Singapura Cat
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The Singapura is a cat breed with a contentious history. 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.
One of the smallest breeds of cats, the Singapura is noted for its large eyes and ears, brown ticked coat and shortened and blunt tail. In the UK, a pet-quality Singapura can cost £3-400 (US$6-800 USD) while a show specimen can cost upwards of £600.
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. 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.
The Singapore Tourist and Promotion Board(STPB) proceeded with the decision to use the cat (advertised under the name Kucinta) as a tourism mascot after CFA concluded its investigation. The name Kucinta is an amalgamation of the Malay words kucing (cat) and cinta (love) and taken from the winning entry in a naming competition. Sculptures of the Singapura can be found by the Singapore River. While brown cats with ticked coats can occasionally be seen, few if any resembles the Singapura, with the majority of cats being bobtailed tabbies, tortoiseshells or bicolor, and the move by the STPB is seen by locals to be an advertising move based on the popularity of the breed among tourists at that time.
The Singapura is a moderately stocky and muscular small to medium-sized cat, with a very short and fine coat. A full grown female usually weighs 5-6 pounds while the male weighs 6-8 pounds. The large, slightly pointed and deep cupped ears together with the large almond shaped eyes are a characteristic of the breed. The tail is slender, slightly shorter than the length of the body and has a blunt tip.
The breed's coat pattern is that of a ticked tabby. That is, individual hair strands have alternating sections of dark and light color, typically two dark bands separated by two light bands, with a dark color at the tip. The underside, including the chest muzzle and chin takes the color of the light bands. The Singapura is recognized by cat registries in only one color, the sepia agouti, described as "dark brown ticking on a warm old ivory ground color".
The Singapura is described by the CFA as active, curious and playful. They are affectionate and desire human interaction. They have a tendency to perch on high places, to allow them a better view of their surrounding.
There are no other known genetic health problems in the Singapura although breeders have shown concern regarding the genetic diversity of the breed due to inbreeding caused by a small gene pool.[3] Researches who did the DNA study above found that the Singapura(along with the Burmese) have the least genetic diversity among the 22 breeds studied. The possibility of outcrossing with another breed to increase the genetic diversity had been raised among CFA breeders, but not many were receptive to the idea, preferring to use Singapuras from around the world that are not so closely related to the CFA line.
