The Tonkinese breed was originally developed by crossing the Burmese and Siamese breeds.  They are a medium sized cat that is surprisingly dense and muscular, being neither cobby nor svelte.  Their coat is short, fine, soft and silky, with a lustrous sheen.  

Tonkinese have a colorful and loving personality, which make them ideal companions.  It is a socially oriented cat which enjoys people, other cats, dogs, and children.  Their affectionate ways are impossible to ignore and they quickly endear themselves to family and visitors.  A highly intelligent and curious breed; they can be taught to retrieve soft balls and walk on the leash.  

Tonkinese come in twelve color/coat pattern combinations defined by base color (color of the points) and coat pattern (the shading of the overall coat). Base colors include Natural, Champagne, Platinum, and Blue. Coat patterns are point body (off-white with shading relative to the point color), mink body (rich, even, unmarked color) and solid body (slightly lighter color than point color with very little contrast between points and coat).