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Toyger |
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TranslationFrancis Vandersteen |
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OriginThe Toyger is a breed of cat that originated in the United States. |
| This cat is characterized by its physique, which aims to resemble that of a miniature Tiger as closely as possible. |
A brief historical overview |
| An American breeder by the name of Judy Sudgen started the breed in 1980. She was trying to understand the pattern of two of her tabby cats with distinctive head markings. That's how she came up with the idea of creating a breed resembling a miniature Tiger. She had an alley cat imported from India, also with distinctive markings, and then introduced Bengals to give the kittens the impression of big-cat bodies, and a warmer color to match the orange coat as closely as possible. The breed's name comes from the contraction of the English words Toy and Tiger. In 1990, TICA registered the breed as “under evaluation”, and in 2007 it was upgraded to championship status. Other associations do not yet recognize it. The breed is not very widespread. |
General appearance |
| The current version of the Toyger is still a long way from the Tiger, but breeders are working hard to obtain vertical stripes and coloring closer to the Tiger. |
Behavior / characteristics |
| Toygers are described as active, affectionate and intelligent cats. They are said to accept children and company well, and sometimes have a rather loud meow. However, these traits are entirely individual and depend above all on the history of each cat. |
Head |
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Cranial region |
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Head |
The head is medium-sized, long and broad, with well-defined contours. | |
Facial region |
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Nose |
The nose is long and rounded. The wider the better, and the wider the nose leather, the better. | |
Muzzle |
Powerful muzzle. | |
Eyes |
The eyes are small to medium-sized, round and set a little deep into the head. The most intense color possible is preferred. | |
Ears |
Ears are small, rounded and preferably more on the sides of the head than on the top. Feathering is undesirable. | |
Body |
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Generality |
The Toyger's body should be particularly muscular and athletic. It is long and when the Toyger walks you should feel the muscles “rolling”. | |
Tail |
| Long with a rounded tip, carried low. |
Limbs |
| The legs are of medium length, the paws broad and powerful. | ||
Forequarters |
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Generality |
The forequarters and shoulders are particularly robust and may extend beyond the topline. | |
Hindquarters |
Coat |
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Coat and texture |
The coat is short, with a ruff if possible. It should be thick and soft. A glossy coat is preferred. The only coat permitted is brown mackerel tabby. The “brown” color is used because Toygers are not yet red enough. The warmer the brown, the better the markings. The contrast between markings and coat color should be as strong as possible. | |
Authorized marriages |
| Crosses with other breeds are, for the moment, still permitted. |
English (United Kingdom)