Color – The most popular colors are natural mink, champagne mink, blue mink and platinum mink. Color on the mature Tonkinese should be a rich, even, unmarked color, shading almost imperceptibly to a slightly lighter hue on the underparts. Cats do darken with age, but there must be a distinct contrast between body color and points. As well as the mink colors, solid colors and pointed colors also occur.
Eyes – Aqua eyes are a definitive characteristic of the Tonkinese breed, and are best seen in natural light.
Appearance – The Tonkinese blends the best features of its ancestors into one beautiful, medium-sized cat that is remarkably dense and muscular. Whether appearing in the coat pattern of its Burmese predecessor, with sparkling gold-green eyes, the pointed pattern of its Siamese ancestor, with glittering blue eyes, or the “mink” coat pattern seen in the show ring, with its unique aqua eyes, the Tonkinese is an intelligent, gregarious cat with a sense of humor.
Personality – The colorful personality of the Tonkinese makes them ideal companions. They will take possession of your lap and shoulder, and they will supervise your activities. They are warm and loving, highly intelligent, with an incredible memory and senses that are akin to radar. They are strong willed, and their humans are wise to use persistent persuasion in training them. They are naturals at inventing and playing games, using favorite toys to play fetch, and delighting in games of tag with each other. They often become your “door greeter” and will happily entertain your guests.
Interesting Breed Fact – Caring for Tonkinese is as easy as feeding a well-balanced feline diet, clipping their nails weekly (providing a scratching post and insisting they use it is also imperative), using a rubber brush to groom them, and of course the all important visit to the vet for check-ups and inoculations.
Breed information supplied by the
Cat Fanciers’ Association
