EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Mikey sits in the sink, mesmerized by the steady drip of water. He tries to catch it, fruitless, then decides to wash his face.
You see, Mikey is no ordinary cat. In fact, he's a toyger.
Toyger?
"Everybody's like, 'Oh my gosh, that looks like a tiger!"' says Pam Rohan, Mikey's "mother" of sorts.
She is a breeder of a new, one-of-a-kind cat reminiscent of their powerful, bigger cousins. The toy tiger package comes with endearing qualities. The cats are playfully affectionate, curious and into everything.
"They follow you from room to room," she said. "They're kind of like a little dog. Wherever you go, they're there ... they're not your average, lazy, leave-me-alone-while-I-nap-on-the-couch cat."
Toygers have long, rope-like tails, smaller eyes, puffy whisker pads and dark stripes crossing their orange coats that sparkle in the sunlight.
The Rohan family enjoys the spunky and inquisitive nature of the cats.
"He plays in the sink while I'm getting ready in the morning," said Rohan's 14-year-old daughter, Marina, of Mikey, the nosy 4 1/2-month-old kitten who is all about playtime and absolutely loves to play fetch.
"We named him Mikey because he'll eat anything: salad, ice cream with caramel syrup," Rohan said, in reference to the kid in the cereal commercials of old.
Rohan leads the way into the "maternity ward" to show a new litter of silver toyger kittens, and Mikey follows, poking his head through the crack in the doorway.
The kittens are silver-coated darlings, and their mother is eager to be stroked. Another bengal mother — the breed that toygers branched out of — also is affectionate, looking for a little adventure.
The cats Rohan uses to breed are raised in the home for a year until they enter the two-year-long breeding program. After their retirement, she fixes the cats and sells them to loving homes.
Currently, Rohan has 12 cats in her toyger and bengal breeding program. She sells kittens she doesn't need for the program to families who are willing to pay the $1,200 for a toyger or $800 for a bengal, with 15 currently on the waiting list.
Some cats have huge, carpeted wheels they use for exercise in their enclosures, and each is eager to meet the visitors to the "cat barn." There, a wall is filled with ribbons Rohan has collected from cat shows.
In the summertime, Rohan said she fills up kiddie pools with water and drops in a few goldfish for the water-loving cats to play with.
"They will splash around and play with the goldfish for hours," she said.
Eventually, perpetuators of the toyger breed hope to have the cats' ears rounded and set lower on the head, tiger-like facial markings and a good contrast of orange and black in the toygers' silky coats. Some hope to realize these ideal traits by 2010.
"We have pretty much what we want," Rohan said. "It's just these darn ears!"
She said she's also glad to meet a demand for those who want exotic pets — such as real tigers — but in a smaller, safer package.
"How cool is it that they can get a toyger and have that satisfy their need," she said.
When it comes down to the basics, though, Rohan said it's about bringing joy to people's lives as they enjoy the companionship of these beautiful cats.
"That's what it's all about, is bringing a smile to their face," she said. "If it fills a void or helps someone not feel alone, that's awesome."
E-MAIL: asnyder@desnews.com