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A |
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| Agouti
  |
The banding of the hairs, which is caused by the gene A (Agouti-gene).
The bands are yellow, in silver varieties the bands are
silver-white .
In general each single hair has 3-5 bands. |
| Autosomal |
Independent from the sex.
This term is used in genetics, when speaking of autosomal
inheritance, i.e. sire and queen may inherit a trait. |
|
B |
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| Belly spot |
A dark spot in the lower abdomen in
cats with Siamese-points, which is coloured in the colour
of the points.
A belly spot is considered as a fault. |
| Bicolour See
also Piebald. |
Is a pattern with white patches,
which is caused by gene S (Piebald Spotting).
In particular it denotes a specific pattern, where the amount of
white is 1/3 (minimum) up to 1/2 (maximum), the remaining coat is
solid coloured or has a tabby pattern.
See the menu Standard-Colours-Distribution
for further description.
|
| Blaze |
A white patch between the eyes,
starting on the forehead and mostly extending down and besides
the nose.
Bicoloured and Tricoloured cats often have a blaze. |
| Blotched
(classical tabby)
 |
Denotes a specific tabby pattern.
The marking of a butterfly on the shoulder blades and the
"bull's eye" on the flancs are characteristic for this pattern. |
| Bobtail |
Certain cat breeds are called
Bobtail, whose tail is extremely shortened and mostly has curves
and/or kinks, due to a natural gene mutation. In some cat breeds
the tail looks like a pompom. Examples having a pompom:
Japanese Bobtail
Karelian Bobtail
Kurilian Bobtail
Examples without a pompom:
American Bobtail
Mekong Bobtail |
| Break |
A very strong indentation between
the forehead and the begin (base) of the nose, which is, compared
to the Stop, not rounded. |
| Brindling |
These are single white or lighter
coloured hairs interspersed in otherwise solid coloured
areas of the coat.
For example in the dark mask of a seal Siamese, or lighter
coloured hairs in a black tabby pattern. |
| Brindled hairs |
White, lighter or darker coloured
hairs in Self (solid) cats or in the coloured areas of a coat
pattern.
For example: white or light coloured, but also dark coloured
hairs in red/cream cats, single white or light coloured hairs in
the coloured areas of bicoloured cats. |
| Brush
See also Velour. |
This is a type of coat in the Don
Sphynx and Peterbald.
Usually Don Sphynx and Peterbald are nacked. But there is a coat type which has
wavy, quite stiff short hairs, uneven and with bare patches on
the head, the neck and the back. These cats are used for
breeding, not for showing. |
| Butterfly (markings) |
In blotched tabby cats a marking in
the shape of a butterfly with both wings, upper and lower wings,
can be clearly seen on the shoulder blades. |
| Buttons |
The spots on the belly in tabby
varieties. |
|
C |
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| Calico See
also Tricolour. |
In some American organizations
Tricolour is called Calico. |
| Cameo |
In some organizations red shaded
and red shell is called Cameo. |
| Caramel |
Is a specific colour variety, which
is caused genetically in blue, lilac and fawn cats and which
causes the colour to have a cold, metallic tone.
Caramel exists only in diluted colours.
This colour can be seen for example in the Australian Mist, but
also in the Siamese. |
| Category |
See Hair category. |
| Cinnamon See
also sorrel. |
In Abyssinians and Somalis the
colour cinnamon is called sorrel. |
| Cobby |
A short, massive and stocky body
type is called cobby. |
| Colourpoint
See also Himalayan. |
Cats with Siamese-points are called Colourpoint.
The best-known cats are the Colourpoint Persian, but also the
Colourpoint British Shorthair.
In the Siberian Cat colourpointed cats are called Neva
Masquerade. |
| Cryptorchid |
A male is called to be cryptorchid,
if none of the testicles has descended into the scrotal sack. |
|
Curling |
Hairs may be
curled, as for example in the Rex cat.
The term is also used for ears, which are curved backwards, as
for example in the American Curl. |
|
Ch |
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| Champagne |
The colour chocolate is called
champagne in some cat breeds.
Example:
Tonkinese |
| Chestnut |
The colour chocolate is called
chestnut in some cat breeds, and also in some organizations.
Example:
Havana (Brown) |
| Chinchilla See
also Shell.
See also Tipping.
A pattern in silver varieties. |
Is a coat pattern in agouti cats
with an extremely high amount of silver: 7/8 of the entire length
of the hair shaft is silver-white, only the tip of the hair is
coloured.
The colouring of only the hair tips is called Tipping (tipped).
There exist (Silver) Chinchilla and Golden Chinchilla. |
|
D |
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| Diluted
Dilution |
| non-diluted colours |
diluted colours |
| black, seal |
blue |
| chocolate |
lilac |
| cinnamon |
fawn |
| red |
cream |
|
| Dominant inheritance |
If only one gene in a gene pair for
a specific trait is sufficient to see this trait also in the
external appearance of the cat. |
|
E |
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| Ebony |
Black Oriental Shorthair are called
Ebony. They have green eyes. |
| Entropion |
When the eye lids are rolled
inwards. |
| Extremities |
Extremities are:
|
|
F |
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| FCK |
Flat Chest Kitten syndrome
The chest in kittens is flattened or depressed. |
| Flame |
A cream or red patch between the
eyes in tortie varieties, which starts at the forehead and mostly
extends over the nose. |
| Flame point |
In some organizations Red point is
called Flame point. |
| Flocked |
See Velour. |
| Foreign White |
Completely white Siamese (without
points) are called Foreign White. The eyes are deep blue.
Please note that in some organizations also the white Oriental is
called Foreign White. The eye colour can be: blue, gold, green,
odd-eyed. |
Frost
Frost point |
In some organizations the colour
lilac is called Frost in some breeds. |
|
G |
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| Gauntlets |
The white marking on the back side
of the hind paws, which ends in a point, is called gauntlets.
The best-known breed, which must have gauntlets, is the Birman
cat. |
| Genotype |
The genetic constitution of a cat,
which can be seen in the external appearance of the cat, or not. |
| Ghost markings |
Are tabby markings in non-agouti
varieties, which are mostly weaker and have less contrast, and
which are undesired.
Examples:
red cats
smoke cats |
| Gloves |
The white markings on all 4 paws
are called gloves. The white colour is absolutely pure white, and
it may end at the roots of the toes or at the joint. In Birmans
the gloves are defined very clearly, how far they are permitted
to extend. |
| Ground colour |
Is the basic colour of the coat, on
which the pattern is imposed.
Examples:
- black tabby: ground colour is golden-brown, the pattern is
black
- blue golden shaded: ground colour is oat-meal coloured,
colour of the pattern (tipping) is blue
- sorrel: ground colour is apricot, the ticking is red-brown
|
|
H |
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| Hair category |
These are the four categories, into
which the breeds are grouped in the WCF:
- Longhair - LH
- Semi-Longhair - SLH
- Shorthair - SH
- Siamese-Oriental Shorthair - SOSH
|
| Harlequin |
Is a pattern, which is caused by
the gene S (Piebald Spotting), and where the amount of white is 5/6.
There are coloured patches (3-5 patches) on the head and the
body, the belly is white.There exist Bicolour and Tricolour Harlequins. |
| Havana (Brown) |
In some organizations the chocolate
Oriental Shorthair is called Havana Brown.
In some organizations the Havana is its own breed, whose
standard differs somehow from that of the Oriental. |
| Heterozygous |
If both genes in a gene pair for a
specific trait are different from each other, the cat is called
to be heterozygote for this trait. |
| Himalayan See
also Colourpoint. |
In some organizations the Persian
Colourpoint is called Himalayan.
In some organizations the Himalayan is its own breed. |
| Homozygous |
If both genes of a gene pair for a
specific trait are equal, the cat is called to be homozygote for
this trait. |
| Hot cream |
Cream, which is too reddish in
tone. |
| Hybrid |
A cat resulting from a cross
breeding between different breeds. |
|
I |
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Inbreeding
Inbreeding coefficient |
Inbreeding is a method of reproduction, where 2 more or less closely
related individuals are mated, i.e. at least they have one common
ancestor.
The inbreeding coefficient is the probability that two alleles,
which are located at the same locus for this individual, will be
identical in its ancestry (i.e. inheritance of the same allele
because of common ancestors). |
|
L |
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| Lavender |
The colour lilac is called
sometimes lavender in some cat breeds.
Examples:
Ôcicat
Oriental lilac, is called Oriental lavender in some
organizations. |
Lethal
Lethal-factor |
An allele is said to be lethal, if
homozygous kittens already die as foetus or shortly after they
are born.
Example:
Gene M, homozygous Manx/Cymric would die before their birth,
therefore Manx and Cymric are always heterozygous for the gene
M. |
| Longie |
Manx/Cymric with normal tail length
are called Longie. |
| Lynx-point
See also Tabby point. |
Tabby point.
The points are striped. |
|
M |
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| Mackerel
 |
Denotes a specific tabby pattern.
The vertical stripes running from the back down to the belly are
characteristic for this pattern. |
| Marbled |
A specific tabby pattern, which is
derived from the classic tabby pattern, but where the pattern is
broken up. Lighter centers, coloured in the ground colour, are
encircled by the dark colour of the pattern. The best-known
breed, which may be marbled, is the Bengal. |
| Mascara |
The rims around the eyes, which are
coloured in the darker colour of the pattern:
- in the silver varieties
shaded and shell, silver tabby
- and in tabby varieties.
|
| Mask |
Is a part of the points in
(Colour)pointed cats, which has the shape of a rhombus and covers
the face, including the whisker pads and the chin. The mask is
connected to the colour of the ears by traces of the colour. |
| Mask-factor |
Mostly the gene for Siamese points
is called mask-factor. |
| Medallion |
Is a white patch on the throat,
which is mostly considered to be a fault.
This white patch is not caused by the Piebald Spotting gene! |
Metacarpus
Metacarpal-pads |
The 5 bones of the front paws
between the toes and the arch.
The small pad, located in the middle of the back side of the
front paw and located above the third joint, is called metacarpal
pad. |
| Mi-Ke |
Mi-ke is the traditional colour
tortie with white (tricolour) in the Japanese Bobtail. |
| Mink |
The colours of Tonkinese-points are
called Mink. |
| Mitted |
Cats having the pattern mitted have
white gloves on all four feet.
In certain breeds (Ragdoll, Snowshoe) a certain pattern is
described as mitted in the standard. |
| Monorchid |
A male, which has only one testicle
descended into the scrotal sack, is called to be monorchid. |
| Morphology |
The overall shape and build of the
body is called morphology.
There are different body types according to the
morphologic system:
- cobby
- semi-cobby
- foreign
- semi-foreign
- long and powerful/athletic
- oriental
|
| Mutation |
A mutation is a distinct change of
a gene, which results in a new allele.
Examples:
Gene hr in the Sphinx causes the hairlessness.
Gene re in the Devon Rex causes the curled coat.
Gene Cu in the American Curl causes the ears to be curved
backwards.
Gene Se in the Selkirk Rex causes the curled coat. |
|
N |
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| Nanism |
dwarfism |
| Natural mink |
Synonym for the colour seal mink. |
| Necklace |
The stripes (rings) on the throat
in tabby varieties. |
| Nictitating membrane |
The third eye lid in the inner
angle of the eye, which may spread diagonally over the eye ball
to protect the eye. When cats are sick, one can see the third eye
lid quite often, which is called prolaps. |
|
O |
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| Odd-eyed |
Both eyes have a different colour,
where one eye is blue, the other is yellow/green/orange.
White or bicoloured cats may be odd-eyed. |
| Oligodactyl |
The cat has too few toes. |
| Over shot |
When the upper jaws extend beyond
the lower jaws. |
|
P |
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| Parti-colour |
This term has two different
meanings - which is confusing:
In some American organizations the tortie colours are called
parti-colour.
In other organizations the colours with white (bicoloured) are
called parti-colour. |
| Patched tabby |
In some organizations tortie tabby
(frequently tortie blotched and tortie mackerel together) is
called patched tabby. |
| Peke face |
Mostly these are red and red tabby
Persians/Exotic Shorthairs with an extremely short nose,
recognized in some American organizations.
The term is derived from the Pekinese. |
| Pewter |
A silver shaded/shell cat with
orange eyes is called a Pewter. |
| Phenotype |
The external appearance of the cat. |
| Piebald Spotting |
The patching with white colour,
caused by gene S, is called Piebald Spotting. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
| Bicolour |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
|
Harlequin |
Van |
|
| Pinch |
Is a clearly visible indentation at
the base of the muzzle to the cheek bones. |
| Plantar |
The back side of the paws is called
to be plantar. |
| Plantar patch |
Is a patch, coloured in the colour
of the pattern, on the back side of the paws. |
| Platinum |
The colour lilac is called platinum
in some cat breeds.
Example:
Tonkinese |
| Points |
All pointed cats -
cats with the gene-combination cs cs, cb cb or cb cs -
have points. The colour is restricted to the face (mask), the
ears, the legs and the tail. |
 |
Siamese-points - gene-combination cs cs;
these points can be seen in Siamese, but also in Colourpoint.
The body is not coloured, it is mostly off-white.
The eye colour is deep blue. |
 |
Burmese-points - gene-combination cb cb; Burmese
are cats with points, but the contrast to the body colour is very
weak. |
 |
Tonkinese-points - gene-combination cb cs.
The body is coloured with the colour of the points, but the
points are clearly visible, because they are darker.
The eye colour is aquamarin. |
| Polydactyl |
The cats has too many toes. |
| Prognatism |
Is the protruding of one jaw over
the other, either the protrusion of the upper jaw over the lower
jaw, or vice-versa. |
|
R |
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| Recessive
inheritance |
If both genes of a gene pair for a
specific trait must be equal that this trait can be seen in the
external appearance of the cat. |
Ringed
Rings |
A tail is said to have rings, if it
shows distinct, "darker" coloured rings. |
| Rosettes |
Are spots, which are broken up and
which have a lighter coloured centre, which is encircled by the
darker colour of the pattern (in different colour shades of the
pattern). The best-known breed, which should have rosettes, is
the spotted Bengal. |
| Ruddy |
Black ticked tabby in the
Abyssinian and Somali. |
| Ruff Also
called frill. |
The distinctly more and longer
hairs around the neck are called ruff. |
| Rufism |
Yellow or brown shading in silver
varieties. This shading is undesirable in silver varieties. In
red and red tabby cats rufism is desirable, because the red
colour becomes intensified and darker.
|
|
S |
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| Sable |
The colour black = brown is called
sable in the Burmese. |
| Seal |
The colour black in cats with
Siamese-points is called seal.
Examples:
sealpoint
seal tortiepoint |
| Self See also Solid. |
Coloured with one colour. |
| Sepia |
The colours, based on the
Burmese-gene, are called Sepia. |
| Shaded |
Denotes a pattern in agouti cats
with a high amount of silver or golden (about 2/3 of the entire
hair length), 1/3 at the tips of the hairs is coloured. There
exist Silver shaded and Golden Shaded.
A special colour in GCCF are Asian shaded Standard
(shaded without silver), that means 2/3 of the hair shaft are
paler coloured, the tips of the hairs are dark coloured. |
| Shell See also Chinchilla. |
Denotes a pattern in agouti cats
with an extremely high amount of silver or golden (about
7/8 of the entire hair length). Only the hair tips are
coloured.
There exist Silver shell and Golden shell. |
Silver
 |
 |
 |
 |
| shell |
shaded |
smoke |
silver tabby |
|
The Inhibitor-gene I causes that the undercoat is silver-white
and that the colour is restricted to the upper part of the hair
shaft of the upper coat.
In agouti cats the yellow bands become silver-white. |
| Silver tabby point |
When the agouti points
(tabby point) have a silver-white basis. |
| Smoke point |
When the non-agouti
points have a silver-white basis. |
| Solid See also Self. |
Coloured with one colour. |
| Sorrel |
The term for the colour cinnamon
ticked tabby in the Abyssinian and Somali. |
| Spine line |
A darker line (in
the colour of the pattern) in tabby cats, which runs from the
shoulders along the spine up to the tail tip. |
| Spotted
 |
Denotes a tabby pattern with spots.
The spots may be round or oval and cover the entire body and the
legs.A special shape of spots are Rosettes. |
|
St |
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| Sternum |
Breast bone.
A long, flat bone in the centre of the chest to which the ribs
are connected. |
| Stop |
A distinct indentation between the
forehead and the base of the nose, which is rounded. |
| Strabism |
Squint. |
| Straight |
Mostly used to indicate straight
ears.
Example:
Scottish Straight (Scottish Fold with upright, straight ears)
But also used in the American Curl, when the ears are not curled
backwards and are straight.
The term is also used in breeds with curled hairs, when the
hairs are straight.
Example:
Selkirk Rex straight |
|
T |
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| Tabby |
Tabby cats are agouti cats which
display tabby markings. Cream/red cats are an exception from the
rule, they may display a distinct tabby pattern without having
agouti.
There exist the following tabby patterns:
- Blotched (classical tabby)
- Mackerel
- Spotted
A special form are Rosettes.
- Marbled
- Ticked
See the menu
Standard-Colours-Marking for further description. |
| Tabby point |
The points have stripes. These cats
also have Agouti. |
| Tail defect |
The following deformations in the
tail:
- kink
The kink must not be only at the end of the tail!
- knot at the tip of the tail
- nervous knot at the tip of the tail
- greasy lump
- thickening of the tail tip due to a surplus of Calcium
- stiff end of the tail
- any malformation of the tail
|
| Texture |
The consistency of the coat.
For example:
smooth coat, silky coat, soft coat, firm coat, plushy coat,
elastic coat, coarse coat |
| Ticking
ticked
 |
The bands of colour, which appears on each single hair, are
called Ticking.
For example: Abyssinian, Somali have Ticking, Ticked Tabby
Oriental. |
| Tipping
tipped |
The darker colour, which is
restricted only to the hair tips, is called Tipping (tipped). The
remaining hair shaft is lighter coloured. Smoke, Shaded and Shell
have Tipping. |
| Torbie |
Tortie tabby. |
| Tortie(shell) |
The colour is patched with
red/cream patches. See the menu
Standard-Colours-Distribution for further description.
See the menu
Standard-Colours-Tortieshell for the tortie varieties. |
| Tricolour See
also Piebald.
See also Bicolour. |
Denotes a specific bicolor pattern where the amount of white is
1/3 (minimum) to 1/2 (maximum), the remaining coat is tortie or
tortie tabby.
See the menu
Standard-Colours-Distribution for further description.
In American organizations Tricolour is also called
Calico and Dilute(d) Calico.
|
| Type |
- The overall appearance of the cat,
which must be harmonious and well proportioned in all
breeds.
- Torso
- Legs and paws
- Tail
- Neck,
if not listed separately.
See also the menu
Standard-Certificates-Definitions. |
|
Th |
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| Thumb print |
The light patch on the back side of
the ears in all agouti varieties. |
|
U |
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| Umbilical hernia |
A lump on the belly where the navel
cord was attached (navel), which is caused by a weakness of the
abdominal wall, which allows the intestines to protrude. |
| Under shot |
When the lower jaws extend beyond
the upper jaws. |
|
V |
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| Velour (flocked)
See also Brush. |
This is a type of coat in the Don Sphynx
and Peterbald.
Usually
Don Sphynx and Peterbald are naked. But there is a coat type
which has a fine, soft and short down, which can be felt - one
feels a certain resistance when stroking with the hand over the
skin. |
| Vibrissae |
Tactile hairs or whiskers.
Vibrissae can be found above the eye brows, as whiskers and on
the backside of the front legs. |
|
W |
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| White spotting
See also Piebald. |
The white patches, caused by the
Piebald Spotting gene, are called white spotting. See Bicolour, Tricolour,
Piebald. |
|
X |
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| Xiphisternum |
The lowest and smallest part of the
three divisions of the breast bone (sternum).
This part is called so, because the bone is shaped like a sword. |
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