BREED NUMBERS
The Oriental breeds of cat are divided into two basic groups, non-agouti (self) cats and agouti (tabby) cats. The self cats should be the same colour all over and each hair should be pigmented to the root. Tabby cats should have the pattern according to their breed standard. All cats are one of three base colours, black, chocolate or cinnamon. Each of these has a dilute variant which gives blue, lilac and fawn cats. In addition the cat can have the Orange gene which gives rise to Red cats, and the dilute version is Cream. The Orange gene is sex-linked - it is carried on the X chromosome. If a male cat has the Orange gene he is Red or Cream, but a female cat must have two copies (one on each X) to be Red or Cream - if she only has one copy she is a tortoiseshell, and there are tortie versions of each of the three base colours and their dilute variations. Finally there is the Dilute Modifier Gene. This only has an effect on dilute-colour cats, turning blue, lilac and fawn cats into Caramel and Cream into Apricot. Oriental cats in any of these colours should have green eyes.
The foregoing paragraph describes in outline all the Oriental colours except for the Foreign White (breed 35). This cat is actually a Siamese cat with one or two copies of the Dominant White gene, which hides whatever colour it might be underneath, including Red and Cream. These cats have blue eyes because they are really Siamese, and are not deaf. The are not included in the list of colours below.
Apart from the Self and the Tortoiseshell cat, Orientals are found in the following breeds:
- Spotted Tabby - Breed 38
- This cat should have a well-defined spotted pattern, and is found in all colours and their silver versions.
- Classic Tabby - Breed 41
- These have the classic tabby pattern as seen on many other breeds.
- Mackerel Tabby - Breed 44
- Mackerel tabbies are rarer than classic tabbies, but again exhibit a pattern seen in several other breeds.
- Ticked Tabby - Breed 45
- These cats should have a coat which is evenly ticked all over, with tabby markings showing only on the face, legs, tail and 'necklace'.
- Shaded - Breed 43
- This is an agouti cat where the pattern and colour is restricted to half or less of the hair length. The lighter undercoat becomes more extensive as the cat matures. This can be in any of the Oriental colours plus their silver versions.
- Smoke - Breed 42
- This is a non-agouti breed in any of the Oriental colours. It should have a white undercoat which is seen when the hair is lifted.
The breed numbers below give the non-silver colours - a Silver cat is indicated by appending an 's' to the breed number, so 43bs is a Chocolate Silver Shaded cat. All colours have full championship status except the the Fawn Self which has Provisional status and competes for Intermediate Certificates (ICs), and the Caramel Self which has Preliminary status. Each cat is assessed against it's Standard of Points and if it conforms sufficiently closely a Merit Certificate is awarded - the cats are not places relative to each other in their Open Class.
The Oriental Longhairs are now a Championship breed, and share the Champion and Premier classes with the shorthair cats. Their breed numbers all start with '62 '. A full description can be found at the Palantir website.
| Colour | Self | Spotted Tabby |
Classic Tabby |
Mackerel Tabby |
Ticked Tabby |
Shaded | Smoke |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 37 | 38 | 41 | 44 | 45 | 43 | 42 |
| Blue | 37a | 38a | 41a | 44a | 45a | 43a | 42a |
| Chocolate | 29 | 38b | 41b | 44b | 45b | 43b | 42b |
| Lilac | 29c | 38c | 41c | 44c | 45c | 43c | 42c |
| Red | 37d | 38d | 41d | 44d | 45d | 43d | 42d |
| Black tortie | 37e | 38e | 41e | 44e | 45e | 43e | 42e |
| Cream | 37f | 38f | 41f | 44f | 45f | 43f | 42f |
| Apricot | 37fn | 38fn | 41fn | 44fn | 45fn | 43fn | 42fn |
| Blue tortie | 37g | 38g | 41g | 44g | 45g | 43g | 42g |
| Chocolate Tortie | 37h | 38h | 41h | 44h | 45h | 43h | 42h |
| Lilac Tortie | 37j | 38j | 41j | 44j | 45j | 43j | 42j |
| Cinnamon | 37k | 38k | 41k | 44k | 45k | 43k | 42k |
| Cinnamon tortie | 37m | 38m | 41m | 44m | 45m | 43m | 42m |
| Caramel | 37n | 38n | 41n | 44n | 45n | 43n | 42n |
| Fawn Tortie | 37p | 38p | 41p | 44p | 45p | 43p | 42p |
| Fawn | 37r | 38r | 41r | 44r | 45r | 43r | 42r |
| Caramel Tortie | 37y | 38y | 41y | 44y | 45y | 43y | 42y |