Sacred Temple Cat Club of New Zealand Inc
Specialising in Beautiful Birmans.......

The Birman Standard

NZCF Standard for Birman cats:

The Birman is a strong boned semi-longhaired cat. There must be strong definition between colour of points and white of paws and gauntlets.

Head - Strongly boned, slightly rounded in the muzzle. Broader than high, forehead slopes well back, is slightly convex in profile with flatter appearance in front of and between ears.

Jaws - Strong, cheeks full & well developed.

Nose - Medium in length, in proportion to size of head. Slightly Roman in shape, but not to excess.

Chin - Full and strong with a straight bite.

Ears - Medium in size, set moderately far apart and slightly flared.

Eyes - Almost round in shape, widely spaced but not bold.

Body - Of good length, yet muscular and solid. Neck strong and of medium length. Broad chest. Males much more robust than females.

Legs & Paws - Strongly boned. Medium in length. Large round paws. Stiff rear legged gait.

Tail - Length to just before the shoulders. Bushy, fur slightly oval at tip, flowing in repose but carried thrown backwards with a curl at the tip.

Coat  - Medium in length, silken in texture, with no undercoat. Full ruff around neck slightly curled on belly and fur of such texture that it will not matt.

BODY COLOUR

Head - Mask adult should cover the face to over the eyes but joined to ears by tracings.  Chin shaded to match mask.

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

Gauntlets  - Front paws white gloved in an even line across the paws at the third joint. Back paws have white gauntlets which cover back paws extending in a line up the back of the legs in the shape of a spearhead, to reach a point just below the middle of the hock. Evenly matched gloves and gauntlets are desirable.

The paws are white gloved giving the characteristic look of the Birman cat.

Paw Pads - Pink or pink blotched with the points colour.

Eye Colour - Blue, clear and bright, the deeper the better.

FAULTS

• Strongly almond shaped eyes
• Areas of white in points other than gloves/gauntlets
• Blotches/spots of colour in gloves or gauntlets
• Lack of width in head
• Small rounded ears

WITHHOLD CHALLENGE

• Lack of white gloves on any paw
  
• Lack of gauntlets on back legs
• Crossed eyes
• Kink in tail
• Coloured toes
• White chin spot
• Squint

NB. The white feet are characteristic of the Birman and whilst it is desirable to have them perfect,  they should not be given preference over the TYPE of the cat. A cat may be SLIGHTLY imperfect in gloves and gauntlets yet still be eligible for top awards. While allowances should be made for incomplete points colour in kittens; in adult cats it is desirable to have even points colour.

COLOURS

In New Zealand the following colours are recognised:

Silver and Tabby Series