PERSIAN BREED GROUP (PS/HI/ES)

The Exotic Shorthair (ES) is the shorthair equivalent of the Persian and Himalayanbreeds and is differentiated from the Persian and Himalayan by coat length ONLY. Itis accepted in ALL colors. Its plush, dense coat and similar type give the breed a teddybear-like appearance. The Himalayan (HI) is a man-made hybrid breed identical to thePersian, but distinguished by the points on the cats' extremities (the facial mask, feet,ears, and tail) which results in a Persian-type cat with the coloring and deep blue eyesof the Siamese-patterned cat. The Persian (PS) has a long coat, flowing all over thebody with a dense undercoat giving the coat full volume. The ruff should be immense.All traditional, sepia and mink colors are accepted.HEAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 points

Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Ears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Eyes .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Chin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Nose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Neck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

BODY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 pointsTorso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Feet and Legs . . . . . . . . . 5Tail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Boning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Musculature . . . . . . . . . . . 5

COAT/COLOR/PATTERN . . 20 pointsLength/Texture . . . . . . . 10Color/Pattern . . . . . . . . . 10

OTHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 pointsCondition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

CATEGORIES:PS: Traditional, Sepia, and Mink. HI: Pointed.ES: All.

DIVISIONS: All.

COLOR: All.

PERMISSIBLE OUTCROSSES: None.

HEAD:Shape: Round, broad, smooth

domed, with great breadth. Should bemedium to large in size and in proportion

to body. Jaws broad and powerful withperfect tooth occlusion. Cheeks shouldbe full and prominent. Overall sweetexpression.

Ears: Small and round tipped, notunduly open base. Set wide apart, fittinginto contour of head.

Eyes: Large, round, and full. Setlevel and far apart giving a sweetexpression to the face, eye color hasequal importance to size and shape.

PS/ES: Deep brilliant eye colorpreferred which conforms to coat color.

HI: Deepest blue preferred, but lightto medium blue is acceptable.

Chin: Strong, full, well-developed,fitting into the face.

Nose: Almost as broad as long withopen nostrils. Muzzle should be short,broad and full.

Profile: Short, snub-nose, definitebreak directly between eyes. Forehead,nose and chin in straight line.

Neck: Short, thick, and well-muscled.

BODY:Torso: Cobby, firm, well-rounded

mid section, in proportion. Medium tolarge in size. Back short and level. Thechest is to be deep; equally massiveacross the shoulders and rump with ashort, well-rounded abdomen and ribs

Legs: Large bones, well-developedand with firm musculature. In front view,the forelegs should be short and straightfrom breadth of chest adding to sturdyappearance, not to have a bull dogappearance. When viewed from the rear,the legs should be straight.

Feet: Round and large.Tail: Short and straight. In

proportion to body length.Revised 05/01/04 Persian Breed Group Standard, 05/01/2004

Boning: Heavy, sturdy and inproportion.

Musculature: Firm and well-developed, not overly fat.

COAT/COLOR/PATTERN:Length:(PS/HI) Long all over the body. Full

of life. Dense undercoat giving the coatfull volume. Ruff should be immense.Seasonal variations in coat shall berecognized.

Length:(ES) Short, but slightly longer than

other shorthairs. Soft, dense, plush; standing away from body. Seasonalvariation in coat and density should berecognized.

Color):(PS/ES) As described in TICA Color

Descriptions.Color: (HI) Clear color preferred with

subtle shading allowed. Allowanceshould be made for darker shaded areason coats of mature cats. There must bea definite contrast between the body andpoint color. The points, comprising of theears, legs, feet, tail, and mask, mustshow the basic color of the cat.

OTHER:Condition/Balance: Should reflect

excellent health and robust power withgood muscle tone, well-muscled, but notfat. All parts of the body should be inproportion to each other.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The idealPS/HI/ES is a strong cat with excellentboning and musculature, a well-balancedcat, giving the impression of robustpower. The face should be round with asweet, pleasant expression and large,round expressive eyes. The cat shouldbe well-balanced physically andtemperamentally, gentle and amenable tohandling.

ALLOWANCES: Consideration shouldbe given to the fact that females willgenerally be smaller than males, butshould be in proportion and balance fortheir size.

PENALIZE: Long or narrow head; longRoman nose; thin muzzle; mild overshotor undershot jaw; bite deformity. Missingcanine teeth in whole adult cats. Asymmetry: while nature never creates aperfectly symmetric structure, recognitionshould be given to any obviouslyasymmetric head structure, (i.e., crookedor off-center nose, mouth, etc.). Suchasymmetry should be penalizedaccording to severity. Ears that arelarge, pointed, slanting out from the heador set too close together. A narrowchest, or long back. Poor muscle tone. Poor coat condition. Slab flanks. Smallor close-set eyes. Pale, weak eye color.

WITHHOLD ALL AWARDS (WW):Overall lack of merit. Lockets or buttons. Poor overall condition. Eye color otherthan blue in Himalayans.

DISQUALIFY (DQ): Kinked tail. Severemalocclusion or extremely asymmetricface structure; crossed, slanted orimproperly focusing eyes. Severeovershot or undershot jaw.

� � � � �Temperament must be unchallenging; anysign of definite challenge shall disqualify. Thecat may exhibit fear, seek to flee, or generallycomplain aloud but may not threaten to harm. In accordance with Show Rules, ARTICLESIXTEEN, the following shall be consideredmandatory disqualifications: a cat that bites(216.9), a cat showing evidence of intent todeceive (216.10), adult whole male cats nothaving two descended testicles (216.11), catswith all or part of the tail missing , except asauthorized by a Board approved standard(216.12.1), cats with more than five toes oneach front foot and four toes on each backfoot, unless proved the result of an injury or asauthorized by a Board approved standard(216.12.2), visible or invisible tail faults ifBoard approved standard requiresdisqualification (216.12.4), crossed eyes ifBoard approved standard requiresdisqualification (216.12.5), total blindness(216.12.6), markedly smaller size, not inkeeping with the breed (216.12.9), anddepression of the sternum or unusually smalldiameter of the rib cage itself (216.12.11.1).See Show Rules, ARTICLE SIXTEEN formore comprehensive rules governingpenalties and disqualifications.

Revised 05/01/04 Persian Breed Group Standard, 05/01/2004