
Albafeles Bellerofonte, seal point
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Introduction |

Albafeles Kittens
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Albafeles Nike
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The Sacred Cat of Burma is a fine breed
cat with a fascinating appearance.
Its magnetic look, sweet expression and charming appearance
are due to a rigorous standard (= description of the Birman)
which makes selecting this breed very difficult. Incorrect
breeding may easily result in the loss of the sweetness
and gentleness of its expression.
Parents well adhering to the standard rarely give birth
to kittens of the same level, suitable for continuing
the breed selection.
However, the Birman is often chosen as a pet for his loveable
temperament.
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Body
and structure: |

in the photo: Albafeles Minotauro
colour: seal-point, 3 months old
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Albafeles Naxos
colore: blue point
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It is generally a medium-sized cat - not so big as a Maine
Coon, but not small either - with robust bone structure.
The body is slightly elongated compared to the legs, i.e. the legs are short and robust compared to the body. Males are usually bigger and have a more massive head and a more majestic ruff than females'.
Standard faults:
- cobby structure: the body must not be short and rounded
- high legs compared to the body
- slim structure, thin figure
N.B.:
A female Birman with a slim structure should not be employed for reproduction, both in order to avoid out-of-standard cats, and for the sake of the cat's (and therefore the kittens') health.
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Fur: |

Albafeles Fantaghiro
chocolate-tabby point
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in the photo: Albafeles' Minerva
colour: blue point
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The Birman's fur is silky, soft, semi-long and with little
underfur. The fur is short on the muzzle, gradually becoming
longer on cheek, and long and thick around the neck, just
as if it were a lion's mane (called "ruff"). It is long
on the back and on the hips, lightly shortening on the
legs and resulting in funny tufts of longer fur among
the toe pads.
Standard faults:
- woolly fur
- presence of underfur
- matting and knotting fur
- rough fur
- fur too short
- fur too long
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Colour: |

Albafeles Flora
colour: seal-tabby point
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Albafeles Odyssea
colour: seal point |
The Sacred cat of Burma is a colourpoint cat. The points
are: muzzle, ears, legs, tail, genitals. The rest of the body is of the same tone as points, but
in a washed-out, almost white version.
Standard faults:
- little contrast between points and body
- white spots on the body
- ghost marks presents also in an adult (except for the tabby variants and the colours red-point and cream-point and red areas of torties).
N.B.:
A Birman with white spots should not be employed for reproduction
because it is a fault that will be transmitted to the offspring.
It is not visible in the phenotype, but it is present in
the children's genotype.
It is a serious aesthetic fault, liable for disqualification
at cat shows.
A Birman with white spots on the body is regarded as a pet
for families.
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Type: |

in the photo: Albafeles' Nympha
colour: seal point
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in the photo: Albafeles Nour
colour: blue-tabby point
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Muzzle:
The Birman cat's type is unique. Its characteristics
are not similar to any other breed's.
The head has a rather robust bone structure and full cheeks.
The muzzle is heart-shaped, with prominent cheekbones and
soft features.
The eyes are far from each other and well proportioned on
the muzzle.
All the parts must be in harmony to convey the sweet, open
expression.
Standard faults:
- Siamese-like, triangular shape
- Persian-like, round shape
- eyes close to each other

in the photo: Albafeles' Procida
colour: blue point, 3 months old |

in the photo: Albafeles' Naxos
colour: blue point, 6 months old |
Profile:
The forehead is slightly rounded, the nose is medium-length,
i.e. not too long (as in the Siamese cat) and not too short
either (as in the Persian cat).
It has a slight stop - a depression of the nose channel in the eye area (therefore it's not straight as the Norwegian Forest Cat's).
The nose's profile is rounded, i.e. with a small bump, called
"Roman profile".
The tip of the nose is downward and must be aligned to the
chin by an ideal vertical line.
Standard faults:
- lack of a stop
- lack of a Roman profile (without a bump)
- receding chin
N.B.:
a prominent Roman profile is difficult to achieve in kittens although their parents have it. It is a peculiarity of the Birman which is often lost while breeding. The new colours introduced in the breed stem from mating with Persian cats. This is why kittens are often born without such a profile. It is considered to be a fault at cat shows.
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Mask: |

in the photo: Albafeles' Minerva
colour: blue-point
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in the photo: Albafeles' Lady Oscar
colour: blue-point, 2 years old
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The mask is part of the Birman's coloured points. It is
the area placed on the muzzle that frames eyes, cheeks and
mouth, with the nose tip in the middle. It has a diamond
shape and it is clearly separated from the ears.
Standard faults:
- incomplete mask, which particularly in light colours (e.g. chocolate-point) is often limited to the nose
- too big a mask, which reaches the ears and part of the ruff
- white spot on the chin
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Eyes: |

Albafeles Ramses
colour: blue-tabby point
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Albafeles Nike
colour: seal-tabby-point
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They are among the elements that mostly give the fascinating
and magnetic appearance to the Birman.
A wrong breeding programme which does not concentrate
also on the eyes standard may result in Birman cats with
questionable beauty and captivation.
The Birman's eyes have a slightly oval shape and are of
an intense blue colour. The cat usually looks in the eyes
of those who intensely stare at it.
Standard faults:
- squint
- small eyes
- eyes close to each other
- round shape
- light and feeble colour
- dull and glazed colour
- colour not uniform, with lighter or darker streaks
- outer parts faded compared to the centre
N.B.:
Squint is a typical fault in colourpoint cats, which has been almost eliminated for good by the breeders' selection. A Birman having kittens with such a fault should not be employed for breeding. It is an excellent specimen which will keep families company.
Round-shaped eyes cause most of the Birman cat's charisma to disappear. A specimen with such eyes should be employed for breeding only if its other features are very adhering to the standard, and in any case it should mate with a partner with a more intriguing and fascinating look.
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Ears: |

in the photo: Albafeles Antigua
colour: blue point
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in the photo: Albafeles' Luna Rossa
colour: seal-tortie point, 2 years old
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The Birman cat's ears are not too small (as in the Persian
cat) and not too big either (as in the Maine Coon). They
are medium-sized, placed slightly oblique and forward,
not too much on the top of the skull but well-distanced
instead. The tips are rounded. The shape of the ears is
that of an isosceles triangle, the base of which is the
same as the height.
Standard faults:
- ears placed too high, too long or sharp
- ears placed too close to each other
- ears bent backwards
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Tail: |

in the photo: Albafeles Desdemona
colour: chocolate-tabby point
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Loto incanto d'oriente
before a judgement
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It is medium-length and plume-shaped. It is usually kept
upwards and shakes every step the cat takes.
The fur is thick, long and does not mat.
The last part of the tail is rounded, unlike the Ragdoll's,
which ends with a point.
The tail must be long enough to touch the shoulder.
Standard faults:
- short tail
- pointed tail
- tail with little fur
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Legs: |

in the photo: Albafeles Minotauro
colour: seal-point, 3 months old
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in the photo: Albafeles Minotauro
colour: seal-point, 3 months old
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The legs are robust with big and round feet, reminding
those of their sibling felines in the savannah.
Toe pads are usually pink.
Standard faults:
- slim legs
- long legs
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Gloves: |

in the photo: Albafeles Otello
colour: seal-point, 1 month old
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in the photo: IcingSugar's Frodo Baggins
colour: blue-point, 3 years old
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The main feature distinguishing this breed from the others
is the presence of gloves - the fingers of all paws have
white fur.
It's the only white part of the body.
"Perfect" gloves are difficult to obtain in kittens even
if their parents' are within the upper and lower limits.
This makes the breeding of show quality cats even more
difficult.
Besides, the gene responsible for white fur may bring
tufts of white fur also on other parts of body.

nella foto: Albafeles Onassis
colour: seal-tabby-point, 1 month old
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Gloves' limits
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Upper and lower limits of white gloves:
In accordance with the Birman cat's standard, the white
colour must be between the joint and the area between the
fingers and metacarp.
White fur may be a bit higher on rear legs.
In the sole sheath in rear legs, gloves end with a point.
Gloves should be symmetrical and have the same length.
If gloves exceed those limits, the Birman cat is often not
regarded as show-quality.
Several breeders make the mistake of attaching too much
importance to the gloves, even considering them the only
parameter for distinguishing a show-quality specimen from
a pet.
Standard faults:
- asymmetrical gloves
- tufts of coloured fur in gloves
- interruption of the glove and resume after a part of
coloured fur
- low or high gloves beyond the standard limits
- runners, gloves climbing up beyond the standard limits
- lack of upside-down V's
- lack of glove on one or more fingers
- lack of glove on one or more legs
N.B.: Gloves must be present
in a for-breeding cat, though irregular and/or not symmetrical.
A Birman without gloves may have kittens with gloves,
but also put the future offspring in jeopardy. Such a
fault will appear in grandchildren.
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Sacred
cat of Burma: standard FIFE |
Category
II |
Sacred
Birman Standard |
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 with rounded tips
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
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Legs |
short and strong
paws: rounded
gloves: the special feature of the Sacred Birman is the white
feet, called "gloves", on both the front and hind
feetthese gloves must be absolutely pure whitethey should
stop at the articulation or at the transition of toes to metacarpals,
over which they should not extendslightly longer white gloves
on the hind feet can be toleratedon the back of the hind feet
the white gloves end in pointsthe ideal "gauntlets"
end in inverted "V" and extend 1/2 to 3/4 of the
way up the hocklower or higher gauntlets are acceptable but
should not go beyond the hockit is important that the gloves
are equally long and show a symmetry of white, on either the
two front or 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 parts of the body: short on the face, gradually
growing longer on the cheeks to a full frill, long on the
back and the flankssilky texturelittle undercoat
colour: shows all characteristics known from the colourpointed
cats, but all four feet are white (gloves)the points include
the face, ears, legs, tail and genitalsthe points shall be
even and in good contrast to the body colourthe body colour
and colour of the belly is a very pale eggshell; the back
is golden beige in all varietiesonly in adult cats the colour
of the points and the body colour are fully developed |
Remarks |
the Sacred
Birman shows a special morphology, which is unique for the breed |
Faults |
coat: pure
white or coloured patches on the chest or the belly |
Faults
precluding
the certificate |
nose: incompletely pigmented nose leather
legs: creeping up of the white on the sides or the reverse
sides of the gloves of front and/or hind feet (known as "runners");
absence of "gauntlets" on the hind feet
coat: white patching in the coloured areas or the reverse;
a white patch on the genitals |
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Sacred
cat of Burma: scale of points |
Head |
general shape, cheeks, nose, jaws and teeth,
forehead, chin placement and shape of the ears shape and colour
of the eyes
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20
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Body |
shape, size, bone structure legs and shape
of paws
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20
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Tail |
length and
shape |
10
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Coat |
body colour
and points
quality and texture, length
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15
10
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Gloves |
on the front
feet
on the hind feet
gauntlets
uniformity and symmetry of gauntlets and gloves
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5
5
5
5
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Conditions |
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5
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Total |
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100
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Sacred
cat of Burma: points to obtain qualifications |
excellent |
for a minimum of points
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88/100 |
very
good |
for a minimum of points
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76/100 |
good |
for a minimum
of points |
61/100 |
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Sacred
cat of Burma: points to obtain Certificates |

CACE
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the cat concurs in the class of Grand International
Champion/Premier, can be awarded a CACE/CAPE if it has obtained
a minimum of points |
97/100 |

CAGCIB
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the cat concurs in the class of International
Champion/Premier, can be awarded a CAGCIB/CAGPIB if it has
obtained a minimum of points |
96/100 |

CACIB
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the cat concurs
in the class of Champion/Premier, can be awarded a CACIB/CAPIB
if it has obtained a minimum of points |
95/100 |

CAC
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the
cat can be awarded a CAC/CAP if it has obtained a minimum of
points |
93/100 |

Nom
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for Nomination
title are necessaries points |
97/100 |

BinV
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it's necessary at least 3 cats of the same
variety (colours), the "Best in Variety" title cannot
be refuse if the exhibit has obtained the necessary points |
95/100 |
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Sacred
cat of Burma: Colours & EMS codes |
Self
Colours |
Lynx
Colours |
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seal-tabby point
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SBI n 21
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blue-tabby point
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SBI a 21
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chocolate-tabby point
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SBI b 21
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lilac-tabby point
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SBI c 21
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cream-tabby point
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SBI e 21
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seal-tortie-tabby point
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SBI f 21
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blue-tortie-tabby point
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SBI g 21
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chocolate-tortie point
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SBI h
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chocolate-tortie-tabby point
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SBI h 21
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lilac-tortie-tabby point
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SBI j 21
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