The smallest recognised cat breed: a ticked, sepia-brown cat with huge eyes and ears that follows you like a shadow.
The Singapura is the smallest recognised cat breed. It has big eyes, huge ears and a fine, ticked coat in ivory and dark brown. Its name is the Malay word for Singapore. The well-known story says it comes from the streets of Singapore, but that is not certain. Small it may be, but not quiet: it plays, climbs and follows you all over the house.
A real shadow: it wants to be with you and lets you know it.
Likes a cuddle when it feels like it, but usually does not stay on a lap for long.
Stays playful all its life: chasing bubbles, toys and opening cupboards.
Always on the go: climbing, running and checking what you are doing.
Mostly quiet with a soft voice, but it can speak up when it wants something.
Clever and keen to learn tricks and games, such as fetch.
Usually open and friendly with people, though a big change at home can make it wary for a while.
Gets on well with children who are gentle and give it some peace.
Often gets on with a calm dog, when they can get used to each other slowly.
Usually happy with another cat; two together often do better than one alone.
Does not like long days alone. It needs company.
Can live indoors well, with high places to climb, lots of play and a warm spot.
The Singapura is Singapore's drain cat: three street cats picked up from the gutter.
That is what the Americans who started the breed said. But import papers show their three cats went from America into Singapore in 1974. Later they said the ancestors had come from Singapore in 1971; there are no papers for that. Real cats from Singapore were added afterwards, such as Chiko in 1980.
The Singapura is just a cross of a Burmese and an Abyssinian.
It may be, but it is not proven. The import papers name Burmese and Abyssinians, and in a 2007 DNA study it could not be told apart from the Burmese. There are no breeding records, and the registries CFA and GCCF do not call it a cross.
A small kitten is a sick kitten.
Small kittens are quite normal in this breed. It is the smallest breed and is not fully grown until about two years old.
The breed began in the 1970s with Hal and Tommy Meadow, an American couple living in Singapore. They said they found brown, ticked street cats in Singapore and took them to America. Later, import papers showed those cats had first gone from America into Singapore, as Burmese and Abyssinian. Nobody knows for sure what really happened. The American registry CFA found no fraud and still calls it a natural breed.
According to import papers, the Meadows take three cats from America into Singapore, listed as Burmese and Abyssinian.
The Meadows return to America with Puss'e, Ticle and Tes. With their kittens they start the breed.
The American registry TICA lets the Singapura compete for titles.
Chiko, a female from Singapore's animal shelter, flies to Seattle. She is in many pedigrees.
America's CFA accepts the Singapura for registration, with 59 cats from ten breeders.
A breeder finds the first cats' import papers in Singapore. The street-cat story is called into question.
The CFA grants full championship status, and in July the first Singapura arrives in Britain.
Singapore makes the cat its mascot 'Kucinta' and puts cat statues along the river. The CFA keeps it a natural breed.
Britain's GCCF lets the Singapura compete for championship titles.
In a DNA study of 22 breeds, the Singapura cannot be told apart from the Burmese.
The GCCF allows a few other cats into breeding, such as the Abyssinian and the Korat, to keep the small breed healthy.
The European federation FIFe recognises the Singapura.
Small, compact and muscular. It looks delicate, but it is sturdier and heavier than you would think. Body and legs together form a square.
Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).
Seal sepia ticked tabby(n 24 31)The Singapura comes in one colour only, in every registry: dark brown ticking on a warm ivory ground, with a pale belly. Colour and markings can take two to three years to develop; kittens start paler.
Any other colour, another tabby pattern, silver or white is a disqualification; FIFe registers such a cat as a cat without a breed. Solid brown kittens used to turn up because of an old gene from the first cats, not because of a cross.
The Singapura is the smallest recognised cat breed and is in the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest pedigree cat.
In Singapore it was named Kucinta after a contest, from the Malay words for cat (kucing) and love (cinta).
The name Singapura comes from old Sanskrit words for lion and city.
Chasing soap bubbles is one of its favourite games, and it loves to ride on your shoulder.
That is how many Singapuras were registered across all FIFe clubs in 2024. It is a rare breed.
There is no research on the breed itself. Vet guides give 9 to 15 and 13 to 17 years. Take 13 to 15 years as a rough guide.
Red blood cells break down too soon, so the cat becomes anaemic. It is then tired, eats poorly and loses weight. It can start anywhere between one month and five years old. Many cats with PK-def still live a fairly normal life. A kitten only gets it when both parents are carriers; carriers themselves are healthy.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents. Two carriers are not mated with each other.
In some queens the womb muscles are too weak to push the kittens out. A caesarean is then sometimes needed. It makes no difference to males or to a female that is not bred from.
How it is found: There is no test. Ask whether queens in the line needed a caesarean.
All Singapuras go back to just a few cats. In a study of 22 breeds, it and the Burmese had the least genetic variety. That makes it easier for inherited problems to turn up. So since 2013 Britain's GCCF has allowed a few other cats into breeding.
How it is found: No test. Ask the breeder how closely related the parents are.
Very easy: combing or brushing once a week is enough. Check its big ears each week and brush its teeth as often as you can.
It needs a lot: daily play together, a tall scratching post to look out over the room and high places to sit.
Keep it at a healthy weight: in such a small cat, a little extra soon strains the joints.
It sheds little, but that does not make it suitable for people with a cat allergy.
It often does not like the cold. A warm spot in the house, by the heater or in the sun, is bliss.
Checked on 21 October 2026
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