by Rhianna Suttie-Gunson

Created on: February 25, 2009

Bringing the striking appearance of the wild tiger to domestic cat owners, the Toyger is the latest designer cat to hit the market. Toygers are toy tigers for the modern world. Rather than prowling through deep Asian jungles like their forebears these felines are more comfortable with the city dwelling lifestyle of the urban jungle.

Toyger creator Judy Sudgen first noticed the possibility for tiger markings in the late 1980's. Since then and after a great deal of hard work the unique face markings of a tiger between the ears and nose, have become more prominent.

Toygars are essentially a mix of a striped domestic short hair and a standard Bengal Tabby. During the line creation Judy imported a domestic tom from India because of his tiger like appearance particularly on his face.

A medium sized feline, the Toygar has a lovely temperament despite the wild markings. They are robust healthy animals with an expected life span of at least fifteen years. Ideal colourings are an orange or tan background with dark stripes. Much like that of a tiger. It should be noted however that the stripes are actually long rosettes and should be long and random in pattern rather than uniform as in a mackerel.

Any spotting or white on the tail is deemed as a fault. Toygar's tails should have a black tip. Ideally only the tummy and chin should be whitened. The ears of a Toygar are small and rounded, a trait which is expected to be developed further in coming years with new generations. Eyes are also small with white spectacles and the chin slightly protruding but not undershot on the jaw.

With designer cats rising in popularity the trademark coats of the Toygar makes them highly attractive to competitive cat owners. The International Cat Association (TICA) recognised the breed for registration only in the 1990's. More recently however they have upgraded Toygars to full breed Championship status.

Toygar breeders are mainly located in the USA however, there are three in the United Kingdom and one in Australia. All of whom are working together to achieve as many tiger like appearances as possible. The price range for a Toygar is between $1000- $3000 and is dependant on markings and colourings. Breeder quality Toygars start at $5000.

When creating the Toygar, Judy Sudgen
hoped that the tiger appearance would encourage people to become more tiger aware and aid tiger conservation efforts. Whether it will have the desired effect remains to be seen. What can't be denied is that the Toygar is the perfect toy tiger for those after a designer cat without a huge price tag.

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