Pedigree Cat Breeds - Toyger

To understand the breed, it's probably best to refer to the founder breeder rather than the founder cats. Judy Sugden is the mentor to the development of this highly patterned cat. whilst at first mention the name may seem a little unknown, when put into the context of Judy being the daughter of Jean Mills (the haloed founder breeder of the Bengal) the name takes on a somewhat acknowledgment of cat breeding Royalty.

Whilst trying to improve the clarity of Mackerel markings, the idea of a domestic Tiger look-alike became a possibility to Judy, this all happened in the late 1980's.



 

The first step was the recognition of two small tabby spots on the temples of one of her cats, which gave rise to the belief that the markings could someday be developed into circular Tiger face patterns. It was from this humble beginning that the Toyger was born. The breed is already 25 years in development and at long last is a breed which is instantly recognisable.

The Toyger is a unique and exciting breed with great temperament, high intelligence, both highly patterned and trainable. Whilst they have high energy levels and are inquisitive, they aim to please humans.



 

The breed is still being developed under the mentoring of Judy Sugden and the future promises to bring smaller ears and longer muzzles (again traits which in the cat world would seem impossible to achieve; as long muzzles mean big ears and visa-versa), smaller eyes and longer tails are also on the horizon. Whilst the original development has been slow, there are significant advances each year, resulting in cats with truly remarkable markings and traits.

Both Toygers and the 'big cats' both have traits never seen before in domestic cats. Circular face marking rather than the traditional tabby markings and a nose leather that is wider than the distance between it's eyes.

The Toyger should be 'big boned' but athletic and agile, having the gait and stance of a 'big cat' with the males generally being bigger than the females, they are normally the most physically striking, but the females do have the allure of requesting more love and attention.

TICA first recognised Toygers in 1993, and gave preliminary new breed status in 2001, 2006 found Toygers showing in advance new breed with championship status following in May of 2007. Pet quality Toygers will be close in quality to the show Toyger, simply due to the fact due to the limited number of (SBT) stud boys and relatively small, but closely controlled breeding group, only the very best or those with a particularly sought after trait are kept to breed on. Simply put this means that all other kittens are pet quality.

Profile written by (Click to view profile): JungleQueen Toygers

Photos & texts © 2008 - 2009: JungleQueen Toygers

*Breed standards may vary according to cat governing body