HEAD..................................................40 points

BODY................................................... 40 points

COAT.................................................. 20 points

CATEGORIES:  All.

DIVISIONS:  All.

COLORS:  All.

PERMISSIBLE OUTCROSSES:  Oriental Shorthair, Siamese, Don Hairless (Don Sphynx)

HEAD:

Shape:   Long, inverted triangle, measuring from ear tip to ear tip to blunted chin, forming a  wedge.

Ears: Extra large, pointed, and broad at the base, slightly flared.  Set to extend just below the line of the wedge.

Eyes:  Medium in size, almost almond in shape. Obliquely set, flush with the skull, neither protruding nor recessed. Distance between eyes not less than width of one eye.  Eye color independent of coat color.

Profile: Almost straight profile with slightly noticeable angle from forehead to nose; two-planed. Flat forehead. 

Muzzle: Strong, smooth, slightly blunt.  Not narrow.  No whisker pinch. Kinky whiskers in all coat types.

Chin: Strong, tip of nose in line with tip of chin. Not protruding.

Neck:  Long and slender.  

BODY:

Torso: Medium-sized, long and graceful.  Shoulders and hips equal in width.

Legs: Long, medium-fine boned. Firm muscles. Straight vertical forelegs.  Hind legs slightly longer than front legs.

Feet: Oval, medium in size with long, agile prominent toes and a discreet, non-prominent foot pad.

Tail:  Long, strong and whippy.

Musculature:  Firm and well-developed.

Boning: Medium-fine.

COAT:

The Peterbald coat ranges from completely hairless, to a flocked or velour coat, to a brush coat.  The gene which causes the Peterbald coat is a “hair-losing” gene rather than a “hairless” gene. All coat types are accepted and no preference should be given to one coat type over another.  Instead, attention should be paid to the quality of the coat type.

The hairless Peterbald has soft, warm skin that feels almost sticky, but not oily, to the touch.  The texture is chamois-like.  The hairless Peterbald may have  wrinkles all over the body.  The flocked or velour coat ranges from a short fine, sparse down to a slightly longer, closer down which offers resistance to the hand when stroked.  The flocked or velour coat may appear hairless until touched.  The texture is suede-like.

The brush coat is one of the Peterbald’s most distinguishing characteristics.  No other breed has a coat similar to this.  The brush coat is a dense, wiry coat of irregular texture, ranging from soft to coarse.  Brush coat may range from one-eighth to one-half inch, but should in no way feel or look like a normal coat when closely inspected.

In some instances, a Peterbald may combine coat types.  For example, a cat may have brush coat on the extremities (i.e. muzzle, ears, legs, tail) and have a flocked or velour coat on the body. In such cases, coat that is retained on extremities is short, close lying and downy in texture, rather than the typical wiry texture.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The overall impression of an ideal Peterbald is an elegant and intelligent cat.  The Peterbald has a sturdy, lean elongated body that contributes to its graceful movement.  Peterbalds originated in Russia in January, 1994.  They were originally produced by mating an Oriental Shorthair  with a Don Hairless (Don Sphynx). The original litter demonstrated that the Don Hairless gene is a dominant gene, unlike the Sphynx gene.  It also demonstrated various unusual coat types, including the distinctive brush coat.

LOCKETS: Allow

PENALIZE:

Head: Curved profile; weak chin; muzzle break.

Body:  Heavy, rounded body;  bowed forelegs.

WITHHOLD ALL AWARDS (WW): Longhaired cats; normal coat.  Any evidence of illness or poor health.

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DISQUALIFY (DQ):  Protruding sternum; visible tail fault; crossed eyes.

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Temperament must be unchallenging; any sign of definite challenge shall disqualify.  The cat may exhibit fear, seek to flee, or generally complain aloud but may not threaten to harm. 

In accordance with Show Rules, ARTICLE SIXTEEN, the following shall be considered mandatory disqualifications: 

a cat that bites (216.9),

a cat showing evidence of intent to deceive (216.10),

adult whole male cats not having two descended testicles (216.11), cats with all or part of the tail missing , except as authorized by a Board approved standard (216.12.1),

cats with more than five toes on each front foot and four toes on each back foot, unless proved the result of an injury or as authorized by a Board approved standard (216.12.2),

visible or invisible tail faults if Board approved standard requires disqualification (216.12.4),

crossed eyes if Board approved standard requires disqualification (216.12.5), t

otal blindness (216.12.6),

markedly smaller size, not in keeping with the breed (216.12.9),

and depression of the sternum or unusually small diameter of the rib cage itself (216.12.11.1).

See Show Rules, ARTICLE SIXTEEN for more comprehensive rules governing penalties and disqualifications.