CFA Breed Standard:
Birman (Sacred Cat of Burma)
POINT SCORE
HEAD, BODY, TYPE & COAT (65)
Head (including boning, nose, jaw, chin ...... 30
profile, ear & eye shape & set.)
Body/Type (including boning, stockiness ...... 25
elongation, legs, tail.)
Coat (including length, texture, ruff.)....... 10
COLOR - INCLUDING EYE COLOR (35)
Color except gloves (including body color, ... 15
point color, eye color.)
Gloves (including front & rear gloves, ....... 20
laces & symmetry)
GENERAL: a cat of mystery and legend, the Birman is a color pointed cat with
long silky hair and
four pure white feet. It is strongly built, elongated and stocky,
neither svelte nor cobby. The
distinctive head has strong jaws, firm chin and medium length Roman nose. There should be good
width between the ears, which are medium in size. The blue, almost round eyes are set well apart,
giving a sweet expression to the face.
HEAD: skull strong, broad, and rounded. There is a slight flat
spot just in front of the ears.
NOSE: medium in length and width, in proportion to size of head.
Roman shape in profile. Nostrils
set low on the nose leather.
PROFILE: the forehead slopes back and is slightly convex. The medium length nose starts just
below the eyes and is Roman in shape (which is slightly convex). The chin is strong, with the lower
jaw forming a perpendicular line with the upper lip.
CHEEKS: full with somewhat rounded muzzle. The fur is short in
appearance about the face, but to
the extreme outer area of the
cheek the fur is longer.
JAWS: heavy.
CHIN: strong and well-developed.
EARS: medium in length. Almost as wide at the base as tall.
Modified to a rounded point at the tip;
set as much to the side
as into the top of the head.
EYES: almost round with a sweet expression. Set well apart, with
the outer corner tilted VERY
slightly upward. Blue in color, the
deeper blue the better.
BODY: long and stocky. Females may be proportionately smaller
than males.
LEGS: medium in length and heavy.
PAWS: large, round, and firm. Five toes in front, four behind.
TAIL: medium in length, in pleasing proportion to the body.
COAT: medium long to long, silken in texture, with heavy ruff
around the neck, slightly curly on
stomach. This fur is of such a
texture that it does not mat.
COLOR EXCEPT GLOVES:
Body: even, with subtle shading when
allowed. Strong contrast
between body color and points. Points
except gloves: mask, ears, legs, and tail dense and clearly
defined, all of the same shade. Mask covers entire face including
whisker pads and is connected to
ears by tracings. No ticking or
white hair in points. Golden Mist: desirable in all points colors
is the
"golden mist", a faint golden beige cast on the back and
sides. This is somewhat deeper in the seal
points, and may be
absent in kittens.
GLOVES: Front paws: front paws have white gloves ending in an
even line across the paw at, or
between, the second or third
joints. (The third joint is where the paw bends when the cat is
standing.) The upper limit of white should be the metacarpal
(dew) pad. (The metacarpal pad 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.) Symmetry of the
front gloves is desirable. Back paws: white glove
covers all the
toes, and may extend up somewhat higher than front gloves.
Symmetry of the rear
gloves is desirable. Laces: the gloves on
the back paws must extend up the back of the hock, and
are called
laces in this area. Ideally, the laces end in a point or inverted
"V" and extend 1/2 to 3/4 of
the way up the hock. Lower or higher
laces are acceptable, but should not go beyond the hock.
Symmetry
of the two laces is desirable. Paw pads: pink preferred, but dark
spot(s) on paw pad(s)
acceptable because of the two colors in
pattern. Note: ideally, the front gloves match, the back
gloves
match, and the two laces match. Faultlessly gloved cats are a
rare exception, and the Birman
is to be judged in all its parts,
as well as the gloves.
PENALIZE: white that does not run across the front paws in an
even line. Persian or Siamese type
head. Delicate bone structure.
White shading on stomach and chest. Lack of laces on one or both
back gloves. White beyond the metacarpal (dew) pad. (The
metacarpal pad 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.)
DISQUALIFY: lack of white gloves on any paw. Kinked or abnormal
tail. Crossed eyes.
Incorrect number of toes. Areas of pure white
in the points, if not connected to the gloves and part
of or an
extension of the gloves. Paw pads are part of the gloves. Areas
of white connected to
other areas of white by paw pads (of any
color) are not cause for disqualification. Discrete areas
of point color in the gloves, if not connected to point color of
legs (exception, paw pads). White
on back legs beyond the hock.
BIRMAN COLORS
SEAL POINT: body even pale fawn to cream, warm in tone, shading
gradually to lighter color on
the stomach and chest. Points,
except for gloves, deep seal brown. Gloves pure white. Nose
leather: same color as points. Paw pads: pink. Eye color: blue,
the deeper and more violet the
better.
BLUE POINT: body bluish white to pale ivory, shading gradually to
almost white on stomach
and chest. Points, except for gloves,
deep blue. Gloves pure white. Nose leather: slate-color.
Paw
pads: pink. Eye color: blue, the deeper and more violet the
better.
CHOCOLATE POINT: body ivory with no shading. Points, except for
gloves, milk-chocolate
color, warm in tone. Gloves pure white.
Nose leather: cinnamon-pink. Paw pads: pink. Eye
color: blue, the
deeper and more violet the better.
LILAC POINT: almost white. Points, except for gloves, frosty grey
with pinkish tone. Gloves
pure white. Nose leather:
lavender-pink. Paw pads: pink. Eye color: blue, the deeper and
more violet the better.
The following information is for reference purposes only, and not an official part of the
CFA Show Standard.
BIRMAN (Sacred Cat of Burma) COLOR CLASS NUMBERS
Chocolate Point .............. 0180 0181
Seal Point ................... 0182 0183
Lilac Point .................. 0184 0185
Blue Point ................... 0186 0187
AOV .......................... 2198 2199
Important: Birman cats registered as chocolate point, seal point, lilac point
or blue point, but with AOV color ancestry (parents, grandparents, great
grand-parents, etc.), are NOT eligible to compete in Birman championship
classes.These cats are identified by a registration prefix number of "21xx."
Birman allowable outcross breeds: none.
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