Tonkinese Cat Breed Guide
Playful | Nimble | Confident. Tonkinese cats, fondly called Tonks, are the purrfect mix of the popular Siamese and Burmese cats and blend only the best qualities of these two floofs. They’re healthy, elegant and playful and suit hoomans that want an active cat that secretly still thinks they’re a kitten. Today we’ll lay down the most impawtent things that pet parents need to know before adopting a Tonkinese cat as well as how Scrumbles can help keep your furry BFF in flawless health.
TONKINESE CAT BASICS
Average Lifespan: 12 - 16 years
Average Weight: 2.7 - 5.5kg
Coat Length: Short
Colouring: Variety of colours and combinations but with a light body and darker points
Shedding: Low
ANCESTRY OF THE TONKINESE CAT
Although the Tonkinese is a relatively new breed of floof only gaining registration with the GCCF in 1991, these kitties have likely been around since at least the early 1900s in their home country of Malaysia. They are a cross between a Burmese cat and a Siamese cat and it’s thought that the queen of the Burmese breed, a cat named Wong Mau was actually Tonkinese rather than Burmese. Nevertheless, the Tonkinese breed wasn’t officially around in 1930 when Wong Mau was strutting her stuff so she was deemed a Burmese. The Tonkinese has slowly been gaining popularity and is now recognised by most international cat fanciers associations.
ANATOMY OF THE TONKINESE CAT
The Tonkinese cat purrfectly blends the elegant qualities of its parental breeds the Siamese and Burmese. They are medium in size and have a gentle wedge contour to their face with almond-shaped eyes that come in blue, green, and aqua. Their coat is short and silky smooth and comes in a variety of colours that blend softly into darker shades at their tail, face and tootsies. Tonkinese cats reach full maturity at 2 years and this is when their final coat colour is fully fledged.
PURRSONALITY OF THE TONKINESE CAT
Tonkinese cats are active floofs that continue to exhibit some of their kitten purrsonality traits as adults. They’re confident, nimble and playful and love to climb, run, jump, pounce and goof around.
Tonkinese cats are very adaptable and do well with furmilies of all shapes and sizes as well as being kept as indoor cats as long as their environment is enriched with plenty of toys, games and things to jump and climb on like cat trees.
Indoor cats are more prone to stacking on the pounds and becoming obese if their owners aren’t exercising them through structured playtime so be sure to consider this if you’re going to keep your Tonkinese cat solely indoors. These kitties are vocal and not afraid to speak their mind, however, they’re not as much of a chatterbox as the boisterous Siamese cat.
ARE TONKINESE CATS AFFECTIONATE?
Tonkinese cats are full of energy, however, when their internal batteries are running low they enjoy recharging by nestling into their owner’s lap for some much-needed cuddling and massage time. Some Tonkinese cats will choose one of their pawrents as their fav, whilst others will request back rubs from anyone and everyone and repay the favour with soft purrs and noogies.
TONKINESE CAT FEEDING REQUIREMENTS
The average age of a Tonkinese cat is around 15 years. However, as they have no associated health conditions many live long into their late teens if they’re fed a highly nutritious diet and partake in at least 15-30 mins of daily cat exercise. Cats need to eat a diet high in animal meat to provide them with the essential amino acids and nutrients to maintain their health, strength and organ function. They poorly digest plants as they are obligate carnivores, so carbs should make up a very small percentage of their diet and they absolutely cannot be vegan.
Look for a cat food that is labelled as “complete” so that you know that it’s been formulated to include all of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients your Tonkinese cat needs.
SCRUMBLES, THE PAWFECT FOOD FOR TONKINESE CATS
Feeding Scrumbles to your Tonkinese cat is the easiest way to keep them in purrfect health and here’s why:
- HIGH-QUALITY NATURAL INGREDIENTS: Our delicious natural cat food recipes contain only natural ingredients and without any artificial fluff or unnecessary added salt, sugar or flavour enhancers.
- MADE WITH LOTS OF MEAT: Our meaty cat food recipes contain at least 60% human-grade fish or poultry impawtent for providing Tonkinese cats with the energy they need to fuel their playful personalities, plus deliver them with essential nutrients to keep them fit and healthy.
- VET-APPROVED COMPLETE RECIPES: Our wet cat food and dry cat food recipes are designed by nutritionists, approved by leading vets and contain all the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals Tonkinese cats need daily.
- GUT HEALTHY INGREDIENTS: We use prebiotics or probiotics to fuel the good bacteria in your cat’s gut improving the health of their gut microbiome and promoting pretty poops.
- DELICIOUS TASTE: If your Tonkinese cat is turning up their nose to their usual food give Scrumbles a go! Our nutritionally dense recipes don’t compromise on taste as all of our recipes score 100% on palatability testing meaning even the most fussy of Tonkinese kitties will be licking their bowls clean at dinner time.
- CAT FOOD THAT WON’T COST THE PLANET: We serve our cat food in 100% recyclable tins and eco-friendly packaging to reduce our impact on the natural environment. You’ll also notice that our meals only contain fish or poultry which is far less emission-intensive than red meat. We’re proud B-Corp members and we donate 1% of our sales to environmental causes.
