Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

Ive been looking into the tonkinese breed doing a little research at the library etc. Id like to know if most tonk owners have 2 tonkinese or are there any of you that had one that was happy in a single cat home. Also Ive read they like attention. Does a regular full time job mean I would be away too long for a tonk. I have 2 kids and myself and it would get alot of attention when we were at home. Im just trying to decide if one kitten is okay or if I should get an adult as well. Any other information you could provide would be helpful.
Thanks,
mscm

Welcome to the Tonk board!

Tonks are absolutely fabulous pets. They are VERY people oriented, very active, and very smart. They do need lots of attention and your kitty would probably be happiest if he/she did have a companion since you will be at work all day.

Read through some of the posts on this board to get a sense of what you're in for!

And do keep us posted and send pictures once you have them!

Carol, Emily, & Eddie

>>Hi,
>>
>>Ive been looking into the tonkinese breed doing a little research at the library etc. Id like to know if most tonk owners have 2 tonkinese or are there any of you that had one that was happy in a single cat home. Also Ive read they like attention. Does a regular full time job mean I would be away too long for a tonk. I have 2 kids and myself and it would get alot of attention when we were at home. Im just trying to decide if one kitten is okay or if I should get an adult as well. Any other information you could provide would be helpful.
>>Thanks,
>>mscm

Welcome...

I second what Carol just said...if you can/want to have more than one go for it...

I started with one and now I'm up to 3...not only would he/she be a little happier with a buddy but once you realize how awesome they really are you'll want another one anyway...but take it from someone who added them in one at a time...if I could do it again I would gotten them together...easier adjustments...

Keep us posted...

Thanks for your responses.. the breeder said she has several Queens that she is ready to retire so I could get a kitten and an adult female. I have been looking at the old posts.. great information.. Ill keep reading. Do you notice any difference in the sexes..? books say males more cuddly. Have you noticed a difference?

I could carry Eddie around all day and he'd be totally happy. Emily, on the other hand, loves to sit in my lap or on my shoulder but she's not wild about being picked up.

I don't know how much of that is gender based and how much has to do with the fact that Eddie is a mink, and therefore right in the middle of the breed, and Emily is a point and much more Siamese-like in temperament.

Either way, I wouldn't trade either one of them for all the money in the world.

Carol, Emily, & Eddie

>>Thanks for your responses.. the breeder said she has several Queens that she is ready to retire so I could get a kitten and an adult female. I have been looking at the old posts.. great information.. Ill keep reading. Do you notice any difference in the sexes..? books say males more cuddly. Have you noticed a difference?

Tonks are tonks...males and females are equally as cuddly and affectionate...the concern may come in if you are like me and have multiple cats and still plan on adding on at some point...generally...you can keep adding males together and not run into any problems (aside from the first few days of adjustmet), but it is recommended you only have one female in the bunch...the female cats sometimes don't play nice in the sandbox with other females cats...that's a nature thing...not necessarily a tonk thing...(this of course, may not hold true if you get both at the same time, they are familiar with each other, and/or sibling kittens)

Your breeder, however, will/should give you the best advice regarding the cats she is specifically giving you...she will know the temperment of her queen and know what she will do best with. My advice, if you are looking to get a queen I would base the kitten on what would be best with her temperment, as she is the established personality. For instance, some queens breed well, but did not play mommy well and become aggressive toward kittens, yet do well with other adult cats, so although the breeder may still have her give birth she will remove the kittens and have another mother take care of them, Obviously this would not be a good choice if you wanted a kitten also. (This was the case with my Bentley's mother, when she came up for adoption I steered clear of her and bought Bentley's father for my parents instead, I had to wait longer for him, but it was worth it)

When you go to the cattery you may see a whole bunch hanging out together you will get the impression everyone in the cattery gets along, but what you may not realize is the breeder knows who will cause problems and won't let them out in gen pop, especially while you are there...

Don't be afraid to ask your breeder a lot of questions about the temperment of the specific cats you are interested in...make her put them together so you can see how they interract, if something doesn't seem right ask for a different cat...you want Tonks who can/will lay in piles and get along with you and each other...you want to be able to enjoy them. There was a person on this board not too long ago who had a kitten who just did not play nice...and she did have to re-home him...it happens, and it was heartbreaking for her...

I hope this helped...

yes, i agree with everything posted.
i previously had 1 cat who passed away. and now i have 2 (1 male tonk Rigby and 1 non-tonk female Izzy). i got them both at the same time and it was much easier. tonks are amazing. so loving and gentle and just the best. i know tons of non-cat people who just LOVE rigby and are so surprised by his affectionate nature.
actually, my tonk i think has influenced my other non-tonk to be just as gentle. i highly recommend 2- i work full time and leaving the 2 together keeps them from being too bored or lonely. they really love each other. and it's not more work having 2. it's just as easy as 1. as for boys vs. girls...the personalities may slightly vary but i love them both so much. if you're thinking of getting a queen, then maybe try a male kitten. one of each!

THanks for all your replies.. What a great photo!!

OK, so this reply is rather late in the game (its been a while since I've visited this message board) but I noticed from your other thread that you haven't yet gotten a kitten or cat.

While growing up, my Mom, my brother and I each had our own cat. My kitty, Lassie (I was very little and wanted a dog when I named her) actually lived until a few weeks before I left for college. In any case, we only had female cats, and never had any issues with them However, I will point out that this was before we joined the "indoor only" train of thought, so maybe the litter box issues wouldn't be the same. Currently though, I do have two indoor female cats that get along great and have no problem using the same litter box.

My mom currently has two male cats in her bunch and I will say that they are more outgoing. They pretty much like everyone, even strangers. I personally prefer female cats and part of this is due to the fact that they seem to bond to one person and not really care about anyone else. That works for me, but I am single and don't have kids.

Anyway, I guess at least part of it is personal preference (when I got Charlie I wanted a girl and passed up several breeders who only had boys) but I have noticed that females seem to bond with individuals while males seem to like just about everyone.

Thanks for this info..most people have not had a preference or noticed a difference in the sexes. I did call one breeder in MA who answered alot of questions and said if she were pressed to choose which gender then it would be a neutered male. I too had cats growing up but they were outdoor and very mushy.. I guess I will visit the breeder several times and see if one of the adults is what Im looking for. Im leaning towards a male and since I have kids I would want it to like all of us