‘Discoverer’ of the SINGAPURA
The Singapura: Exclusive interview with Tommy Meadow in the US

Interview by Flavia Capra.
Photographs by Bob Schwartz.
Cat World Magazine, June 1994

THE SINGAPURA, of all the recent discoveries of new breeds, is without a doubt worthy of some serious attention from the world's cat fancy. Small in structure, so much so that many describe it as the smallest domestic cat known, the Singapura, all the same, has an overall appearance of being a well-proportioned feline. Its look, at first glance, could cause one to think of a beige Abyssinian since they both have a similar ticked pattern on the coat.

Discovered around the beginning of the ‘seventies by Tommy Meadow, American all-breed judge, the Singapura is now quite diffused in the USA and making a good start in Europe.
The same Tommy Meadow who welcomed us into her spacious home in Oak View, California (a few miles from the much celebrated Santa Barbara) to show us her “jewels”.
Tommy's first meeting with cats occurred around the beginning of the ‘fifties when she acquired a male, pet quality, Siamese cat. Two weeks later, her husband who, despite the fact that the family was quite numerous (five children and two large collie dogs), was afraid that the cat would suffer from loneliness, suggested that she acquire a 'mate'. Thus, another Siamese came into the household.
The base for a modest cattery seemed in place, but Tommy didn't take into account fate, which we have to say, wasn’t very kind with her. After she had taken her female to another cattery for stud, the cat not only aborted but she also came down with a virus infection that she transmitted to her companion, who later died.
Tommy then acquired some more kit-tens from another cattery. The kittens had strange marks on their bodies that the breeder defined as an allergic reaction to antibiotics. The moral of the fable: after a few weeks, the five children, the two dogs, all the cats, Tommy and her husband had their bodies literally covered with itchy spots of ringworm.

Despite this “baptism by fire”, the feline passion had grown in Tommy to such a point that she acquired another Siamese and with him began in the world of cat shows.
The cat was of very good show quality: at his first show, in Houston, Texas, he won Best in Show, beating an English import that was considered unbeatable. That same year, in fact, the cat went on to be classified second best Seal Point Siamese male in the USA, as well as gaining numerous other victories in his show career. In succession, three Burmese were added to the growing family, along with an Abyssinian female that was acquired to satisfy the desire of one of Tommy's children to start in the cat fancy. The Aby, too, went on to have a glorious show career.
Today, kittens from this Aby can be found in the pedigrees of some of the best Abys in the US, as well as Europe. The cattery name USAF was chosen by Tommy in honour of her husband, who at that time was a member of the United States Air Force (which has as its acronym USAF).

At the beginning of the ‘sixties, however, Tommy's husband divorced her, leaving her alone, without a job and with five young kids to support (the cattery name remained however). At which point, with great sadness, Tommy had to give up most of her cats (she had them adopted by her friends in the hope of getting them back when her finances improved).
As a means of earning a living, Tommy began grooming poodles for the ladies of Houston. In a short while, the business grew to the point that Tommy was able to open a small pet shop. Then in 1970 she met her present husband, Hal Meadow. Hal, a geophysicist in the oil business who travelled back and forth between Houston and Singapore for work, was conquered by Tommy's cats (with the success of the pet shop, she was able to re-adopt them) and began to share Tommy's interest in the cat fancy. When Hal went back to Singapore, he viewed the cats that roamed the streets of that island with a different eye. He noticed that many of them had a particular coat, much like the Abys, but a colour he had never seen before. In 1971, he sent four of these “strange coloured Abys” (three females and a male) back on a work boat to Tommy in Houston.
A few years later, in 1974, Tommy, the children and several cats (including three grandchildren, Tess, Ticle and Pusse, from the original four Hal had sent to the US) joined Hal in Singapore. In July of 1975, after the fall of Saigon and less than a year on the island (instead of the ten years they thought they would be there), the entire family (cats included) returned to the US, bringing with them two new kittens, Gladys and George, that had been born in the meantime.

The previous version of Meadows’ discovery of the Singapura, with which most people who follow cat publications are familiar, had the Meadows hanging out around the back doors of some of Singapore's restaurants, with fish in their pockets trying to catch a Singapura, which led to the eventual capture of the first three Singapuras; Ticle, Tess and Pusse. This version has been corrected by Tommy after the discovery by an American breeder, Jerry Mayes, who went to Singapore in search of new blood, of import papers proving that the Meadows brought Ticle, Tess and Pusse into Singapore from the US. Tommy confessed the lie and defended her having to do so because during the time when Hal sent the cats back on the work boats, he was involved in “sensitive” work and his presence in Singapore could not be revealed.
This unfortunate situation has created more than a bit of doubt in the minds of many cat fanciers in the US, where the storm still rages in many circles, even though the Meadows were absolved of any wrong doing by the board of the Cat Fancier's Association (CFA).
Whatever the true version of the origin of this fascinating breed, the fact still remains that Tommy's cats are considered the progenitors of all the officially recognized Singapuras in today's cat world. Even the government of Singapore has given “official” blessing to the breed, by proclaiming the Singapura a national mascot. Statues of the cats have been erected in the city. Posters and various other objects featuring the cats have appeared in the tourist shops on the island.

When Tommy started with her first Siamese way back in 1950, it is doubtful that she could have ever imagined that she would one day go down in history as the discover of a new breed. Today, she is quite proud of her accomplishment that is best summed up in her words, “the cats to me have been a canvas and my paints ... genetics, of course”.

Singapura status in the US

The process of official recognition of the breed began with the registration of Ticle, Tess, Pusse and two kittens; Gladys and George, with the American Cat Association (ACA) and the presentation of two of the cats for the first time at an American Cat Fancier's Association (ACFA) show in Colorado in March 1976 in the class 'New Breed or Color' (NBC), where they were awarded a Best and two Second Best NBC wins.
The breed was subsequently accepted in 1979 as “experimental” with the AFCA, the Cat Fancier's Federation (CFF) and the United Cat Federation (UCF) and in championship status by The International Cat Association (TICA).
In 1980, the CFF, the UCF and the ACFA followed TICA's lead and granted championship status. In 1981 the breed was given miscellaneous status in the Cat Fancier's Association (CFA), in 1986 moved to provisional status and all the way to 1988 before they granted the breed championship competition, followed by the ACA, which did likewise.

Standard - Cat Fancier's Association (CFA)

Head (25)
Ears.................................................10
Head shape........................................4
Width at eye......................................4
Muzzle shape....................................4
Profile...............................................3
Eyes (10)
Size and placement...........................6
Shape................................................3
Color.................................................1
Body, Legs and Tail (20)
Neck..................................................3
Proportion........................................10
Legs and feet.....................................5
Tail.....................................................2
Coat.................................................15
Color................................................15
Markings.........................................15

General: the appearance of an alert healthy small to medium sized muscular bodied cat with noticeably large eyes and ears. Cats to have the illusion of refined delicate coloring.
Head: skull rounded with rounded width at the outer eye narrowing to a definite whisker break and a medium-short, broad muzzle with a blunt nose. In profile, a rounded skull with a very slight stop well below eye level. Straight line nose to chin. Chin well developed.
Ears: large, slightly pointed, wide open at the base, and possessing a deep cup. Medium set. Outer lines of the ear extend upward to an angle slightly wide of parallel. Small ears a serious fault.
Eyes: large, almond shaped, held wide open but showing slant. Neither protruding nor recessed. Eyes set not less than an eye width apart. Color hazel, green or yellow with no other color permitted. Brilliance preferred. Small eyes a serious fault.
Body: small to medium overall size cat. Adult females 4, males 6 pounds MORE OR LESS. Moderately stocky and muscular. Body, legs and floor to form a square. Midsection not tucked but firm.
Neck: short and thick.
Legs and Feet: legs heavy and muscled at the body, tapering to small, short, oval feet.
Tail: length to be short of the shoulder when laid along the torso. Tending towards slender but not whippy. Blunt tip.
Coat: fine, very short, lying very close to the body. Allowance for longer coat in kittens. Springy coat a fault.
Color: sepia.
Markings: each hair to have at least two bands of dark ticking separated by light bands. Light next to skin and a dark tip. Dark tail tip with color extending back toward the body on the upper side. Cat to show some barring on inner front legs and back knee only. Allowance to be made for undeveloped ticking in kittens. Spine line NOT a fault.
Penalize: dark coat coloring next to skin, definite gray tones, barring on outer front legs, necklaces, non-visible tail faults.
Disqualify: white lockets, barring on tail, top of the head unticked, unbroken necklaces or leg bracelets. Very small eyes or ears. Visible tail faults.

Cat World Magazine