Other Name
The Tonkinese is a medium-size cat with a solid body and a short, silky coat that comes in three patterns—solid, mink, or pointed—and eight colors. The Tonk is known for striking aqua eyes, but not all Tonkinese have them. Depending on their color and pattern, some have equally beautiful eyes ranging in color from sky blue to violet to greenish-gold. The Tonkinese is a human designed breed, the result of a crossing of Siamese and Burmese breeds. It is medium in size, solid, and very muscular, but the conformation of a Tonkinese calls for balance and moderation rather than any specific size or characteristic.
The Tonkinese was developed in the 1960s by crossing Siamese and Burmese cats. Although it wasn’t known in 1930 when she was brought to the United States, the mother of the Burmese breed, Wong Mau, was a Tonkinese, what in the late 19th century had been called a chocolate Siamese. Cats of this type were depicted in “The Cat Book Poems of Siam,” which was written in Thailand some time during the Ayudha Period (1358-1767). The development of the Tonkinese came about when breeder Jane Barletta decided to create a cat that would fall somewhere between the Siamese and Burmese in body type. As it happened, Canadian breeder Margaret Conroy had recently crossed a Siamese and a Burmese, producing kittens with attractive tan coats and aqua eyes. The two began working together, and the result was the Tonkinese. The breed was recognized in Canada in 1971 and received full recognition from the Cat Fanciers Association in 1984.
