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I’m pretty sure I’m going to get a Tiger Cat II at some point before the spring. I have 2 acres that is pretty flat with some landscaping and more to come. Initially I wanted the 61” deck but I think the 52 might give me a nicer cut and be more maneuverable. I’m just not sure which engine to get. What is the consensus on the engine options for this model?

52" is plenty wide for two acres.

What are the engine options?

The engine options for the 52” deck are:

22hp Kawasaki 691FX
25hp Kohler EFI fuel injected air-cooled

Not sure if this helps. I only have 143 hours on the Kawi 691v engine on my 52 inch Bob-Cat FastCat Pro that I bought this spring, but so far it has been flawless and powers my mower well even while running the vacuum bagger. I have also been pleased with the Kawi engines on my Exmark walk behind and Z turn (not sure what model numbers but they're 17 and 23 HP V twins), although at 1900 hours the one on my Z is a bit tired.

My vote goes for the Kawasaki.

cpurvis said:

My vote goes for the Kawasaki.

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I'll second that vote for the Kawasaki. :thumbsup:

I used to mow 3 acres with a 46in. cut 21HP Briggs powered MTD Lawn Tractor, several hours and I was done, a 52 in. should be more than adequate, oh yeah, engine choice, see attach. (click to enlarge)









Sorry, I believe in "Bigger is Better" ... ( LOL ) I get this way sometimes ya know !! ...:laughing:..:laughing:

There is nothing I have ever operated that will out cut the Scag Tiger Cat with the 52" deck and the Kawasaki engine.

We run 3 of them commercially. I have one that has in the 1700 hour range that abused is not a strong enough word for what it has been through. It was purchased new in July 2014. The second was purchased new in April 2015 and has in the 1000 hours range. Hour meter died and I am not sure since it ran a while before we replaced it. The third was purchased April 2016 and has over 700 hours on it.

We have never had an engine problem with any of the three.

I know of two different people who run Tiger Cats like we do that have the Kohler engines that have had problems with theirs. One had a catastrophic failure.

If the Kawasaki in a Tiger Cat will live for me it will live for you for the rest of your life.

Some days we cut over 25 acres. In the heat of the Summer we were going over over 90 yards every two weeks. 95% of it is Pensacola Bahia. Many times you could rake behind us and bale it.


With Sharp blades there is nothing I have ever witnessed cut grass that will out cut the Tiger Cat with the 52" deck and the Kawasaki engine. If there was and it was sold locally to me I would be running it.

On three different occasions we have run Turf Tigers with 61" decks. They will obviously run faster and obviously are 9" wider BUT They will not out cut the 52" Tiger Cat.

You can't run any of them wide open ground speed wise and factoring the slowing down to make them cut the Tiger Cat with the 52" shines.

Most any mower will cut grass but the Tiger Cat will cut tall stemmed grass in one pass that the rest will just run over and leave stringers.

We have cut grass in places and people would stop while we were running and walk out and look at the ground and kick the trimmings over and look at the slick cut and shake their heads and walk away in disbelief.

They are incredibly nimble and I have seen them cut slopes that they would literally break loose and slide down sideways.

Thanks for all the replies. It seems like the Kawasaki is the way to go. Is there a noticeable difference in power between the two engines? Someone recommended the Cheetah to me but it just seems like overkill for my needs. I’d never mow that fast and I don’t think I need that much speed. My only question about the Tiger Cat is the size. Will I be comfortable on it vs a bigger machine? I’m 6’1”, 220lb. Plus the Tiger Cat comes with a cup holder which doesn’t seem like a big deal but I will definitely use it.

This mower will be usd 2 times s week at most so it won’t take a beating. However, I could see myself sometimes mowing 3 times a week on occasion.

I run a Tiger Cat many times all day every day.

I am 60 years old. 6' tall and weight about 250. You will be fine running one no more than you are talking about. For 2 acres you are only looking at about 1 hour or less. Sometimes we cut 4 acres in under and hour with 2 mowers.

You were probably recommended the regular Cheetah. Theres two models I believe. At least there was the past few years. One is a two speed liquid cooled 61" big dollar monster, and the other is what I have. The dealer told me when I bought mine it was taking over for the tiger cat but maybe that didnt happen. I like my Cheetah, (52", Kohler CV740, and Im 6' ~210lbs.) but best bet is go to your dealer and try one out. They may let you take one home and mow with it once. I bet it wont go back to the dealer after that though!

Jon Hubert said:

You were probably recommended the regular Cheetah. Theres two models I believe. At least there was the past few years. One is a two speed liquid cooled 61" big dollar monster, and the other is what I have. The dealer told me when I bought mine it was taking over for the tiger cat but maybe that didnt happen. I like my Cheetah, (52", Kohler CV740, and Im 6' ~210lbs.) but best bet is go to your dealer and try one out. They may let you take one home and mow with it once. I bet it wont go back to the dealer after that though!

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A guy who has cut my grass a few times has a cheetah. He’s going to let me demo it next week for my final
cut of the season. I’m just note sure I need all that speed and fuel capacity. Right now I’m leaning towards a 52” Tiger Cat with the Kawasaki engine.

We run commercially and on you can count on one hand over the years that we run more than 7 gallons through a Tiger Cat in a day. Normally we gas two mowers at the station one morning and fill two 5 gallon cans. That normally will run us 2 days without having to get more gas.

If you run both tanks empty on a Tiger Cat in a day you will be one tired puppy and will have made a long day.

Before you decide on the 52", look at the 61" again.
The problem I seen when I was looking was the 52" deck barely sticks out past the rear tires, kind of hard to get tight to things like trees and flower gardens.

John R said:

Before you decide on the 52", look at the 61" again.
The problem I seen when I was looking was the 52" deck barely sticks out past the rear tires, kind of hard to get tight to things like trees and flower gardens.

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You can get as close as you want to about anything that you mow around. We run 52" mowers all day everyday in grass season.


If you are cutting bahia grass the 52" will out cut the 61". I have operated them both. Not sure what it is but there is something about a 52" Tiger Cat that makes them cut a smoother cut at a faster speed than a 61". Both will cut it and both will do a good job.

I yield to the full time pros. But I will say that my 61" Cheetah mows all grass and weeds great around my place.

One consideration with mower decks is changing blades. With the Cheetah 61", the position of the fuel tanks and the mower deck bolts allows me to only use a impact wrech on the top of the center blade. I use a regular wrench on the outer blades. The fuel tanks are in the way for a air or electric impact on the side blades. I only change blades about twice a year, unless I hit something.

All that said, I am happy with my 61" mower deck.

Get yourself a 15/16 wrench and use your impact from underneath

Luffydog said:

Get yourself a 15/16 wrench and use your impact from underneath

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Thanks for the tip. :thumbsup:

mcdonell said:

Thanks for the tip. :thumbsup:

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We change blades on two Tiger Cats often times 3 times a day when we are running flat out mid Summer. There is NO need to get under it to change the blades.

All you need is a cheap floor jack and a cordless impact wrench.

Take the impact and remove the nuts from the top and the blades will drop out. Then change the blades and put them back on the bolts. Then stick the bolts through one at the time and start the nuts on the bolts. then tighten the bolts with the impact wrench again. You can change the blades on one in under 5 minutes.

Very Very rarely do you have to get under it to put a back up on them. IF you have to then take a 15/16" wrench and put it on the bolt head from underneath normally with the angle facing up. wedge it on the edge of the deck. We have had to do this a couple of times a year normally after the mower hit something and caused the blade to over tighten. When that happened we had to take a breaker bar with a cheater handle to break the bolt loose.

On two different occasions over the years we had a nut that would gauld on the threads. In that instance you take a 4 1/2" side grinder with a thin blade on it and cut the nut off and drop the bolt out and put a new bold in it. You are still running in under 30 minutes if you carry the tools and parts with you.

jekjr said:

We change blades on two Tiger Cats often times 3 times a day when we are running flat out mid Summer. There is NO need to get under it to change the blades.

All you need is a cheap floor jack and a cordless impact wrench.

Take the impact and remove the nuts from the top and the blades will drop out. Then change the blades and put them back on the bolts. Then stick the bolts through one at the time and start the nuts on the bolts. then tighten the bolts with the impact wrench again. You can change the blades on one in under 5 minutes.

Very Very rarely do you have to get under it to put a back up on them. IF you have to then take a 15/16" wrench and put it on the bolt head from underneath normally with the angle facing up. wedge it on the edge of the deck. We have had to do this a couple of times a year normally after the mower hit something and caused the blade to over tighten. When that happened we had to take a breaker bar with a cheater handle to break the bolt loose.

On two different occasions over the years we had a nut that would gauld on the threads. In that instance you take a 4 1/2" side grinder with a thin blade on it and cut the nut off and drop the bolt out and put a new bold in it. You are still running in under 30 minutes if you carry the tools and parts with you.

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Sorry I apparently missed the fact you were talking about not being able to get tools in to a Cheeta and not Tiger Cat. I will have to look at a Cheeta the next time I see one at the dealer and investigate this further.

jekjr said:

Sorry I apparently missed the fact you were talking about not being able to get tools in to a Cheeta and not Tiger Cat. I will have to look at a Cheeta the next time I see one at the dealer and investigate this further.

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That's ok. I appreciate your sharing your experience.

With my Cheetah, the gas tanks are protruding forward just enough to block using a impact on both outside spindles. I learned early on to store near the Cheetah a 15/16 wrench, extra long breaker bar with socket, and a new bolt/nut.

My son has a new Cat, I will share your instructions for changing the blades.

mcdonell said:

That's ok. I appreciate your sharing your experience.

With my Cheetah, the gas tanks are protruding forward just enough to block using a impact on both outside spindles. I learned early on to store near the Cheetah a 15/16 wrench, extra long breaker bar with socket, and a new bolt/nut.

My son has a new Cat, I will share your instructions for changing the blades.

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I am 61 years old and I can change the blades on a Tiger Cat by myself normally in less than 10 minutes. Two of us can normally change the blades on two of them in under 10 minutes.

As soon as I go by the dealership where they have some Cheetahs I want to look at that. I was thinking about possibly getting a Cheetah but if that is the case I have no desire to own one.
We just change blades too often to do that.