FIFe Standard

The Sacred Birman :
General Size Medium in size
Head Shape Strong bone
Forehead Slightly rounded
Cheeks Full, somewhat rounded
Nose Of medium length without stop, but with a slight indentation
Chin Firm
Ears Shape Rather small
Placement Set slightly tipped, not too upright on the skull with good width between
Eyes Shape Not quite round, slightly oval
Colour Deep blue
Body Structure Slightly long body. Males must be more massive than females
Legs Short and strong
Paws Rounded
Gloves The special feature of the Birman is the white feet, called "gloves", on both the front and hind feet.
These gloves must be absolutely pure white. They should stop at the articulation or at the transition of toes to metacarpals, over which they should not extend.
Slightly longer white gloves on the hind feet can be tolerated.
On the back of the hind feet the white gloves end in points. The ideal "gauntlets" end in an inverted "V" and extend 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the hock. Lower or higher gauntlets are acceptable but should not go beyond the hock.
It is important that the gloves are equally long and show a symmetry of white, on either the two front feet and two hind feet; or even better on all four feet.
Tail Of medium length, forming a plume
Coat Structure Long to semi-long. According to the actual part of the body: short on the face, gradually growing longer on the cheeks to a full frill, long on the back and the flanks. Silky texture. Little undercoat.
Colour Show all the characteristics known from the colourpointed cats, but all 4 feet are white (gloves).
The points include the face, ears, legs, tail and genitals.
The points shall be even and in good sontrast to the body colour.
The body colour and colour of the tummy is very pale egg shell; the back is golden beige in all varieties.
Only in adult cats the colour of the points and the body colour are fully developed.
Remarks The Birman breed shows a special morphology which is unique for the breed.
Faults Coat Pure white or coloured patches on the chest or the stomach.
Fautls precluding the certificate Nose Incompletely coloured nose leather
Legs * Creeping up of the white on the side or reverse sides of the gloves of front and/or hind feet. (known as "runners")
* Absence of "gauntlets" on the hind feet
Coat * A white patching in the coloured areas or reverse.
* A white patch on the genitals.





Scale of points:
TOTAL 100 points
Head General shape, cheeks, nose, jaws and teeth, forehead, chin, placement and shape of the ears; shape and colour of the eyes 20
Body Shape, size, bone structure, legs and shape of paws 20
Tail length and shape 10
Coat Body colour and points 15
Quality and texture, length 10
Gloves On the front feet 5
On the hind feet 5
Gauntlets 5
Uniformity and symmetry of gauntlets and gloves 5
Condition 5