and interest steadily increased until separate breeding programs were formed using the formula Siamese to Abyssinian, then by breeding offspring of the first pairing to Siamese.
The first “official” Ocicat was named Dalai Dotson, and was registered with The Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) in 1966.
Subsequent generations were the result of breedings between Abyssinians, Siamese, and American Shorthair: CFA made an error when recording breed information, originally noting that Ocicats were produced with Abyssinian and American Shorthair parents. When they sought to correct the error and add “Siamese,” they didn’t remove American Shorthair. The inclusion of American Shorthairs in the foundation ultimately led to larger size and added silver to the list of previously existing colors.
CFA granted the Ocicat provisional status in 1986. In 1987, both CFA and TICA granted Ocicats championship status. Today, many cat breed registries recognize the Ocicat.