Breed Standard.

The Oriental is a medium-sized cat, beautifully balanced, with head, ears and neck carried on a long, svelte, well-muscled body, supported on slender legs, with feet and tail in proportion. The head and profile should be wedge-shaped, neither round nor pointed. The expression is alert and intelligent. Males are generally larger than females.

The Oriental Longhair is a semi longhaired cat. Due to the coat length, the Oriental Longhair appears to have softer lines and less extreme type. The long hair may diffuse but never conceal the Siamese type.

HEAD:                    Tapering wedge that is medium in size and in proportion to the body. The wedge starts at the nose and flares out in straight lines to the tip of the ears, an equilateral triangle being the ideal, slightly convex across the top of the skull, forehead flat (this is the area between ear base and top of eye opening) with no break at the whiskers and a fine muzzle. When the whiskers are smoothed back, the underlying straight bone structure is apparent. Allowance is made for jowls in stud males.

                                In profile, the straight line formed from the nose leather to the centre of the forehead changes angle slightly and curves over the top of the skull and flows smoothly into the neck, without any irregularity.

EARS:                     Large, pricked, and wide at the base, flared, with good width between and continuing the line of the wedge.

NOTE:                    In kittens, the ears may appear to be oversized and fall outside the line of the wedge. Allowance may be made for this.

EYES:                     Oriental in shape, with no less than the width of an eye between them. They are medium in size, slanting slightly downward towards the nose, in harmony with the lines of the wedge, ears and head size. They are neither protruding nor recessed and there must be no permanent squint.

NOSE:                    Long, straight and of even width, with no dip or rise.

CHEEKS:               In line with the wedge, neither protruding nor too narrow.

JAWS:                   Fine, wedge-shaped and medium in size.

CHIN:                    Firm, completing the line of the wedge. In profile, it is of good depth and in a vertical line with the tip of the nose.

NECK:                    Long and slender, in proportion to the body; being one of the features which gives elegance to these cats.

BODY:                   Medium in size, long, svelte and elegant, with fine bones and firm muscles. The abdomen is tight, the body tubular, with the shoulder and hips continuing the sleek, straight lines of the body. The rib cage is oval when viewed from the front.
TAIL:                      Long, whip-like, tapering from the base to the tip, in proportion to the body, and without kink.

LEGS:                     Long, slim and elegant, in proportion to the body. The hind legs are slightly longer than the front legs.

PAWS:                   Small and oval.

Head and neck                                       20
Ears                                                           5
Eye shape and set                                 10            (35)

Body                                                        15
Tail                                                            5
Legs and paws                                       5              (25)

Coat length and texture                       10
Coat colour, incl. pattern                     15
Eye colour                                              10              (35)

Condition                                               5              5

Total                                                                        100