History
Tonkinese cats are the result of a recent crossbreeding between the Siamese and Burmese cat breeds, although some assert that Tonkinese-like cats have existed since at least the early 19th century, and the founding cat of the Burmese breed was probably a mink hybrid-colored cat named "Wong Mau," a small walnut colored cat imported to California by Dr. Joseph Cheesman Thompson in 1930. Some claim that the appearance of the breed is closer to the original appearance of the Siamese, before Siamese breeders developed today's triangular head and very leggy body. The name is not related to the Tonkin region of Indochina, or to the incident in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. When the breed was first established in Canada, the breed name was actually spelled "Tonkanese," which was a reference to the island in the musical South Pacific where "half-breeds" suffered no discrimination. The mistaken idea that the name was a geographical reference paralleling the Siamese and Burmese breed names resulted in a gradual switch to the current spelling, under which the breed was recognized by the US registering associations. The Tonkinese cat is a perfect combination of the Burmese and the Siamese cats for they share different attributes from the Burmese and Siamese and display both of their behaviours. They are sometimes vocal like the Siamese as some may tell.
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