Tonkinese Health

There are few health problems reported for the Tonkinese. The foremost book on cat breed health and genetic diseases in cat breeds says that Tonkinese cats have a low resistance to upper respiratory diseases (also called URIs). Upper respiratory diseases are one of most common cat illnesses.

Tonkinese - photo by julicath/Cath (On- Off ;-))

The Tonkinese may be sensitive to "certain vaccines". Finally, this excellent book says that when anesthetizing the Tonkinese for whatever medical reason it is best to use gas rather than intravenous injections. Anesthetizing a cat carries risk of injury and death, please note.

It would seem then that this cat escapes the rather more extensive list of genetically inherited health problems associated with the Siamese and to a lesser extent the Burmese. The Tonkinese is a Siamese/Burmese hybrid.

I am a little surprised, accordingly. You might like to see the page on genetic diseases in purebred cats to see what I mean.

Source: page 181 of Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats - ISBN 0-9634124-0-X