Maine Coon vs Ocicat

Maine Coons are marketed as a robust, 'naturally healthy' breed, but a lab analysis of thousands of samples found roughly a third of Maine Coons worldwide carry a gene mutation linked to a potentially fatal heart disease, and plenty of kittens are still sold by breeders who have never screened their breeding cats for it.

Despite looking exactly like a wild ocelot, the Ocicat has zero wild-cat ancestry — it's a 100% domestic breed built from Abyssinian, Siamese and American Shorthair — and buyers drawn to the exotic look should also know it's a breed documented to carry a markedly elevated risk of bladder stones and uterine infections.