The toyger is a breed of domestic cat
the result of breeding domestic shorthaired tabbies (beginning in the 1980s) to make them resemble a "toy tiger", as its striped coat is reminiscent of the tiger's. The breed's creator, Judy Sugden, has stated that the breed was developed in order to inspire people to care about the conservation of tigers in the wild.
The Toyger was founded by Judy Sugden of EEYAAS Cattery in the USA.
The Toyger is the result of a cross between a striped Domestic Short Hair and a Standard Bengal Tabby This resulted in a striped Cat which after many years of hard work resembles a 'mini Tiger'.
The Toyger is a designer breed and currently still being developed.
Breeder's are striving to give this stunning breed the true look of a mini tiger over the coming years. Many of the features proposed have never been seen in a domestic cat. Progress is slow but steady and it could be several years before the Toyger truly resembles the wild tiger. With a few more years of breeding, Toygers will look even more like the real thing, with ears that are shorter, smaller eyes, a bigger chin and a wider nose tip.
The medium-size Toyger was created by crossing a Bengal cat with a striped domestic shorthair.
He is all domestic cat, with no wild blood, but he was developed to have branching stripes and orange and black or brown coloration reminiscent of a tiger's pattern.
The name 'Toyger' comes from the the words Toy and Tiger.
Toyger's are of medium size with a strong and robust torso. The tail is long and muscular and set and carried low. Toyger's coats are short, thick, plush, soft and feel extremely luxurious.
The ideal colouring for a Toyger is an orange/tan background with dark stripes like that of a Tiger.
The stripes are actually long rosettes and should not be uniform like a mackerel pattern but more like long random individual stripes. The coat must be striped with no spotting. The ears small and rounded, good solid bone structure and overall balance.
The Toyger has no tiger blood in it but does possess genes passed on from the Asian Leopard cat.
The Toyger is an ongoing venture with each generation improving on the last to obtain the objective of a beautiful domestic cat with the look of the majestic wild Tiger.
Toyger's are of medium size with a strong and robust torso.
The tail is long and muscular and set and carried low. Toyger's coats are short, thick, plush, soft and feel extremely luxurious.
The ideal colouring for a Toyger is an orange/tan background with dark stripes like that of a Tiger.
The stripes are actually long rosettes and should not be uniform like a mackerel pattern but more like long random individual stripes. The coat must be striped with no spotting. The ears small and rounded, good solid bone structure and overall balance.
The Toyger has a laid back easy going temperament and makes a good companion.
They are athletic and love to be around people. They are very suitable for most households and get on well with children and other pets. Toygers are intelligent and are easily trained. Many Toygers enjoy playing with water much like their wild cousins, tigers, who are strong swimmers and enjoy bathing in rivers, lakes and waterholes.
