Pedigree Cat Breeds - Tibetan

Tibetans are a semi-longhaired version of the Tonkinese cat. The founder of the breed is Agnes Driessen of The Netherlands. Her work in creating Tibetan cats began in 1992. Here in the UK, Tibetans are a new breed but on the continent they are already quite well established.

FENK the Dutch Independent Cat Association was the first registering body to accept Tibetans and championship status was granted in 1997. Now the breed has championship status with many different national registering bodies as well as preliminary recognition with TICA.

The breed is still in its infancy but thanks to Agnes’ exports and other breeders’ initiative, Tibetan kittens are now being produced in numerous catteries around the world and are usually bred alongside Balinese or Tonkinese.



Breeding programmes differ from place to place with some registeries stipulating only Balinese, Burmese and Tonkinese cats be used in the breeding programme. Others permit Tiffanies (Asian Longhairs) of Burmese Colour Restriction and some even exclude the use of Balinese in subsequent generations of Tibetans so as to keep the type quite separate from the Orientals. The breed is very much still in development but the type should align with that of the Tonkinese.

Tibetans are elegant cats. They are not as svelte in body type as the Orientals nor as chunky as the Burmese: Their conformation lies halfway in between. The coat is semi-long, silky and close-lying with a beautiful plumed tail. The colouring of Tibetans is the same as for Tonkinese, they come in three patterns:
Mink (muted points, gentle contrast on the body, aquamarine eyes).
Sepia (slightly diluted, mostly solid colouring, yellow eyes).
Point (dark points in stark contrast to the body colour, deep blue eyes).
Tibetans come in 30 different colours across the three patterns (ten colours for each pattern) and can be found in both solid and tabby varieties.


Tibetans, like Tonkinese, are very spirited, outgoing characters. They are intelligent, playful and people-orientated. They can be both vocal and demanding companions.

Tibetan Breed Standard (Dutch).
- Body: The cat has a slender body of medium length with well developed muscles. Quite high on slender legs. The feet are more oval than round. Nothing about this cat is 'extreme', everything is in balance, nothing too sharp or thin and not too bulky or compact.
- Tail: The tail is of medium length, tapering from the base to the tip.
- Head: The head is slightly longer than wide and has a wedge shape. The nose has a visible stop and the muzzle is slightly square in shape. The profile has clear contours.
- Ears: The ears are of medium size with oval ends and they are wide at the base. The ears should be quite widely placed on the head.
- Eyes: Medium sized and oval shaped showing good colour to match the coat pattern.
- Coat: semi-long, glossy and silky to touch with a full, plumed tail. Neck ruff is permitted but a heavy, coarse or open-textured coat should be penalised. See coat pattern and colour below.

Colouring should be as follows:
Mink - (Tonkinese pattern) A muted pointed pattern with a gentle contrast on the body. Eyes should be aquamarine. Colours in this pattern are:
Natural (dark brown points, warm, light brown body. Brown nose leather and paw pads).
Blue (slate blue points, light blue-grey body. Pinkish grey nose leather and paw pads).
Champagne (chocolate brown points, pale chocolate body. Pinkish brown nose leather and paw pads).
Platinum (dove-grey points with pink glow, pale grey body. Pink/grey nose leather and paw pads).
Red (Deep orange points, light orange body. Pink nose leather and paw pads).
Cream (Dark cream points, light cream body. Pink nose leather and paw pads).
Tortie (Either Natural, Blue, Champagne or Platinum with orange/peach/cream splashes to form a non-uniform pattern).

Sepia - (Burmese pattern) A slightly diluted, mostly solid colouring, showing only a hint of points. Eyes should be yellow/green or gold. Colours in this pattern are: Brown, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Red, Cream and Tortie and should be judged as Burmese colours.

Point - (Siamese pattern) Clearly defined and evenly coloured points with a stark contrast to the body colour, which should be pale and lack shading. Eyes should be deep blue taking the point colour into consideration. Colours in this pattern are: Seal, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Red, Cream or Tortie and should be judged as Balinese colours.

All tabby patterns are accepted.

Scale of Points
The points are:
Body 15
Legs and feet 5
Tail 5
Head 15 Ears 5
Eyeshape 5
Coatstructure 20
Pattern and color 20
Eyecolor 10

Total 100


Profile written by (Click to view profile): Puddha's Palace Oriental and Tibetan Cats

Photos on this page © 2012: Courtesy of Agnes Driessen – Anshira Waya’s Cattery – Netherlands, Patrizia Schiozzi – Cattery Van de Heldere Maan – Netherlands and Ash Molloy – Puddha’s Palace - UK

*Breed standards may vary according to cat governing body