Introducing the Ocicat
Ocicats are highly interactive, intelligent and people-oriented. They will readily talk to their human companions, often loudly, and although their voices are not as piercing as their Siamese cousins, they can certainly make themselves heard! They will delight in finding their way past or through any obstacle that you try to place between you and them, and this includes doors. If it is possible for an Oci to open a door that stands between them and someone on the other side, they will do so.
Ocis are very inquisitive and sociable, and like to be involved in everything that is going on. If you open a cupboard, expect your Oci to have its head in there with you to check what interesting things it can see. If you are hoovering, expect your Oci either to be running along behind the hoover or riding around on your shoulder. If you are watching TV, expect your Oci either to be jumping up and down on you to persuade you that you want to play instead or playing with your other cats - don't expect your Oci to be a lap cat who will sit quietly on you for a cuddle!
They may not be likely to come for a long cuddle, but they do enjoy contact, and will jump up onto any handy surface to get you to stroke them. They will also come and cuddle up with you in bed: for all they behave like sprites whilst awake, they are very cute come bed-time, when cuddling becomes a permissible activity!
They tend to be very food-driven, and a cat biscuit is unlikely to be caught by any other cat before an Oci can get to it. They are incredibly fast, agile and athletic and love to run around, and also have a very high 'prey drive', so laser-pointers make fantastic Oci toys: if you play with a more traditional feather toy or similar, they are not likely to let go once they have it in their jaws! They are also highly trainable, and can be taught to play fetch and show off various other tricks.
Ocis are often described as being 'dog-like' in their behaviours, and their interactive intelligence is certainly reminiscent of a dog at times, not to mention their ability to walk nicely on a lead. They have, however, also retained the inherent self-containment of the cat, and are quite prepared to ignore you if they think you have misbehaved in some way. That is, until you get the food tub out!
If you think the above sounds like the 'perfect' cat, that's because they are, if you are looking for a highly interactive, intelligent and talkative 'sprite' to brighten up every moment of the day. If this all sounds a bit much, and you would prefer something more understated, cuddly and docile, read the description of the Tiffanie, and see if that sounds more your kind of thing.