| Country of Origin: | Canada |
| Colors: | Platinum, Champagne, Blue, Cream and Natural Mink |
| Average Size: | Weight: 6-12 lbs ( 2.7 – 5.4 kg) Length: Medium to Large |
| Life Span: | 10-15 years |
| Coat: | Short |
| Personality: | Ideal companions, highly intelligent, curious, they are fondly called, love attention and loathe solitude |
| Characteristics: | Energy: Active Talkative: High Kid Friendly: Yes Allergic: No |
Tonkinese cat is the new name for the old breed – the ancient “copper cat” of Siam (now Thailand). Copper- brown cats of ancient Siam were described in a manuscript of poems about cats which was created by artists and poets of the ancient capital city of Ayudha between 1350 and 1767 year. Today it is considered that Tonkinese cats are the ancestors of the Burmese cats and they are a cross between Burmese and Siamese cats.
The first recorded Tonkinese cat in the West was a lovely Tonkin cat with Wong Mau markings that founded the American Burmese breed, and was brought from Rangoon in the thirties of the 20th century.
Natural hybrid characteristics of Wong Mau were obtained from its descendants, and only in the fifties breeders begun to recover the “blend” into the new breeding programs. Modern Tonkinese cat is the first breed that comes from Canada, where it developed in the sixties.
Regardless of its recent arrival on the scene, Tonkinese cat has already proven itself as one of the most popular breeds.
Tonkinese cats are wearing a Siamese and a Burmese gene and their physical characteristics are a wonderful mixture of the two parental characteristics – less angular and elegant from the Siamese, but strong and very like Burese, with the distinctive feature of lively and affectionate nature of oriental breeds. European Tonkin cats are usually a little bonier than their North American relatives.
Canadian Association of cat lovers was the first one to recognize the Tonkinese cat and awarded her champion status in 1984. It is no wonder that all large organizations shortly afterwards recognized these friendly cats. However, there are significant differences in terms of acceptable colors, and even the name of the color!
Color that is in the United States known as the “natural” everywhere else is considered to be brown. It is a light brown, something between Burmese dark brown and Siamese black, with darker markings that easily blend with the color of the body. Red and cream Tonkin cat may have some striped pattern – it is very difficult to eliminate in all breeds these colors – but these cats are recognized by the standards of the UK, but not in the United States.
Eye color of Tonkinese cats is natural blue- green. In all Tonkinese cats the upper edges of the eyes are oval and round at the bottom.
