Singapura Cat photos History Photos of the Singapura

November 15th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Leisure, World

The Singapura is one of the smallest breeds of cats, noted for its large eyes and ears, brown ticked coat and blunt tail. Reportedly established from three "drain cats" imported from Singapore in the 1970s, it was later revealed that the cats were originally sent to Singapore from the US before they were exported back to the US. Investigations by the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) concluded no wrongdoing and the Singapura kept its status as a natural breed.

In 1975, after a working stint in Singapore, Tommy and Hal Meadow returned to the US with what they say were three local brown-ticked cats.[1] These three cats, a pair of male and female kittens from the same litter and another young female, were the foundation used to establish the Singapura. The breed takes its name from the traditional name for Singapore (Singapura, which means lion city in Malay). In 1981, a breeder visited Singapore and chanced upon a cat fitting the profile of the Singapura (with the exception of the tail) in the local SPCA. The cat was imported to the US and adopted into the breeding program.
Singapuras at a cat show

The Singapura was accepted for registration by the CFA in 1982 and granted championship status in 1988. In between this period, breeders found that the occasional litter would have a solid colored kitten, caused by the recessive gene for solid color. In a desire for the Singapura to breed true, many breeders chose to do test matings to pinpoint and remove from their breeding programs individuals with the recessive gene. It was discovered that two of the three foundation cats carried this gene