The breed standard describes how a Birman should ideally look. Of course you will probably never find a Birman fulfilling all given standards. It is the goal of every breeder to get as close as possible to the standard.

 

Body:

  • Well balanced
  • Medium to large in size with heavy boning
  • Legs sturdy with medium length
  • Paws short and strong
  • Tail medium in length in proportion to the body with long flowing fur
  • Females are proportial smaller than males

 

Head:

  • Broad and rounded
  • Cheeks full and round
  • Chin strong, full and round developed
  • Nose medium length and roman in shape

 

Ears:

  • Medium in sized in proportion to the head
  • Spaced well apart
  • Rounded tips

 

Eyes:

  • Almost round / slightly oval in shape
  • Dark blue (the depper to blue the better)
  • Set well apart

 

Coat:

  • Abundant
  • Semi-long
  • Silken in texture

 

Gloves:

  • End in a line across the paw at the break of the foot - ideally symmetric

 

Laces:

  • The posterior gloves on the back paws finish with an inverted "V". These are called "laces" and should extend 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the back hocks

 

Body Colour

  • Contracts between body colour and points
  • Semi-long to long on back and the sides
  • Full ruff
  • Short hair in the face
  • Tail with long flowing fur

 

Points:

  • Clearly defined: mask, ears, legs and tail
  • All of the same shade