PETERBALD
GENERAL STANDARD
The Peterbald originated in Russia in the 1980’s from a cross between a Donskoy and an Oriental Shorthair. The primary feature
is the lack of coat, though it may have down or even a brush coat. It is a medium-sized cat, elegant and, 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.
HEAD: Tapering wedge that is medium in size and in
proportion to the body. The wedge starts at the muzzle LEGS: Long, slim and elegant, in proportion to the
and flares out in straight lines a little higher than the line body. The hind legs are slightly longer than the front
of the ears, an almost equilateral triangle being the ideal. legs.
The top of the skull is slightly convex, forehead flat (this
is the area between ear base and top of eye opening) PAWS: Small and oval with long toes.
with no break at the whiskers. The muzzle is moderately
broad and slightly blunt rather than fine and pointed.
When the whiskers are smoothed back, the underlying SCALE OF POINTS
straight bone structure is apparent. Allowance is made
for jowls in stud males.
Head and neck 30
In profile, the straight line formed from the nose leather Ears 5
to the centre of the forehead changes angle slightly and Eye shape, size, set and colour 5 40
curves over the top of the skull, flowing smoothly into
the neck, without ant irregularity Body 25
Tail, legs and paws 10 35
EARS: Large and wide at the base, flared, with good Skin quality/coat texture 20 20
width between just below the line of the wedge,
especially the flange at the base of the ears. Condition 5 5
NOTE: In kittens, the ears may appear to be oversized Total 100
and fall outside the line of the wedge. Allowance may be
made for this. FAULTS / PENALTIES
EYES: Oriental in shape, with no less than the width
FAULTS AS FOR THE GENERAL LIST OF
of an eye between them. They are medium in size,
FAULTS FOR ALL BREEDS and for the relevant
slanting slightly downward towards the nose, in
SIAMESE/ORIENTAL LISTS, PLUS:
harmony with the lines of the wedge, ears and head size.
They are neither protruding nor recessed and there must
PENALISE:
be no permanent squint.
Missing wrinkles on head
NOSE: Long, straight and of even width, with no dip Extremely fine bone structure
or rise. Forelegs bowed or not straight
Curved profile
CHEEKS: In line with the wedge, neither Weak chin
protruding nor too narrow. Muzzle break
Heavy, rounded body
JAWS: The muzzle is moderately broad and slightly
blunt rather than fine and pointed. WITHHOLD:
Longhaired cats
CHIN: Firm, completing the line of the wedge. In Full or normal coat
profile, it is of good depth and in a vertical line with the
tip of the nose. DISQUALIFY:
Any sign of any means of artificial
NECK: Long and slender, in proportion to the body; hair removal
being one of the features which gives elegance to these Visible tail fault
cats. Crossed eyes
White toe or toes.
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 SKIN/COAT AND COLOUR
when viewed from the front.
SKIN: The hairless Peterbald has soft, warm, elastic
TAIL: Long, whip-like, tapering from the base to the skin that may range from “sticky” to having a texture
tip, in proportion to the body, and without kink. akin to suede or peach skin or feeling like silk.
June 2012 CCCA Official Breed Standards Peterbald Page 1
Updated Nov 2012
Updated January 2014
Updated August 2015
EYE COLOUR: Green. Blue in pointed varieties.
Wrinkles – the skin is soft and supple. There are
Bright, intense, even tones.
numerous wrinkles on the head, concentrated mainly
around the muzzle, between the ears and around the
shoulders, with fewer wrinkles on the body. ALLOWABLE OUTCROSSES:
Siamese and Oriental Shorthair.
COAT: The Peterbald skin/coat is the single most
important feature of the breed.
The dominant gene which produces the lack of hair in
Peterbalds may manifest in several ways. A Peterbald
may have a single coat or a combination of coat types.
Generally, if there is more than one coat type, the body
has one type and the extremities or points have another.
There are three Peterbald coat textures: hairless, flock
and brush.
The hairless Peterbald generally appears hairless. It has
soft, warm, elastic skin that may range from “sticky” to
having a texture akin to suede or peach skin or feeling
like silk. The hairlessness can range from being 100%
hairless to having short, fine down which appears truly
hairless when viewed from a distance. When inspected
closely, there are clearly visible hairs. Coat that is
retained on the extremities is short, close-lying and
downy. Hairless can be divided into ultra, silken and
velour bald.
Hairless is the preferred texture/amount of coat.
The flock coat has residual flock hair with no more than
2 mm length on the whole body.
The brush coat ranges from a sparse, wiry coat of
irregular texture in which the skin is seen through the
coat, to a dense, wiry, short, wavy or kinky brush coat.
Brush coat ranges from 5mm or longer in length and
should in no way feel or look like a normal coat when
closely inspected. A cat with heavy brush coat will not
lose its coat.
A normal coat can occur, but all awards are to be
withheld for such a coat.
A Peterbald may be born with or without coat. Those
born bald may be 100% hairless or may have barely
discernible fine residual hair at the base of the ears, on
the muzzle, feet, lower legs and tail that feels like velvet.
This fine hair should be gone by two years of age.
Except in those Peterbalds that are born completely
hairless with no whiskers or eyebrows, the Peterbald
coat changes or evolves with age.
For those born with coat, that become hairless, loss of
coat begins at the top of the head or nape of the neck
and continues down the body to the tail. Short, fine
down may be retained on the extremities.
COAT COLOUR
All coat colours and coat patterns recognized in Siamese
and Orientals are allowed.
ALLOWANCE: Lockets.
June 2012 CCCA Official Breed Standards Peterbald Page 2
Updated Nov 2012
Updated January 2014
Updated August 2015
