Ocicat Kittens: Adopt or Buy in Australia?

Should you adopt or buy an Ocicat?

It depends on whether the papers matter. An Ocicat is defined by its pedigree; to anyone else it looks like a sturdy spotted tabby. If you want a registered Ocicat with known parents and DNA results, a council-registered breeder is the only route, and you should expect a waiting list. If what you want is the outgoing, play-hungry personality the breed is known for, check the live tabby listings (numbers change daily); the rescue fee covers desexing, microchipping and vaccination.

The RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase encourages prospective owners to adopt from the RSPCA or another reputable animal welfare, rehoming or rescue organisation. If you buy from a breeder, it suggests at a minimum checking they are registered by the relevant authority in your state or territory, visiting the place where the animal was born, and meeting the parents, especially the mother.

Prices and fees read 12 November 2026 on the pages linked below. Reference only, not a quote: breeders and rescues set and change their own prices, so check with them.

Is the Ocicat recognised in Australia?

Yes. The CCCA and the ACF each publish an Ocicat standard, and ANCATS includes the breed in its breed profiles. They agree on the look but differ on breeding partners. Read on 12 November 2026:

Overseas, the Cat Fanciers' Association says the first Ocicat, Tonga, was born in 1964 from an attempt to cross an Abyssinian with a Siamese, that breeders later added the American Shorthair to broaden the gene pool, and that it first accepted the Ocicat for registration in 1966 and advanced it to championship status in 1987. It calls the breed a “100% domestic hybrid”.

What the Australian standard asks for

• Pattern: large, well-scattered thumbprint-shaped spots, with a subtle suggestion of the classic tabby pattern (a spot circled by spots in place of a bull's-eye); the CCCA penalises elongated spots that follow a mackerel pattern.
• Colours: tawny, blue, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon and fawn, each also in silver; red, cream or tortoiseshell is not allowed.
• Body: “solid, hard, rather long”, athletic, with “surprising weight for its size”; the CCCA withholds awards for bulkiness or coarseness and for blue eyes.

For how spotted and ticked patterns work in any cat, see our tabby cat patterns guide.

What does an Ocicat kitten cost in Australia?

No Australian cat council or club publishes an Ocicat guide price, and Cats Victoria (GCCFV) says kitten pricing is up to individual breeders and will vary depending on the breed. In November 2026 we looked for Ocicat catteries on council breeder lists and through search. The Cats Victoria Ocicat list said there were no breeder listings, the NSW CFA directory returned no Ocicat listings, and the Tasmanian Feline Association list had none. The GCCFSA Ocicat page listed two South Australian breeders with their own websites, and we found a Western Australian cattery through a directory listing but no website for it.

One of the GCCFSA breeders publishes an Ocicat price on its own website: $3,200 for a desexed pet or show neuter kitten, read 12 November 2026. The same page showed $2,800 in an April 2026 archive copy, so the figure has been updated this year. The other publishes one price range covering several breeds, which we do not treat as an Ocicat price. One breeder is not a range, so ask several breeders what they charge and what is included. We do not quote prices from listing sites or social media.

Reference figures only, not quotes. Breeders and rescues set and change their own prices and fees, so check with them; RSPCA NSW says its animals are desexed, microchipped, vaccinated and health-checked before adoption. Fees in other states are in our guide to kittens for sale in Australia.

When you ask about a kitten, Cats Victoria suggests asking whether it is desexed, how many vaccinations it has had, whether it is microchipped and whether there is a health guarantee.

Which health tests should an Ocicat breeder show you?

The Australian Cat Federation's minimum testing list (October 2025) names four DNA tests for the Ocicat, and adds that because Ocicats are interbred with Abyssinians (until 31/12/30), testing for all diseases relevant to that breed is recommended.

Sources read 12 November 2026. A test being on the list means breeders should screen for it, not that every line carries it. This is a buying checklist, not veterinary advice; ask your vet about anything that worries you. The ACF also says AB blood group types should be monitored in all breeds. The Abyssinian tests are in our Abyssinian guide.

What is an Ocicat like to live with?

The Cat Fanciers' Association says Ocicats are often described as having a dog-like personality: dedicated to their owners but neither clingy nor demanding, welcoming to strangers, and responsive to training. It says many will fetch, walk on a leash and respond to voice commands, and that they are energetic but not overly active, with a lower base activity level than an Abyssinian or Siamese. Grooming is minimal; the CFA suggests an occasional rubber brush or a chamois wipe-down.

• Good fit: a home with another pet, or someone who works from home; the CFA says Ocicats are not happy being left to themselves for long periods.
• Think twice: if the cat would be alone most of the day with no animal company.
• Not a reason to choose one: allergies. ASCIA says all cat breeds can cause allergies; our hypoallergenic cats guide covers how to test a cat first.

Not sure what kind of cat suits you? Try the what cat breed am I quiz, and see our cost of owning a cat guide for the ongoing costs.

How do you check an Ocicat breeder?

Rescue is not right for everyone. A registered breeder makes sense if you want a kitten with known parents and DNA results, or plan to show. If you go that way:

1. Registration. Ask which council the breeder belongs to: ANCATS, a member body of the Australian Cat Federation, or a member council of the CCCA. Check with that council directly.
2. The pedigree. An Abyssinian in the pedigree can be legitimate under ACF rules; ask which council registered the litter and under which rules.
3. DNA results for both parents: PRA (rdAc), PK deficiency, PKD and Bengal PRA, plus the Abyssinian tests if an Abyssinian is in the line.
4. The mother, in person or on a live video call, before any deposit.
5. Age and paperwork. At least 10 weeks old (ANCATS recommends 12), vaccinated, microchipped and desexed or with desexing agreed in writing. Our kittens for sale guide has each state's rules for kitten ads.

What do Ocicat kitten scams look like?

Scamwatch says scammers set up fake websites, and fake social media and marketplace profiles, to get you to pay for popular breeds and pets that do not exist. Its advice: view the pet in person by visiting the breeder or seller, ask to see the pet on a video call with the breeder, verify the breeder is legitimate and accredited, and compare prices, because a very cheap pet is likely a scam. It also warns about being asked to pay by money order, pre-loaded card, or to several different PayIDs or accounts.

• A spotted kitten sold as an Ocicat without papers. Spotted tabbies and Bengal crosses exist; the breed is in the pedigree.
• “Wild cat” or “ocelot hybrid” claims. The Ocicat is a domestic breed; treat any wild-hybrid sales pitch with suspicion. Our Savannah cats guide explains Australia's position on hybrid cats.
• “Registered” with no council named, or a membership you cannot confirm with that council.
• Copied photos. Run a reverse image search on the kitten photos and search a sentence of the ad.

If you have already paid, contact your bank straight away and report it to Scamwatch.

Where to find an Ocicat type cat to adopt

We do not have an Ocicat breed page, so watch the tabby and Bengal listings and set an alert. A spotted cat in rescue may be a tabby Domestic Shorthair or a Bengal mix, and that is no reason to pass it over: the personality you want is in the individual cat, and a foster carer can tell you about it.

Tabbies in the big cities

• Tabby cats for adoption in Sydney
• Tabby cats for adoption in Melbourne
• Tabby cats for adoption in Brisbane
• Tabby cats for adoption in Perth
• Tabby cats for adoption in Adelaide
• Australia-wide: the tabby page.

Bengal listings

Bengals in Sydney, Bengals in Melbourne, Bengals in Brisbane, Bengals in Perth, Bengals in Adelaide. The Bengal, Abyssinian and American Shorthair pages cover the breeds in and around the Ocicat's background.

Before you apply, the adoption readiness check takes a few minutes, and our guide to adopting a cat in Australia walks through the process.