The birman breed standard varies slightly between the different registeries which currently hold shows in the Uk. The main difference center on the nose profile and the emphasis given to the signature of the breed the white gloves, gauntlets (or laces depending on the organisation) and the colours accepted. As I do not curently show with FIFe I am not familiar with that standard. Please bare in mind that the following is my personal opinion, as a breeder and exhibitor in two registries I am not a judge in either registery.
TICA accept a wider range of colours e.g. cinnamon and fawn in additon to seal, blue, chocolate and lilac in 'self' and tabby ( and tortie). TICA also requires a 'roman nose' and a definate dip in profile. In contrast the GCCF require a 'slight dip' in profile and cats are often faulted for the 'nose bump' TICA judges carefully look for! In additon in GCCF torties are required to have an intermingling of colours on every point, (face, each leg, ear, tail) there is no such requirement in TICA, thus a cat with a completely seal or red leg (if a seal tortie) would certainly be disqualified in a GCCF show but could do very well under TICA.
On watching both judging systems it seems TICA judges look for weight, type and 'nose' first then markings ( and will highly place cats even with what GCCF judges would class as a witholding foot marking fault). The GCCF system requires greater emphasis on perfect gloves and laces. Personally I find the look and emphasis on larger size in the TICA birman standard more appealing , therefore we aim to breed to that standard, but we fully accept that we'll get adverse comments about 'nose bumps' from judges at GCCF shows!
Click here for TICA Birman standard
Illustrated TICA Birman standard A very detailed presentation of the Birman Standard written by Ann Hoehn and Debbi Brown. The standard has been broken down by each feature and described in great detail with photos illustrating the good and bad characteristics. Allow lots of time for loading of many photos.
Click here for GCCF birman standard
Click here for fife birman standard
