This cat has a short silky coat. It comes in four different colors; champagne, natural mink, blue mink, platinum mink.
They don’t require a lot of grooming. Combing them once a week will do fine.
Lovers of the Tonkinese can report that the Tonkinese cats received the best traits from the Burmese cats and the Siamese cats.
Tonkinese Character
They are very social cats. These cats are not as noisy as the Siamese cats, but they are vocal and love to chat.
The Tonkinese are active. They do need a lot of space to play.
These are highly intelligent cats.
The Tonkinese cat owners will be well advised to get plenty of cat toys.
If the Tonkinese does not have entertainment from cat toys,the cat is known to be mischievous.
They love to climb and jump to high places. This is a cat that will truly love to have a large cat gym or cat tower to play on.
These cats will not be happy being left alone. They do need to interact with people or other cats.
It certainly would be a great idea to get two Tonkinese instead of one.
The Tonkinese are very friendly and will do great as a family cat.
Tonkinese Cat History
The breeding of these cats started in the 1950’s when American named Milan Greer set out to create what he called “The Golden Siamese” by crossing a Burmese male with the Siamese female.
He went on for five generations and considered the program to be very successful stating that he had created “a prodigy in fur”.
He did not pursue the breeding program any further and other breeders soon started their own programs.
In the 1960’s a Canadian cat breeder named Margaret Conroy was the first ever to register the Tonkinese with a cat club in 1965. She worked extremely hard and did a fabulous job promoting the Tonkinese cats.
The club that has the honor of being the first to recognize the beautiful Tonkinese was the Canadian Cat Association.
This is the reason many consider the Tonkinese cats a Canadian cat breed.
Confusion about the name
There seems to be some confusion as to how the Tonkinese got their name. Some books report that the name was given to the cat breed by Edith Lux who decided to change the name from Golden Siamese to Tonkinese.
The cat was named after the Gulf of Tonkin which is close to Burma and Thailand (Siam) but does not belong to either one of the countries.
Others report that the name was not originally Tonkinese, but was given the name “Tonkanese” in Canada. Tonkanese was known as an island in the South Pacific were half-breeds were treated as equals.
Many do still call the cats Tonkanese , making this explanation plausible. The spelling was only changed when the cats were registered in the United States.
Different cat breeds in the same litter
When two Tonkinese are mated the female will have a litter consisting of different cat breeds, half of the litter are in that case Tonkinese.
The rest of the kittens will be Siamese and Burmese. If a Siamese cat is crossed with a Burmese cat then all the kittens will be Tonkinese.
This is the reason many were reluctant to accept the Tonkinese as a separate cat breed.
All North American societies do accept this cat breed today. The Tonkinese cat breed was accepted by the GCCF (Governing Council of the Cat Fancy) in Great Britain in 1991.
It has also been nicknamed Moon Cat and Canadian Hairless.
Even though most speak of this cat as hairless, the Sphynx actually has a thin layer of fuzz sort of like that of a peach skin.
The Sphynx has large ears and most often few or no whiskers at all. This cat can come in any color.
The body temperature is 4 ° higher than that of other cats. This makes the Sphynx cat feel somewhat like a warm-water bottle.
This cat will need more food than your regular cat.
This is important as it needs the extra food to produce enough energy to keep warm.
An Indoor Cat
The Sphynx is an indoor cat only.
As the cat does not have any fur it can easily get sunburned if exposed to the sun.
This cat gets easily cold and should not be exposed to cold weather. The Sphynx will seek out warm places in the home and may very well take pleasure in sleeping in your bed under the covers.
The Sphynx is a people oriented cat. This cat breed is very affectionate and loves to cuddle.
It also enjoys playing. The Sphynx is a wonderful and loving pet, but quite expensive.
The Sphynx unlike other cats does sweat.
This cat will need extra care. It is recommended to give the Sphynx a bath once a week.
The Sphynx Cat and Allergy
Many believe that this hairless cat is great for people with cat allergy. This is not necessarily true.
What causes most people to have an allergic reaction to cats is the protein called FEL D1 in the cat saliva.
The Siberian cat is known to produce less than normal FEL D1 and is considered hypoallergenic cat.
The Sphynx does produce FEL D1 and people who are allergic to FEL D1 would be better off getting a Siberian cat.
If it is strictly cat hair that causes a problem, the Sphynx certainly is good news.
Sphyx Cat History
From time to time hairless cats have appeared in cat litters.
The first cat that caused the modern day Sphynx cat breeding program to start was a hairless cat named Prune.
Prune was born on January 31, 1966. His mother was an ordinary black and white pet cat named Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Prune belonged to Mrs. Micalwaith living in Toronto, Canada.
A young man heard the rumors of this strange cat. As it happened, his mother, Yania Bawa, was a cat breeder of Siamese cats.
They were absolutely fascinated about this hairless cat.
They obtained both Prune and Elizabeth and set to work to start a breeding program.
Once Prune reached the proper age he was mated back to his mother.
After long and complicated breeding programs, also involving American Shorthair cats crossed with hairless cats, success was attained.
This new cat breed of hairless cats was given the name Sphynx.
The Somali cat is a long-haired version of the Abyssinian cat. These two cat breeds are very similar.
This cat is often nicknamed “The Fox Cat”.
The reason for this is that the Somali cat has long and very bushy tail. In many ways there is a likeness to a fox as far as appearance goes.
The Somali cat comes in many different colors. The coat of the Somali is softer, longer and silkier than that of the Abyssinian cat.
The hairs also have more color-bands per hair.
These cats will benefit from grooming about two to three times a week.
Temperament
The Somali cat is an extremely active cat. This cat loves to run and play.
Considering the high level of activity, this is not a cat you want to choose if you live in a small cramped apartment or if you are elderly.
These cats need lots of space.
For an active family the Somali cat certainly is great fun.
This cat will enjoy the company of another equally active cat.
You may just think about getting two cats. The cats will be happier and you will have twice the fun.
The Somali is talkative. It does love to chat and has a very cute cat voice.
The cat does tend to be a little more reserved than the Abyssinian cat. Once the Somali has accepted you as a true friend, they are very affectionate.
Somali Cat History
This breed started as an “accident” breed. In the 1950’s a few long-haired Abyssinian kittens were born into a litter.
The Abyssinian is a short-haired breed. At first these long-haired Abyssinian cats were neutered and given away as pets.
Then some breeders started to show extra interest in this uniqueness.
Breeders from Australia, New Zealand and the United States loved this fabulous cat and with great enthusiasm started to breed these unusual long-haired Abyssinians.
Long-haired Abyssinians were exchanged and serious breeding programs were soon in progress to improve and establish these cats as a new and independent breed.
It was a cat breeder named Evelyn Mague from the United States who thought up a name for this special breed.
She suggested they be called “Somali Cats” because Somalia is a neighboring country to Ethiopia.
Abyssinia is the old name for Ethiopia. The Abyssinian has its name from Abyssinia.
A Somali belonging to Evelyn Mague named George is by many considered to be the founding father of the Somali cat breed in the United States. George was born in 1967.
The Somali Cat Club was established in 1972. The Somali cat received championship status in 1978 in the United States.
In Britain the Somali cats were not well accepted at first. It was not before countries, like Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States) were raving about this cat breed that Britain decided it was time to give the Somali a second chance.
Finally in 1982 the Somali received the recognition they deserved in England.
The cute Singapura cat is the smallest cat of all pedigree cats.
The Singapura cat weighs between 4 and 9 pounds which is about 2 to 4 kilos.
Compared to the Maine Coon which has an average weight of 17 pounds, the Singapura is tiny indeed.
The Singapura cat is a short-haired cat with a silky coat.
It only comes in one color; Sepia Agouti which is a gold ivory with bands of dark bronze and cream ticking.
They have large eyes and ears. The nose is short and head is round-shaped.
The tip of the tail is black.
The Singapura is muscular and athletic. It has strong legs, but the feet are rather short.
Temperament
The Singapura cat is a talkative cat. It loves conversation and has a soft and pleasant voice.
The Singapura is an active cat.
This cat loves to play. In fact this cat delights in playing well into old age. The Singapura tends to seek out high places.
Being so small it seems this cat takes pleasure in getting on high places where the cat can get an overview on what is going on in its kingdom.
If you are considering buying a Singapura, you may want to look into getting a cat gym or cat tower.
The Singapura cat hates cold weather. It also hates wet weather. Be sure your home doesn’t have too much cold draft with you live in a cold climate.
Health
The Singapura is a healthy cat.
There is one warning though about the health of a Singapura. This concerns a pregnant Singapura.
As they are small some female Singapura cats will run into difficulties when giving birth.
All pregnant Singapura cats need to be carefully examined by a vet, as many of them may need a Caesarian operation.
The Love Cat of Singapore
The Singapura has its name from Singapore. Singapura is actually the Malay word for Singapore. Singapura was the name officially given to the city in 1299.
These cats were in Singapore known as the “River Cats” and as the “Drain cats of Singapore”.
The reason being the cats (which no one at one time especially cared about and many prosecuted) took shelter in the city drains during the dry seasons.
During this time they were treated very badly by humans. Some called them the River Cats because stories were told that they originated from the banks of the river.
Today the situation has changed. The Singapura has become the National Cat of Singapore.
They have given the cat a new name; Kucinta, the Love Cat of Singapore.
Singapura Cat History
The history of the Singapura cat as a cat breed has caused some debate and accusations. There are several stories being told about the Singapura.
The first one is that an American named Hal and Tommy Meadow found three of these cats while living in Singapore and started breeding.
These three original cats were named Tickle, Tessa and Pusse. In 1975 they moved back to the United States bringing along five Singapura cats including the first three they had gotten hold of.
They then set about to getting the Singapura accepted as a new pedigree cat.
This story caused serious debate a few years later and some started doubting if they were actually telling the truth.
Another breeder named Jerry Mayes had travelled to Singapore in search of new cats to breed.
During his visit he discovered the Meadow couple had imported their Singapura cats to Singapore from the United States, not the other way around.
During that time some began to speculate if the Singapura in reality was a cross breed between an Abyssinian cat and a Burmese cat.
The original story was then revised. They informed that that these cats indeed were pure cat breeds from Singapore, but they had not been at liberty to tell the whole truth at first.
The Second Version
The second version was that Hal Meadow had been on a secret mission to Singapore in 1971. It was during that time he found four beautiful cats and sent them to the United States.
In 1974 the couple moved to Singapore bringing with them a group of Singapura cats including three grandchildren of the original four.
These three cats were registered with the names Pusse, Tess and Ticle (a slight variation of the names given earlier).
In 1975 they moved back to the United States bringing with them five Singapura cats; Pusse, Tess, Ticle, Gladys and George. The couple assured that the Singapura was a pure breed.
This story was accepted by most people and the Singapura was formally recognized.
No matter what story one chooses to believe, one thing is certain: the Singapura cat is absolutely adorable.
They soon became popular and admired by many cat lovers across the United States.
In July 1988 the first Singapura cat arrived in Great Britain. It was a pregnant cat named Faye Raye.
