I had an Ocicat for almost 17 years. She was born January 1991, we got her from the breeder in October 1991 and she died (stomach cancer) this past September. She was only "pet quality", not "show quality" because the spots on one side ran together to form stripes.
For most of her life she was the junior cat in a two-cat household (Pixel was Siamese). After Pixel died she was our only cat; we did not want to get another for a while, which was a good decision, as when we moved to Orlando we were able to get an apartment that would allow only one pet.
She was mostly Judy's cat, not mine. For several months after Judy died in November 2004 I thought I would lose Sheeba also, but she ended up the last few years accepting me. Shortly after mving to my house I did get another cat, so she had a couple of years as being Senior Cat.
But she was always very sweet, and her fur was much softer than for most cats.