BIRMAN BREED STANDARD FOR EXHIBITION

In order to stabilise "type" within a breed of cat, breeders attempt to breed an animal that fits within a written breed "standard of excellence".  This "standard" has been prepared to describe the perfect specimen of a breed and the importance of specific "characteristics" which are given "points" during judging at cat exhibitions.

Different cat controlling bodies in different states and countries do vary slightly in the requirements of their breed standard and the importance placed on characteristics but basically they all attempt to define a "Perfect Birman Cat".  The following is one version of the standard that I hope you find useful and as you will see I have illustrated it with some photographs which may be helpful.

BIRMAN GENERAL BREED STANDARD - 30 JUNE, 2004:

The Birman is a medium to large strong-boned, muscular semi-longhaired cat. It is slightly longer in all its component parts than a Persian or Exotic Shorthair. It has medium-sized, flared ears, almost round eyes, roman nose and rounded muzzle. It has himalayan markings, but with white paws and gauntlets added; both strongly defined. Males are generally larger than females.

HEAD - strongly-boned and broader than high. Forehead slopes well back, slightly convex in profile, with flatter appearance in front of and between the ears. Broad cheeks and slightly rounded in the muzzle.

EARS - medium in height, almost as wide at the base as tall. Modified to a rounded tip and set as much to the side as into the top of the head. Slightly flared.

EYES - almost round, set well apart, not bold. In repose, the upper lid should appear to be flatter, less rounded than the lower lid. The outer corner tilted very slightly upward.

NOSE - broad, medium length. Starting just below the eyes, a slight dip is essential, but a definite stop is not acceptable. A downward change in angle below the dip makes the nose slightly roman in profile, setting the nose pad a little low.

CHEEKS – full and broad, helping create the broader than high head.

JAWS - strong and broad, with a somewhat rounded muzzle.

CHIN - firm, full and strong, in a vertical line with the tip of the nose.

NECK - strong and medium length, in proportion to the head and body.

Pictured to the right is CCC of A. Db.Gr.Ch. & Gold Ch/Ch. Eldorato Sebastian. Owned and bred by Lesley Freemann of Eldorato Cattery, Victoria. A fine head study, depicting the desirable head qualities described in the standard.

BODY - medium length solid and muscular, with no appearance of fragility. Chest broad. Males more robust than females.

TAIL - sufficiently long to reach to just before the shoulders. Bushy, wider at base, tapering in boning to an oval tip.

LEGS - strong and heavily-boned. Medium length, so that although the body is long, the cat does not stand high on its legs. The hind legs are slightly longer than the front legs.

PAWS - large, round and firm.

TEMPERAMENT – should be placid, allowing easy handling at all times.

FAULTS

Refer to general list for all breeds, plus:-

PENALISE:

• small, rounded ears
• lack of width in head
• strongly almond eyes
• a second downward dip or slight bump near the end of the nose (called a bee sting) is a fault.
• weak chin
• lack of length in tail
• fine boning
• hooding
• white whisker pads
• no contrast between point and body colouring
• tabby barring, though ghost markings acceptable on kittens.
• runners (streaks of white) up the legs.

WITHHOLD:

• Siamese or Persian type
• green eyes
• areas of white in point colour
• spots or patches of white (excluding gloves and gauntlets) anywhere on the body, particularly on chin, chest or stomach.
• coloured spots on gloves or gauntlets
• coloured toe/s
• grossly uneven foot markings
• lack of white on the hock/s or one or both back legs

NOTE: A cat may have slightly imperfect gloves and/or gauntlets, small areas of white around the genitals and still be eligible for awards.

COAT AND COLOUR

COAT LENGTH AND TEXTURE

Semi-longhaired, silken in texture. The fur is short in appearance about the face, but to the extreme outer area of the cheek it is longer, with a full ruff around the neck. Slightly curled on stomach. It is of such texture that it will not mat.

COAT COLOUR AND PATTERN

The distinguishing colours of the Birman are those of the himalayan pattern, , but with white gloves and gauntlets added . Mask, ears, legs and tail are dense and clearly-defined, except in kittens. On reaching maturity, the mask is complete, covering the face to over the eyes (including whisker pads) and is connected to the ears by tracings, leaving an oval of body colour in front of the ears which is quite apparent. Chin is shaded to match the mask. Some allowance should be made in mature adults for darker body colour, especially in Seal Points. However, the body colour must never be so dark that contrast with point colour is lost.

LEGS - Leg point colour to go up just above the elbows on the front legs and to merge into the flanks at the rear. Leg colour is lighter on the inside of the legs.

PAWS - The white feet are characteristic of the Birman. It is preferable that the white is even on all four paws.

GLOVES AND GAUNTLETS - Front paws are pure white, gloved in an even line across the paws at the third joint. The upper limit of white should be the metacarpal (dew) pad, which is the highest up little paw pad located in the middle of the back of the front paw (above the third joint and just below the wrist bones).

Back paws have pure white gloves covering the entire paw and tapering evenly up the back of the leg (hock), preferably to a spear head positioned just below the middle of the hock. Higher markings are acceptable, but should not extend beyond the heel.

PAW PADS - Paw pads are either coloured (to harmonise with the colour of the points), pink or mottled. Individual paw pad colour is not listed, so reference should be made to this general description and to individual nose leather colour description.