Tonkinese cats ("Tonks") are a cross between the Siamese and Burmese breeds. They are lively, friendly, often talkative cats, with gregarious personalities. They have fur markings of the Siamese and the Burmese cats such as the Siamese cats points on the ears, face, back, tail, and paws. They can have big dark paws, a stocky muscular build in the body, head, and paws. The coloration can be darker or lighter depending on weather.

Tonkinese are a domestic cat breed produced by crossbreeding between the Siamese and Burmese. They share many of their parents' distinctively lively, playful personality traits and are similarly distinguished by a pointed coat pattern in a variety of colors. In addition to the modified coat colors of the "mink" pattern, which is a dilution of the point color (as in watercolors), the breed is now being shown in the foundationlike Siamese and Burmese colors: pointed with white and solid overall (sepia).

The best known variety is the shorthaired Tonkinese, but there is a mediumhaired (sometimes called Tibetan) which tends to be more popular in Europe, mainly in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France.

It is believed that Tonkineselike cats have existed in the West since at least the early 19th century. The founder of the American Burmese type, a female named Wong Mau imported to the United States in 1930, is thought to have been genetically a crossbreed of this type.[1] (Wong Mau was actually a Tonkinese, though the "breed" was not recognized as such at the time. Some of today's Tonkinese can be tracked by pedigree back to Wong Mau).

More modern Tonkinese cats are the result of the crossbreeding programs of two breeders working independently of each other. Margaret Conroy, of Canada, and Jane Barletta, of the United States, crossed the Siamese and Burmese breeds, with the aim of creating the ideal combination of both parent breeds' distinctive appearance and lively personalities. The cats thus produced were moved from crossbreed classification to an established breed in 2001.[1] The name is a reference to the Tonkin region of Indochina, though it is suggestive only, as the cats have no connection with the area.

In the West, Tonkinese cats under the age of sixth months have historically been referred to as "smallcats" rather than "kittens" to reflect a more direct translation from Burmese, although this term has become almost obsolete since the mid20th century.

Temperament
Like both parent breeds, Tonkinese are intelligent, active, vocal and generally peopleoriented cats, playful and interested in everything going on around them; however, this also means they are easily susceptible to becoming lonesome or bored. Their voice is similar in tone to the Burmese, persistent but softer and sweeter than the Siamese, similar to the gentle quacking of a duck. Like Burmese, Tonkinese are reputed to sometimes engage in such doglike behaviors as fetching, and to enjoy jumping to great heights.

Genetics
The Tonkinese is a true crossbreed type, with coat color and pattern wholly dependent on whether individuals carry the Siamese or Burmese gene. Breeding two mink Tonkinese cats does not usually yield a full litter of mink kittens, as this intermediate pattern is the result of having one gene for the Burmese solid pattern and one for the Siamese pointed pattern.

Colors and patterns in any litter depend both on statistical chance and the color genetics and patterns of the parents. Breeding between two minkpatterned cats will, on average, produce half mink kittens and one quarter each pointed and solid kittens. A pointed and a solid bred together will always produce all mink patterned kittens. A pointed bred to a mink will produce half pointed and half mink kittens, and a solid bred to a mink will produce half solid and half mink kittens.

Appearance
Tonkinese are a mediumsized cat, considered an intermediate type between the slender, longbodied modern Siamese and British Burmese and the more "cobby", or substantiallybuilt American Burmese. Like their Burmese ancestors, they are deceptively muscular and typically seem much heavier than expected when picked up. Tail and legs are slim but proportionate to the body, with distinctive oval paws. They have a gently rounded, slightly wedgeshaped head and blunted muzzle, with moderately almondshaped eyes and ears set towards the outside of their head.[1] The American style is a rounder but sculpted head with a shorter body and sturdier appearance to reflect the oldfashioned Siamese and rounded Burmese from which it was originally bred in the United States. While many American breeders avoided using the extreme "contemporary" Burmese in favor of the more moderate "traditional" Burmese, the original Tonkinese breed standard was based on the extreme spherical style of the Burms descended from Wong Mau.