The ideal Birman is a
large, long stocky cat. It has long silky hair, not as thick as that of
the Persian, and is of a texture that doesn’t mat. The color of the coat
is light, preferably with a golden cast, as if misted with gold. The
“points” - face, legs and tail - are darker, similar to the Siamese and colorpointed Persian color patterns of seal point, blue point, chocolate
point and lilac point. The almost round eyes are blue, set in a strong
face with heavy jaws, full chin and Roman nose with nostrils set low.
The very
distinctive white feet are ideally symmetrical. The gloves on the front
feet, if perfect, go across in an even line, and on the back feet end in a
point up the back of the leg, called laces. It is very difficult to breed
a cat with four perfect white gloves.
