An enlarged and improved version of the Panther class, she was part of a program to build up Austria-Hungary's fleet of torpedo craft in the 1880s.

The Panther class, purchased from a British shipyard, was acquired in part to gain experience building cruisers of the type; this provided the basis for the design of Tiger.

In 1897, she took part in an international naval demonstration off the island of Crete to prevent enforce limits on the Greco-Turkish War.

The Austro-Hungarian Marinekommandant (Navy Commander), Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck, outlined in a memorandum of 8 September 1884 the requirements for a torpedo cruiser.

[1] The first two ships of Sterneck's program, the Panther class, were built in Britain so the Austro-Hungarian Navy could gain experience building small cruisers.

The program was overseen by the naval engineer Siegfried Popper, who was tasked with designing a third cruiser in July 1885, to be built domestically.

Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Alexander Eberan von Eberhorst, who headed the commission in charge of the cruiser program, instructed Popper that the commission had decided that the new ship should have a speed of not less than 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and carry two 12 cm (4.7 in) guns like the Panthers, but the ship should be some 50 long tons (51 t) larger.

[4] The Marinesektion (Naval Section of the War Ministry) requested tenders from Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) and the British shipyard Armstrong, which had built the Panther.

The Armstrong proposal incorporated four 12 cm guns and was slightly longer than the Panther class, allowing for finer hull lines for less hydrodynamic resistance.

The navy determined that Armstrong's design would have reduced maneuverability compared to Panther, and the hull was too lightly built, so the STT proposal was chosen on 16 March 1886.

Before work began, the builders decided to increase the length of the hull slightly to provide more space for the boiler room.

guns manufactured by Krupp in single mounts, which were sponsoned, two abreast of the funnels and the other two aft of the main mast.

[6] Completion of the ship had been delayed by manufacturing problems from the domestic steel supplier, since the initial material sent did not meet the strength requirements.

[10] The ship took part in the second half of the annual fleet maneuvers from 13 June to 16 July 1889 held off the coast of Dalmatia.

Tiger joined the ironclads Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf and Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie and the protected cruiser Kaiser Franz Joseph I for the trip to Germany, under the command of Rear Admiral Johann von Hinke.

While en route, the squadron made visits in Gibraltar and Britain; during the latter stop, the ships took part in the Cowes Regatta, where they were reviewed by Queen Victoria.

She arrived as part of an Austro-Hungarian contingent that also included Kronprinzessin Erzherzogin Stephanie, the armored cruiser Kaiserin und Königin Maria Theresia, the torpedo cruisers Leopard and Sebenico, three destroyers, and eight torpedo boats, the third-largest contingent in the International Squadron after those of the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Italy.

[10] The International Squadron operated off Crete until December 1898, but Austria-Hungary, displeased with the decision to create an autonomous Cretan State under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, withdrew its ships in March 1898.

In 1901, the navy decided to add bilge keels to the ship to reduce her tendency to roll in heavy seas.

The navy considered four options in a meeting on 19 February 1904: to keep the ship armed with her original gun battery, to disarm her, to replace them with new 40-cal.