The Sacred Birman should give the impression of a harmonious, medium-sized cat with good bone structure, a soft but clearly defined pointed pattern and the white paws that are the breed’s hallmark.
It is the interplay between these traits that creates the Birman expression. You should not be able to point to one single detail and say “there is the breed” – the whole is more important than one perfect glove or one particular shade of colour.
Overall impression
The Birman is neither extremely slender nor very compact. It has a relatively long body, short strong legs and rounded paws. Males may appear more massive than females.
Head and eyes
The head should have strong bone structure, a slightly rounded forehead and full, somewhat rounded cheeks. The nose is medium in length with a slight indentation but without a pronounced stop. The eyes are medium-sized, slightly oval and deep blue.
Body and tail
The FIFe standard describes the body as slightly elongated. The legs are short and strong. The tail is medium in length and should form a feathered plume in harmony with the cat’s overall proportions.
Coat and point colour
The coat is long to semi-long depending on the part of the body: shorter on the face and longer over the cheeks, back and flanks. The texture should be silky with little undercoat. Point colour is found on the face, ears, legs, tail and genital area and should contrast well with the body.
The white paws
All four feet have white “gloves”. On the hind legs, the white continues up the back in wedges or “gauntlets”. Symmetry is highly valued in the show standard, but small irregularities are common in the living breed.