The Toyger is a relatively new breed of domestic cat that’s been bred to resemble a mini tiger with the temperament of a family-friendly pet.
As their appearance suggests, the breed’s genome contains a touch of heritage from wild cats, although no new wild cat outcrossing was directly used in their development. Instead, this charismatic cat is primarily the product of selective breeding of Bengals, striped domestic shorthairs, and a handsome street cat from Kashmir.
While “tiger stripes” are their defining feature, Toygers are notable for their long low-slung muscular body and athletic appearance, as well as their long and broad head with rounded ears, according to the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy.
They are generally considered to be a healthy cat breed, with few known genetic diseases found in their bloodline. However, since their kind has only been around for a few generations, there’s limited information available on their predisposition to inherited health conditions.
Toyger Vs Bengal
The backstory of the Toyger is appropriately wild. The inception of the breed occurred in the US around the late 1980s at the hands of Judy Sugden, the daughter of famed cat breeder Jean S Mill who’s credited with founding the Bengal breed.
She formed the base of the Toyger breed using two cats: a striped domestic shorthair named Scrapmetal and a Bengal named Millwood Rumpled Spotskin. The Bengal cat is a breed of hybrid cat created by crossing domestic cats with an Asian leopard cat, which may explain parts of the “wild” appearance of Toygers.
You wanna know how I got these stripes?
Image credit: Kutikova Ekaterina/Shutterstock.com
To tweak and refine the breed’s appearance, Sugden ventured to northern India in 1993 to find a stray domestic cat with unique markings that could be used to develop the tiger-like stripes. With the help of local Kashmiri kids, she found a stray cat with all the right markings – a constellation of spots on top of its head – that she named Jammu Blu. He was brought back to the US and introduced to a prize Bengal.
The rest, as they say, is history. After successfully crafting their distinctive look, Sugden then worked on the breed’s temperament, creating a cat that’s intelligent, sociable, and friendly.
Because of their apparent intelligence, Toygers require plenty of mental stimulation through toys and puzzles. Their sociality also means they don’t typically like being left alone for too long. While they don’t have too many specific needs, especially compared to other specialist cat breeds, most breeders recommend that only experienced cat owners take on a Toyger.
Off the back of Sugden’s hard work, the breed was recognized by the International Cat Association (TICA) in 1993 and was eventually granted full championship status in February 2007.
Around this time, media attention and hype started to build up around the intriguing new breed. A Toyger even made it onto the cover of LIFE Magazine in February 2007, dubbed “America’s Next Superpet.”
How much is a Toyger cat?
Despite public interest, Toygers are hard to come across – an attribute that no doubt adds to their allure. Sugden told the New York Times in 2020 that there are just 150 or so breeders in the world that focus on Toygers.
Given their rarity, the breed is fairly expensive. Toyger kittens can reportedly cost between $1,500 to $5,000 in the US.
Source Link: Meet The Toyger: An Adorable Pet Cat With A Wild Story
