Tonkinese

These Siamese and solid-colored cats were exhibited in Europe during the late 1800s and the early 1900s, but soon all but the blue-eyed Siamese were disallowed in the show halls. In the early 1900s cats lacking blue eyes were accordingly banned from competition and disappeared from the cat fancy.

The Tonkinese got its start as a recognized breed in the early 1960s, when Canadian breeder Margaret Conroy crossed a sable Burmese with a seal point Siamese. The product of the cross was a cat of intermediate temperament and type, which Conroy originally called the "Golden Siamese." When the Tonkinese began, both the Burmese and the Siamese had not yet been transformed by selective breeding into their current conformations. The Siamese had yet to attain its extremely sleek show style, and the Burmese was not yet as compact and cobby, nor the head shape as broad and rounded. Still, combining the two and achieving a uniform and consistent head and body type was challenging for Tonkinese breeders.

To distinguish the breed from the Siamese, the name was changed to "Tonkanese" in 1967. In 1971 breeders voted to change the name to "Tonkinese" after the Bay of Tonkin off southern China and North Vietnam. The name was attractive and had a nice exotic ring to it, even though the breed did not come from the Bay of Tonkin area.

In collaboration with other notable breeders like Jane Barletta of New Jersey, Conroy wrote the first breed standard, which was presented to the Canadian Cat Association (CCA). The Tonkinese was the first breed to be developed in Canada.

In 1971 CCA became the first cat registry to grant Championship status to the Tonkinese. CFF recognized the Tonkinese in 1974; TICA followed in 1979.

The road to acceptance wasn't always smooth. Many new breeds can't achieve acceptance without a period of controversy, and the Tonk was no exception. Achieving acceptance and support from the cat fancy community was as challenging as achieving a good head type. In October 1979 the CFA passed a "five year rule," requiring new breeds to remain in the newly established noncompetition miscellaneous class for five years. Some Tonkinese breeders thought the rule was specifically designed to hold the Tonk back, since the Tonkinese breed association planned to ask for provisional status in 1980. However, the setback only made Tonk breeders and fanciers more determined to promote the breed and achieve eventual acceptance. The CFA granted Championship status in 1984. By 1990 all of the major associations had accepted the breed for Championship.

Solid brown cats and "chocolate Siamese," most likely early Burmese and Tonkinese, first came to England from Siam in the late 1800s, along with their better known blue-eyed pointed siblings. At first, all varieties were exhibited in British cat shows, but in the early 1900s only blue-eyed Siamese were allowed in the show halls. Cats lacking blue eyes were banned from competition and disappeared from the cat fancy.

The Tonkinese made its comeback in the early 1960s when Canadian breeder Margaret Conroy crossed a sable Burmese with a seal point Siamese. The kittens were lovely light brown cats with aqua eyes and appealing personalities. At the time, neither the Burmese nor the Siamese had been bred to their current extreme forms, and so the early Tonkinese were of moderate type, a body style they retain today. At first called Golden Siamese, the Tonkinese was renamed in 1971, allegedly after the Tonkin Lowland, considered the cradle of Vietnamese civilization. The Tonkinese didn't come from that region, but the name had a nice exotic ring to it.

Although the Tonk was controversial at first -- neither Siamese nor Burmese breeders wanted anything to do with it -- the breed steadily gained fans. The Canadian Cat Association was the first cat registry to grant championship status, and today every North American cat association accepts the Tonkinese for championship. Tonkinese are particularly popular among cat lovers who favor the Traditional (Old Style) Siamese and want a cat with a less extreme body and head style than currently exists in the show models.

Tonkinese is a Siamese and Burmese cross, intermediate in form and color. Colors are "mink" range. Spotted, ticked, tabby, tortie and tabby-tortie Tonkinese are seen in Australia, as is the silver series of Tonkinese.

Tonkinese are particularly popular among cat lovers who remember the Traditional Siamese and want a cat with a less extreme body style than currently exists in the show Siamese. The waiting list can therefore be long, since numbers are currently low.

The Tonkinese has an appealing personality, not surprising since the Burmese and Siamese are both prized for their temperaments. The Tonkinese has the best of both breeds -- the chatty, curious, and super-smart personality of the Siamese, and the playful, people-oriented devotion of the Burmese. Their voices are milder in tone than the Siamese and they are not generally as vocal. However, they do believe in feline free speech and want to share all of the day's adventures with you when you come home.

According to fans, Tonks are the ultimate Velcro kitties that stick to your side as if attached there. Don't be surprised to find your Tonk perched beside you or even on your shoulder, watching your every move with keen interest. Tonks make every activity a game, whether it's helping you make the beds or assisting with dinner preparations.

Very people-oriented, Tonks crave affection and companionship. They form close bonds with their human friends, so a Tonk is not a good choice if you spend a great deal of time away from home. If you must leave to earn the cat food, provide your Tonk with a feline friend to keep him or her company.

Extremely inquisitive and energetic, the Tonkinese makes a wonderful, entertaining companion. Tonkinese are late-bloomers, and it can take up to two years for them to develop fully.

The Tonkinese coat is exceptionally soft and dense with a wonderful sheen, and can take up to 16 months to reach it's true color. The coat comes in shades of Natural Mink, Blue Mink, Honey Mink, Champagne Mink and Platinum Mink. Tonkinese are renowned for their hunting prowess and make excellent pets for families as well as singles.

The Tonkinese is neither stocky like the Burmese nor svelte like the Siamese, but strikes a nice balance between the two. Surprisingly heavy when lifted, the Tonk is medium-sized but muscular and athletic. Females usually weigh 6 to 8 pounds and males range from 8 to 12 pounds. The head is a slightly rounded wedge shape, the ears are medium-sized and alert, and the eyes are almond-shaped and pleasantly slanted.

Because the Tonkinese inherited color and pattern genes from both parent breeds, the breed comes in three patterns depending upon the genes inherited: solid like the Burmese, pointed like the Siamese, and mink, that falls midway between the two. The mink pattern is unique to the Tonkinese and is considered show quality in most associations, although some associations accept pointed and solid Tonks for show as well. However, even solid pattern Tonks have darker color on the pointed areas of the body -- the contrast is merely more subtle.

The mink pattern occurs when a cat inherits one copy of the Siamese gene and one copy of the Burmese gene. Since both genes are recessive, the result is a subtle soft shading from point color to body color. The eye color, aqua, is also characteristic of the pattern and the breed. Pointed Tonks have blue eyes and solids have eye color ranging from green to gold.

Accepted colors are natural (medium brown with dark brown points), champagne (buff-cream to beige with medium brown points), blue (soft blue-gray with warm overtones and slate blue points), and platinum (pale, silvery gray with warm overtones and frosty gray points). The contrast varies depending upon the pattern. Other colors such as red, cinnamon, fawn, and cream do exist but are rare and not accepted in all associations.

Conformation

The Burmese gene responsible for the sable color is a member of the albino series of gene alleles and causes solid black to appear dark brown by reducing the amount of pigment in the hair. The Siamese gene for point-restricted color is also part of this alleles series. Because the Siamese gene is only partially recessive to the Burmese gene, the Tonkinese can come in three patterns: solid, like the Burmese; pointed, like the Siamese; and mink, a combination of the two. Mink used to refer to the look and feel of the Tonkinese's soft silky coat, but now refers to the mink pattern unique to the Tonkinese. With this pattern, the shading from point color to body color is subtle and not as sharply defined as with the pointed pattern. The body displays a pale to medium shade of the darker point color.

Tonkinese that display the pointed or solid pattern are called "variants" in some associations. The CFA, for example, does not allow variants (called Any Other Variety or AOVs) to be shown for Championship competition. However, variants are important in Tonkinese breeding programs. Breeding two mink Tonkinese cats together produces offspring with an average color ratio of 1:2:1, 25 percent solid, 50 percent mink, and 25 percent pointed Tonkinese; however, breeding a pointed Tonkinese to a solid Tonkinese will produce 100 percent mink Tonkinese.