Right between the Siamese and the Burmese: a muscular cat with a silky coat and aqua eyes, playful, chatty and fond of people.
The Tonkinese is a blend of the Siamese and the Burmese. It has a bit of both: slimmer than a Burmese and sturdier than a Siamese. The best-known Tonkinese has a warm brown coat with slightly darker ears, face, legs and tail, and eyes the colour of sea water. It wants to be part of everything, likes to chat along and plays all its life.
Very attached to its people and wants to be part of everything.
Likes to be on you, often on a shoulder, but usually not for hours on your lap.
Stays playful all its life and likes to play fetch.
Active and athletic: it climbs, races through the house and wants something to do.
Talks a lot, but with a softer voice than a Siamese.
Clever and quick to learn tricks, and sadly also how to open a door.
Friendly with visitors and rarely shy; often it is already waiting at the door.
A lovely family cat for children who are gentle with animals.
Usually gets on with a friendly dog that is used to cats.
Likes other cats and is happiest with a feline friend.
Does not like long hours alone. A second cat or someone at home helps.
Can often live indoors well, if it has company and plenty to climb and play with.
The Tonkinese comes from Tonkin, in Vietnam.
The name only calls that region to mind. The breed was made in Canada and the United States, from the Siamese and the Burmese.
The Tonkinese is a brand-new, made-up cross.
Cats of this type were already shown around 1880 as 'chocolate Siamese'. Even Wong Mau, the mother of the Burmese, was really a Tonkinese. The modern breed rebuilds old lines.
Two mink Tonkinese only have mink kittens.
Mink sits right between two genes. Two minks have on average half mink kittens, a quarter point and a quarter sepia. Only a point with a sepia gives a litter full of mink.
Cats between the Siamese and the Burmese had been around for a long time: around 1880 they were called 'chocolate Siamese', and Wong Mau, the mother of the Burmese breed, was one too. In the 1960s breeders in the United States and Canada began crossing Siamese and Burmese on purpose, to get that in-between type with the aqua eyes. They called it the Tonkinese, and recognition followed in the 1980s and 1990s.
British cat books describe the 'chocolate Siamese' beside the seal-point Siamese; it looks much like the later Tonkinese.
Britain's Siamese Cat Club aims to breed both the usual and the chocolate Siamese.
Dr Joseph Thompson brings Wong Mau to California. She becomes the mother of the Burmese and later turns out to be a Tonkinese.
In New York, Milan Greer breeds Siamese and Burmese crosses, the 'Golden Siamese', for about ten years.
Jane Barletta in New Jersey and Margaret Conroy in Canada both start crossing Siamese and Burmese, without knowing about each other.
The Canadian Cat Association accepts the breed for registration; breeders from both countries write the first standard.
The CCA gives the breed championship status, and the English spelling changes from Tonkanese to Tonkinese.
In England, The Cat Association recognises the breed.
America's CFA grants championship to the mink Tonkinese. From then on no other breeds may be added.
Britain's GCCF grants the Tonkinese championship status, and the first GCCF breed club is founded.
In CFA the point and solid Tonkinese may now compete too, beside the minks.
Medium-sized and muscular without being coarse: right between the long, slim Siamese and the compact Burmese. When you pick it up, it is surprisingly heavy.
The same cat in the same colours, but with a semi-long, fine and silky coat that lies flat on the body. It is shorter on the shoulders and longer on the flanks, with full breeches and tail and sometimes a ruff.
Recognition: Recognised by France's LOOF, not by CFA, GCCF or WCF.
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).
Natural mink(n 32)
Blue mink(a 32)
Champagne mink(b 32)
Platinum mink(c 32)
Champagne point(b 33)Mink is the pattern that defines the breed, with aqua eyes. Natural is brown (seal), champagne is chocolate and platinum is lilac.
A pale body with clearly darker points and blue eyes, as in a Siamese. In Dutch the names seal, chocolate and lilac point are more common.
The body is only a little lighter than the points, and the eyes are green to yellow-green, as in a Burmese.
In Britain's GCCF, TICA, France's LOOF and Australia's ACF, also in point and solid. CFA and WCF do not have these colours.
In GCCF, TICA, LOOF and ACF in every colour. CFA and WCF have no torties.
Tabby is allowed by Britain's GCCF and France's LOOF, in every tabby pattern. Smoke and silver are mainly in the LOOF standard. CFA and WCF do not have these colours.
A Tonkinese is always a pointed cat, so a white cat does not belong. White spots, such as a white locket on the chest, rule a cat out in CFA and Australia's ACF.
A mink Tonkinese has aqua eyes: a blend of the Siamese's blue eyes and the Burmese's golden eyes.
All Tonkinese kittens are born pale, with blue eyes. Their pattern and eye colour only show in the months after.
That is how long it can take before a blue or platinum Tonkinese has its full colour.
Tonkinese cats appear on postage stamps of more than thirty countries.
When two mink Tonkinese have kittens, on average only half are mink. The rest are point or solid.
There is no good research on it. Britain's GCCF and the animal charity PDSA say about 15 years, other sources a bit more or less. Take 12 to 16 years as a rough guide. GCCF and PDSA say the breed has no health problems of its own; the DNA tests exist mostly because of its Burmese ancestors.
Red blood cells break down too soon, so the cat can get anaemia: it is then tired and weak, with pale gums. Some cats show no signs. How often it occurs in the Tonkinese is not known.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents. A kitten only gets it when both parents are carriers.
The retina slowly wears out. A kitten sees normally, but in an adult cat the sight fades, sometimes until it is blind. Such a cat usually copes well at home. How often it occurs is not known.
How it is found: DNA test (rdAc) of the parents. Two carriers are not mated with each other.
An inherited disease from the Burmese lines. Young cats get bouts of muscle weakness, usually from 2 to 6 months; sometimes it only becomes clear at about a year. It can be mild, but also serious.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents. A kitten only gets it when both parents are carriers.
In older cats the gums can become red and sore, and the cat can then lose teeth. CFA names this as the breed's only real concern. It can be treated well.
How it is found: No test. Get a young cat used to tooth brushing and have the vet check the mouth regularly.
Little work: a rubber brush once a week or even less is enough. The silky coat keeps itself clean, and it hardly ever needs a bath. It sheds mostly in spring and autumn.
It wants to play, climb and have jobs to do. Lots of toys and games, such as fetch, keep boredom away.
Get it used to tooth brushing when young. That way it is less likely to get sore gums later.
Good, balanced cat food with an occasional treat is all it needs.
No source calls the Tonkinese hypoallergenic. If you are allergic to cats, do not count on it.
Checked on 21 October 2026
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