The ocicat’s health as a breed has been a very touchy issue this past year. The main issue is whether or not PRA is a genetic disorder we should worry about for ocicats. Abyssinians as a breed have been issued a health program by SVERAK in order to limit this genetic defect. Since the ocicats are descendants of abys, there is a fear that PRA might also be a risk for the ocicat.
 |
PRA (Progressive Renal Atrophy) |
|
This genetic disorder causes the degeneration of retinal cells in a cat’s eye, leading to eventual blindness. Affected cats have normal vision at birth. A recessive form of the disorder that has been found in Persian cats leads to blindness around the age of 12 to 15 weeks. Another form gives symptoms around the age of 18-24 months followed by a severe degeneration around the age of 3-4 years. Genetic mutations are thought to cause this disorder. |
 |
As such, we would like to state that we firmly believe the ocicat breed to be healthy. Of course this does not stop a cat from getting sick: what we mean is that, as far as we know, the ocicat is free of genetic diseases. While some breeders disagree, others (including us) are willing to step forward and take a clear stance that ocicats are healthy creatures.
| Breeders attesting to the basic health of the ocicat | |||||
 |
S * GoesWild | |
S * Lis-Katt | |
S * Ten Points |
|
S * John-Johns | |
S * LättaTassar | |
S * Tinnetassens |
|
S * Kattkompisarna | |
S * Skiligens | |
S * Tonga-Toys |
|
S * Lejonkattens | |
S * Älebräckes | |
S * Vargagården's |
|
S * Wild Turf's | |
S * Wagga-Wagga's | |
(N) TachéOci's |
|
(N) Libitum | ||||
That being said, we will NOT use a PRA gene-bearing cat in our breeding. We will also strongly recommend against using a bearer for breeding purposes to our buyers. ALL our breeding cats will be tested by blood sample before being used in our breeding program. So far Silvana has tested negative and Blue is hereditarily free of the mutation (this means both her parents were tested and found to not bear the faulty gene).
Since so many breeders agree that ocicats are basically healthy, why the controversy? In 2008, PRA was discovered in ocicats for the first time. All five found bearers are related to each other. In 2009, another bearer was found: this cat is also a relative to the five bearers.
So far, many ocicats have been tested and the few bearers who have been found have all been related. This is why we believe that there is no need for concern for the breed. We do not condone using bearers for breeding, but nothing so far indicates the need for a health program such as SVERAK has started. We definitely believe in keeping an eye on the situation, but the fact remains that for a health program to be waranted, there must be a spreading or already wide-spread disease or mutation. We will of course follow SVERAK’s decisions and rules, regardless of our personal opinion.
For the sake of full disclosure, an open health register for ocicats was started. Here one can see many ocicats who have been tested as well as their test results. Of course, in order for the results to be shown on the website, the cat owners must send in their results themselves and as such, the register does not show all tested ocicats. But it is a good indication of how well-spread the mutation is (or not) and we fully support this effort.