Singapura Breed Standard

For this exercise I must thank Sakura Ishihara who kindly granted me permission to add text to her photograph and to lighten it a bit. You can see the original photograph on her Flickr photostream. The inserted photographs are from originals by the celebrated cat photographer, Helmi Flick to whom I am always extremely grateful. Sakura Ishihara describes this cat as "Sakasa floating cat". This is because in the original photograph this gorgeous cat seems to be floating. He appears to be an intact male and he is sleeping in what appears to be a large metalic dish. On this page, below the photograph, I describe the major points of the Singapura breed standard. The objective is to try and make it more readable to people who are outside the cat fancy (those people who breed and show purebred cats). If anyone wants to add to this page, they can do so by using this form. I will publish the comments on this page provided they add to it. I have added my comments to the précised Singapura breed standard. Sinagapura Breed Standard (CFA Précised Exracts) Comment - they are personal observations only General - This is a small to medium sized cat (2 - 4 kg or 4 -9 lbs1).  This cat is muscular and the ears and eyes are large in relation to the body. The colouring is "refined" and "delicate". Despite that opening description, the Singapura is considered to be the smallest of the cat breeds (note: miniature and teacup cats are not cat breeds). It is not uncommon for ears and eyes to be large in relation to the body. It is something that cat breeders like to do to enhance the appearance of the cat. Head - The skull is rounded narrowing to a "definite whisker break". I take "whisker break" as being the beginning of the muzzle, which is quite short and the nose is "blunt". In other words this cat does not have a slender elongated face as is the case for the modern Siamese. Neither is it too flat (as on the contemporary Persian). The face and head are what I would call within the range of what we see with random bred cats. Ears - Large and slightly pointed. "Outer lines of the ear to extend upward at an angle slightly wide of parallel". Small ears would be a major problem for this cat if he or she were to be a show cat. The words in inverted commas are typical of cat breed standards. They are hard to understand unless you are writing the standard. On my interpretation of this sentence, it means that where the line of the outside of the face meets the line of the outside of the ear there is a slight bend in that line outwards away from the head (a "break" in cat fancy language). Eyes - large and almond shaped. The colors are as stated in the picture. Small eyes are a serious problem for a Singapura show cat. Body - Small to medium. "Moderately stocky". Body, legs and floor to "form a square. The mid-section should not be "tucked in". I presume that the square shape formed by the legs, floor and body indicates that the legs are the same length of the body (excluding head). That is the only conclusion. The reference to the mid-section must mean that the body is not what I would call "greyhound-like". Some of the slender cats are like that; such as the Cornish Rex. Neck - "tends towards short and thick". This reinforces once again that this cat is not slender but normally shaped. Very slender purebred cats are an artificial creation through selective breeding. Legs & Feet - normal cat legs and feet! My interpretation. Tail - tends to be slender but not whippy. The Sphynx has the classic whippy tail. Coat - fine and short, silky and close lying. Is this a single coat? Probably, yes. Should be very easy to maintain. Singapura breed standard - Notes: 1. Encyclopedia of the Cat original edition - page 137 2. See the CFA breed standard (PDF file please note) From Singapura breed standard to Singapura cat.