Tonkinese Cat

This page is educational reference material for preparing questions. A licensed veterinarian examines the animal, makes the diagnosis, and sets the treatment.

Between a Siamese and a Burmese

Tonkinese weigh about 6 to 12 pounds, males at the top of that range, and often live 14 to 18 years. They are affectionate, intelligent, and busy. The coat is short. Grooming is a weekly comb and a look at the teeth, because chatty cats still get resorptive lesions and nobody notices until the cat chews on one side.

Children and other pets are the setting they were built for. They fetch, they follow into the bathroom, and they object to a closed door. Apartment life works if the apartment includes people. It fails as a storage plan for a pretty cat.

Teeth, kidneys, and the heart listen

Dental disease, patellar luxation, and the same metabolic relatives as the Burmese and Siamese lines are worth a yearly exam. There is no special food that replaces weighing the cat and looking in the mouth. ASPCA has plain notes on dental care. Drooling or pawing at the mouth is pain, and a cat that skips meals because the mouth hurts is the not-eating guide.

Tonkinese questions

Are they as loud as Siamese?

Usually less, and they are not quiet. A Tonkinese will tell you the food is late. If you want silence, this is the wrong cat.

What is a mink Tonkinese?

A coat color between the pointed Siamese pattern and the solid Burmese. Points, mink, and solid all appear. The pattern does not change the need for company.

Do they like other pets?

Usually yes. They are a poor only-pet for a household that is gone all day, unless a person or another animal is actually there.