Sacred Birman
Sacred Birman
To Semi-longhair breeds
Body
The medium sized cat has a solid bone structure with well developed musculature.
The body is medium heavy and slightly elongated.
The legs are of medium length, the paws are broad and gently rounded.
The tail is of medium length, with elegant shape and furnished plume-like.
Head
The head forms a blunt triangle with rounded contours. The cheek bones are high, the cheeks
well rounded and the forehead slightly arched. The profile is slightly curved with a Roman
nose of medium length and a pronounced chin.
Ears
The ears are medium sized, about as high as broad at the base, with slightly rounded tips and
good width between the ears.
Eyes
The eyes are deep blue, slightly oval and not quite round. They are set wide apart.
Coat
Long to medium long coat with a silky texture and little undercoat. The coat is short on the face,
but becomes longer on the cheeks and turns into a full frill on the chest. The coat is long on the back and on the flanks.
Colour varieties
The Birman is a pointed cat with Siamese points and recognized in all pointed colours.
The description of colours is listed in the general list of colours, with the exception for the colour of
the body, which is very light in Birman cats, the back displays a golden beige. The belly is completely
white.
The special features of the Birman cat are the white "gloves" and "gauntlets".
The white markings on all four paws are called gloves. In particular evenness and symmetry of the
gloves are essential; both between the front paws and the hind paws. The white is absolutely pure; it may end at the carpus or at the joint. It is not permitted to extend to the legs. Slightly longer gloves on the hind paws are tolerated. The white plantar markings on the hind paws, which end in a point, are called gauntlets. They shall be even on both soles and shall end, if possible, in the centre of the metatarsal bones.
Paw pads
The paw pads may be also pink or correspond to the colour of the points.
Faults
Severe faults are:
- gloves, which extend beyond their normal shape (runner)
- too short gloves
- patches on the belly (patches in the colour of the points on the under parts of the body)
- The overall appearance is not permitted to show any similarity with the Persan cat, it may
also not go to the other extreme to resemble a Siamese cat.
Faults excluding the CACIB
- Withhold a CACIB for absence of a point at the gauntlets.
Disqualification
Faults, which may lead to disqualification, are:
- white patches outside of the gloves and gauntlets
- also partial pigmentation of the nose leather
- also any tendency to squint
Remarks
- Slight patches and stripes on the flanks may be tolerated.
Scale of points
Body 20 points
Tail 10 points
Head and eyes 20 points
Coat texture 10 points
Colour of the body and points 15 points
front gloves 5 points
hind gloves 5 points
hind gloves 5 points
evenness 5 points
Condition 5 points