Encyclopaedia Felidae now has a Patreon! Go to www.patreon.com/EncyclopaediaFelidae if you want to help support this content!
Toyger is a portmanteau of “toy” and “tiger” [6, 7, 10]. If there were such a thing as a toy tiger like there are toy poodles, this is probably what they would look like. Toygers are a new and very rare designer cat breed meant to have the exotic appearance of a tiger with the disposition of a domestic cat [2, 7-9].
History of the Toyger
To be clear, Toygers are not at all related to actual tigers [1, 4, 7-10]. That would be impossible. They are related to Asian Leopard Cats, however, because they are a combination of Bengals, which are hybrid cats, and mackerel tabby Domestic Shorthairs [1, 2, 5-11].
The breed was created in the 1980s in California by Judy Sugden, whose mother, Jean Mill, created Bengals [2, 4, 6-8]. A local exotic animal sanctuary with wild cats among its rescues got her thinking how incredible it would be to have a housecat that looked like one of those [5]. Then, Sugden noticed that one of her Bengals, Milwood Sharp Shooter, had spotted tabby markings on the sides of his head [1, 2, 6-9]. Domestic tabby cats don’t usually have stripes there, but tigers do, and this got Sugden thinking–what if she could breed a housecat that looked like a tiger [1, 2, 7-9]?
Sugden began a breeding program with a hefty Bengal named Milwood Rumpled Spotskin and a tabby Domestic Shorthair named Scrapmetal [2, 6, 7, 9]. She also traveled to India and brought home a stray tabby cat from Kashmir with just the right spotted markings between his ears [2, 4, 6-9]. She named him Jammu Blu and added him to the nascent breeding program [2, 4, 6, 7, 9].
With very careful selective breeding, Sugden and a small number of other breeders have developed a breed with tiger-like traits. Sugden calls the slow process “squinch-by-squinch development” [4]. Over thirty years in, they still aren’t finished perfecting the Toyger [2, 5, 10]. Nonetheless, The International Cat Association (TICA) recognized Toygers as a breed in 1993 and accepted them for championship status in 2007 [1, 2, 6-10]. TICA remains the only registry that fully recognizes Toygers as championship-eligible [4], but the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), a U.K. registry, gave Toygers preliminary status in 2016 [2].
Breed Characteristics
Appearance
Toygers are medium-to-large cats with long, low, muscular bodies [1, 2, 6-9]. Combined with their long toes, their body shape gives them a rolling gait like a tiger [1, 5, 6, 8]. They carry their long tails low like a big cat, too [2]. Toygers have a broad head with small, rounded ears and small-to-medium eyes [2, 4, 7]. Their signature trait, of course, is their tiger-like pelt.
Toyger fur is dense and plush. All Toygers are tabbies, with bold, vertical stripes that have broken and braided patterns just like tiger stripes [1, 4-8]. TICA and GCCF only recognize the “brown mackerel tabby” Toyger, which is the black-on-orange type that looks like your typical tiger [2, 9]. They also have some white on their undersides and gold “glitter” [1, 4, 6-9]. Glitter is a genetic trait that gives a cat’s coat a, well, glittery appearance. A few breeders do have Toygers in other colors, including silver/white Toygers meant to resemble white tigers [10].
Personality
The Toyger is an active, outgoing, and intelligent cat [1, 2, 5-9]. They need a lot of playtime and cognitive stimulation to make sure they don’t get bored [1, 5-7]. Happily, they are quite sociable and trainable, so there are plenty of ways you can entertain each other [1, 6, 8, 9]. Toygers are even recommended for running agility courses [1]! Toygers often enjoy learning tricks like fetch and going on walks on a leash [1, 6-8]. They can usually make friends with anybody, including children and other pets, so a Toyger can make a good family pet [1, 2, 5-7].
Keeping Company with Tigers
A Toyger’s short coat can pretty much take care of itself, but these kitties do shed quite a bit, so occasional brushing might be good just to keep the free-floating fluff to a minimum [2, 5, 7-9]. These cats need something to do when you’re out of the house, so make sure they have plenty of toys and maybe another pet to play with [8]. These smart kitties particularly enjoy the challenge of puzzle toys [6]. And Toygers are affectionate cats that love to spend time with their families, so make sure that you have that time to spend with them every day [1, 8]!
Special Health Concerns?
Because Toygers are such a new breed, and there are still very few of them, no one knows for sure what sort of breed-specific health problems they might turn out to have [1, 2, 7, 8]. So far, they seem to be generally healthy cats. Some breeders have reported adverse reactions to the feline leukemia vaccine in their cats, but this hasn’t been substantiated [2]. Toygers may have an increased risk for heart murmurs [7-9]. A 2016 study in the Journal of Veterinary Medicine discovered a serious developmental brain disorder in a family of Toygers [3].
Affected Toygers had underdeveloped or absent brain structures as well as enlarged ventricles (the fluid-filled cavities in the brain) and cysts in their brains [3]. They behaved surprisingly normally for all that, only seeming to be “clumsy” [3]. The disorder is a recessive genetic disorder, which means kittens must inherit it from both parents, and it is was tied to the trait of short, round ears that breeders select for in Toygers [3]. The researchers didn’t figure out why the brain problems and the ear shape were connected [3], and other Toygers with similar ears have not been shown to have the same problem. It remains to be seen if this condition was unique to this family of Toygers or if it is a more widespread problem that has not become obvious yet.
Adopting a Toyger
There are very few Toygers in the world because this is such a new breed, and there still are not many breeders. Add to that the fact that the breed is still under development, and you have a recipe for some very expensive cats. $5,000 for one Toyger kitten is pretty typical [4, 10]. The even rarer silver/white Toyger kittens are more expensive than that, up to $10,000 [10].
Because Toygers are descended from Bengals (albeit somewhat distantly) which are hybrids of domestic cats and Asian Leopard Cats, some locations consider Toygers wild animals [4]. Toygers may be banned outright or require a permit in your location, so be sure to check the local laws at all levels before you bring one home [4].
Remember, it’s always better to adopt than shop. Check out breed-specific rescues like Great Lakes Bengal Rescue to see if they have any Toygers that need a home! Also, responsible breeders will adopt out adult cats that don’t quite fit the breed standard or have been retired from breeding.
Fun Facts
- Toygers love water! They might sneak into the shower with you. [6]
- Every Toyger’s stripes are totally unique. [6, 7]
- Some Toyger breeders donate a portion of profits from kitten sales to tiger conservation. [5]
Works Cited
- El’Sprite Toygers. (n.d.). Toyger information. OzToyger. https://oztoyger.com.au/toyger-info
- Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. (n.d.). Toyger. https://www.gccfcats.org/getting-a-cat/choosing/cat-breeds/toyger/
- Keating, M. K., Sturges, B. K., Siso, S., Wisner, E. R., et al. (2016). Characterization of an inherited neurological syndrome in Toyger cats with forebrain commissural malformations, ventriculomegaly and interhemispheric cysts. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 30, 617-626. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jvim.13836
- Marvar, A. (2020, May 27). You thought your cat was fancy? She wanted a cat that looked like the tiger. Meet the Toyger. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/style/toyger-fever.html
- Scherr, A. (Producer). (2011, April 9). Tonkinese, Nebelung, Serengeti, Korat, Cats Gone Wild, RagaMuffin, Toyger (Season 3, Episode 3) [TV series episode]. In Cats 101, Powderhouse Productions.
- Sorocco, E. (2020, July 2). Toyger. Catster. https://www.catster.com/cat-breeds/toyger
- Syufy, F. (2022, June 30). Toyger cat: Cat breed profile, characteristics & care. The Spruce Pets. https://www.thesprucepets.com/toyger-cat-profile-554213
- Taylor, C. and Guthrie, C. (2021, March 24). Toyger. Daily Paws. https://www.dailypaws.com/cats-kittens/cat-breeds/toyger
- The International Cat Association. (2020, April 13). Toyger breed. https://tica.org/breeds/browse-all-breeds?view=article&id=1868
- Urban Exotic Cats. (n.d.). The Toyger cat. https://urbanexoticcats.com/the-toyger-cat/
Published May 14th, 2023
