The toyger is a breed of domestic cat, the result of breeding domestic
shorthaired tabbies to make them resemble a "toy tiger", as its striped
coat is reminiscent of the tiger's. The breed's creator, Judy Sugden, has stated
that the breed was developed in order to inspire people to care about the
conservation of tigers in the wild. It was recognized for "Registration only"
by The International Cat Association in the early 1990s, and advanced through
all requirements to be accepted as a full Championship breed in 2007. There
are about 20 breeders in the United States and another 15 or so in the rest
of the world. History
The breed began development in the 1980s when Judy Sugden, a breeder looking to
find the difference between the mackerel markings in tabbies, noticed distinctive
markings in one of her cats. These tiny spots occurring on the temples of the
face proved genetically that the circular tiger face pattern could be
possible in a domestic cat. After importing a tom from the streets of
India with noticeable spotting breaking up the usual tabby lines on the top of
the head, the quest to develop a toy-tiger began in earnest. About forty
domestic cats from various countries have been carefully selected over the
years as founders; each providing the rudiments of a specific desirable trait
that could then be expanded with careful breeding.
Breed standards The following is adapted from the 2003
submitted TICA Breed Standard for the Toyger:
Head Shape: Medium-sized, with a dominant deep, skewed, cylindrical
muzzle on an oval head. Ears: Small and round. Wide set toward
the back of the head and oriented on a 45 degree line towards the center of the
eyes. Short but thickly furred temples and ears are preferred. Lynx tipping is
undesirable. Eyes: Medium, circular with gentle
hooding of upper inside. Set wide apart, back into face, and on a slight bias
toward the base of the ear. Rich deep color preferred.
Muzzle: Very well defined, long, broad and deep with rounded muscular contours.
Full face view suggests an inverted heart shape. The front muzzle line/plane
is skewed forward to produce a more frontal view of nose leather, mouth, and
chin than in most small felines. Nose: Muscular, long, broad, and
rounded, widening toward the end to at least as wide as the space between the
eyes. Torso: Medium to deep, long and muscular
with rounded contours; strong and robust but not blocky.
Legs and Feet: Medium length such that the space between the ground and the
body is roughly equal to the depth of the torso. Boning is very large.
Tail: Very long and not thick. Taper is slight with blunt, rounded tip. Fur is
dense and short. Musculature: Very muscular and athletic
looking, especially in young males. Coat Length: Coat is uniformly short.
Fur may be longer in the temple jowl/ruff; the suggestion of more of a
ruff is preferred. Color: Markings shall be virtually black
to brown to even tan. Very dark markings are preferred. A bright pumpkin ground
color with very dark markings is preferred. Whited ground color shall be
as uniformly light to virtually white as possible.
Markings Pattern: Mackerel tabby. The markings to the ground pattern contrast
must be extreme and distinct, giving a clear, sharply edged pattern.
Body Markings: Body stripes shall generally be vertically aligned with
encircling markings on neck, legs, and tail. Bold, braided, and non-uniform
stripes are preferred. Belly and inside of legs must be marked. Paw pads and
tail tip must be black. Head: Facial stripes and markings shall
be circularly aligned around the face. Traditional tabby markings moving
radially away from the face for any distance are undesirable. Lighter to
virtually white 'thumb marks' on the back of the ears are desirable. Natural
'make-up' is important: eyes must have black 'mascara' markings and whited
spectacles, desirable for mouth to have black lipstick markings.
See also Bengal
Tiger References
External links Toyger Breed Homepage
About the Toyger Breed National Geographic photo gallery on
Toygers Toyger Cats USA