If you’re looking to buy a kitten or cat described as a “Tonkinese” this site exists to help you recognise genuine Pedigree Tonkinese Kittens or Cats. It also has advice related to buying kittens in general, and links to helpful information.
What is a Tonkinese Cat?
A Tonkinese Cat is a cat that results from a mating between either:
- A Siamese Cat and a Burmese Cat OR
- Two Tonkinese Cats.
A mating where only one of the cats is a Tonkinese Cat does not produce a Tonkinese Cat.
Tonkinese Cats have physical and behavioural characteristics that are a particular result of their breeding heritage, so it is important to know how to identify a genuine Tonkinese Cat. Physical characteristics are colours or coat patterns that are specific to Tonkinese Cats, and the shape and type of their body, head, ears, eyes, legs, feet, and tail. Behavioural characteristics include personality and temperament.
- Tonkinese Cats can be brown, chocolate, cinnamon, blue, lilac, caramel, fawn, red, cream and apricot – but they cannot be pure white, black, or have black anywhere on the body, or have patches of white fur. More on colours here.
- Tonkinese Cats are recognised for being people-orientated, inquisitive and intelligent – but they must be properly socialised in order for these qualities to develop to their full potential.
Unfortunately, there are regular examples of kittens for sale being described as “Tonkinese Kittens”, or using the word “Tonkinese” in the description, that aren’t Tonkinese Cats at all. If you are acquiring a cat based on your understanding and expectations of the Tonkinese Breed, one of the most basic things to establish is that the cat is a genuine Tonkinese Cat.
What is a Pedigree Tonkinese Cat?
A Pedigree Tonkinese Cat has its own unique, traceable pedigree that is registered and accepted as valid by a Cat Registry – such as the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), The International Cat Association (TICA), or Felis Britannica (FB). Registries publish rules for the registration of pedigree cats and rules for Cat Shows, at which cats are judged against their breed standard and are awarded titles on a competitive basis. The GCCF is the prominent organisation of this type in the UK. Read more about Cat Registries on Wikipedia.
Registration is the proof of the cat’s ancestry and gives confidence that it is the breed of cat being described by a breeder, as the parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on have also been registered under the same rules. To register a cat, a breeder must be accepted by the registry and agree to be bound by their rules – which seek to promote the welfare of cats and prevent poor breeding practices. Registries have procedures to sanction or disqualify breeders who don’t follow their rules.
Registries can impose conditions on the registration of cats – to put general safeguards in place, or safeguards that apply to specific breeds. For example, the registry might require that DNA tests be carried out to ensure that a cat being registered doesn’t carry known genetic diseases – ones that can be passed on through breeding. The registry might also require DNA tests be carried out to prove that the cat has the correct colour and coat pattern with which it has been described when it was registered.
There have been cases of cats being sold as pedigree cats but with missing or false registration documents, so if you are in any doubt contact the registry concerned. If a cat is being sold as a pedigree cat, you should always be able to see and confirm the pedigree and the cat’s registration documents before purchasing.
More about Tonkinese Pedigrees
A pedigree is a cat’s “family tree” – a record of its ancestors showing multiple generations (parents, grandparents, etc) for the cat’s father (sire) and mother (dam). The pedigree can be used to understand whether a particular cat is actually a genuine Tonkinese Cat.
The pedigree of a Tonkinese Cat may appear more complex than the pedigree of other breeds because it can also contain Siamese Cats and Burmese Cats. In the pedigree of a Tonkinese Cat:
- Cats described as Tonkinese Cats must have either One Siamese parent and one Burmese parent OR Two Tonkinese parents
- Cats described as Siamese Cats must be purebred* – i.e. only have Siamese Cats in their own pedigree
- Cats described as Burmese Cats must be purebred* – i.e. only have Burmese Cats in their own pedigree
* Purebred typically means at least the 5 preceding generations.
A cat that has only ONE Tonkinese parent is not a Tonkinese Cat.
Example – GCCF Rules for Buying a Registered Kitten
By way of an example, these are the basic GCCF rules related to purchasing a GCCF registered kitten:
When you buy a kitten from a breeder who registers with the GCCF you must receive the following documents:
- A pedigree certificate signed by the breeder showing at least 3 generations. It will show the cats registered names, their registration numbers and their GEMS codes (shorthand code for their breed).
- A registration document for the kitten showing the pedigree name, registration number, GEMS code, parents’ names and other information.
- A vaccination card for the kitten showing the record for the full course of vaccinations, usually given at 9 and 12 weeks.
Under GCCF rules, a breeder must not sell a kitten or allow it to go to a new home until a minimum of seven days after it has completed the full course of vaccinations. In practice this means that kittens are usually at least 13 weeks old by this time. It is a breach of GCCF rules for a breeder to ask a purchaser to sign a contract opting out of any of the above.
A Special Case – Native Thai Tonkinese Cats
Tonkinese Cats imported from Thailand, where the Tonkinese is the native cat, are now accepted in the GCCF Tonkinese Registration Policy. They are referred to as “Foundation First Generation” Tonkinese, and in this special case you will not see their ancestry on their pedigree document.