Cat Ultra-Typing - A Breed Too Far?

While breeds based on 'deformities' aren't finding favor with the judges, ultra-typing is permitted. The words of the standards must be re-interpreted as the cat moves further and further away from the original type while still adhering to the 'letter of the law'. Though the Peke-faced Persian is unacceptable, the standard for the 'normal' Persian may soon have to be rewritten to keep the nose leather below its eyes. Ultra-types have given a whole new slant on requirements for the nose leather to be placed 'high' and it seems that requirements for a 'short muzzle' are being interpreted as 'no muzzle'. It will soon be necessary to define the outer limits of what is acceptable if the cats are not to suffer.

Cat and Ultra Cat

The current trend is to make existing breeds more extreme - producing 'ultra-type' cats. If the 'ultra-type' finds favor with judges, more breeders start to produce it in order to compete. Standards get revised to accommodate it and the 'old style' becomes unfashionable and rarely seen, even though non-exhibitor cat owners may prefer it. Some breeders feel pressurized into conforming to the new look in order to be competitive on the show bench.

"It is the role of judges to penalize exhibits which ... show incorrect type due to over-typing. If judges lack the willpower and confidence to pursue this course, eventually a new look is set into place within the breed and the standard altered to incorporate that 'look'. This is not always in the best interests of the breed." (Letters, National Cat, August 1993)

"A standard which adopts an 'anything goes' attitude allows breeders to create more and more extreme specimens with disastrous results for the health of the breed." (Jeff Spall, Letters, Show World, March 1993)

The Siamese once resembled a shorthair with colored points. It was chunkier than the modern fragile-looking Siamese with their ultra-tubular shape, ultra-wedge-shaped face and ultra-slim legs which arose through selective breeding for an extreme foreign shape. Although both types are said to occur naturally, breeders have worked to 'refine' the Siamese. According to an American breeder of Traditional Siamese cats, the CFA Siamese breed council actually changed the definition of a Siamese cat so that the original cat can no longer be shown because it does not meet the revised breed standard. The new definition not only encourages, but actually drive the breeders to produce an even more extreme animal than was current when the standard changed.

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