The Napoleon Cat
Closer Examination - Feature by Feature
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Let's go feature by feature so you can
visualize what exactly a Napoleon Cat looks like.
Click Napoleon Written Standard to view. Click this link to compare the breeds (Napoleon vs. Munchkin vs. Persians)
Juno, right, and the calico from Helenca,
below, are both good overall examples of a Napoleon. When you look at them, you do not see the domestic face of a Munchkin
nor do you see the snub nosed extremely flat face of a modern Persian. The general look is that "sweet baby doll expression,"
and overall roundness. A Napoleon is a true hybrid in that they are a good mix of their two parent breed groups and
in various ways as we will see below.
Ears: Medium, with preference given to slightly smaller ears. Rounded tips. Set wide apart, but not extreme or flared. The Munchkins
have a medium-large ear and the Persians have very short ears. Medium - medium...it crops up many times in our standard. "Medium,
with preference given to slightly smaller ears" was meant to aim for the smaller side of medium in lieu of a larger ear.
This blue cream kitten, below, has a good ear size and placement.
Muzzle:Moderately short and broad.
Well developed, with rounded contours. Profile: Moderate stop. No break. Neck: Moderately short.
Head: Shape: Round, round and round. Cheeks: Moderately full and well developed, giving the face an overall sweet expression. Jaws: Broad
As you look around at the various Napoleon cattery websites, you will still see
some variances to the Napoleon "look." Some of this comes from the Napoleons still being a new breed and consistency
and type are always a challenge. Some of it comes with the quality of the cat - like in all breeds, there are pet quality,
breeder quality, and show potentials. The Napoleon is suppose to be a true hybrid - meaning a good mix between
the two parent breeds - and not looking like either parent breed fully. We are working towards a standard and mapping out
a breeding program to achieve those goals, but there is quite a bit of consistency being exhibited more and more throughout
the Napoleon community. GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Napoleon is a hybrid of the Persian Breed Group and the Munchkin Breed Group. The Napoleon’s distinctive short legs developed from a spontaneous autosomal dominant mutation. The short legs do not hamper mobility or survival ability. The ideal Napoleon is a medium sized, strong cat with nice boning and musculature. The face should be rounded and open with a pleasant sweet expression and large, round, expressive eyes. The Napoleon should be balanced physically and tempermentally; gentle and amenable to handling.
Eyes:
Large and round, with a straight bias, adding to the sweet expression of the face. Moderately
far apart to show breadth of nose, with a non-protruding brow ridge. Deep brilliant eye color is preferred, which conforms
to coat color. Round eyes yet avoiding what
is called "bug eyes" to keep the expression looking sweet. By keeping out the "protruding brow ridge"
we avoid the grumpy or mean look. The term "sweet expression" is often used but it is also referred to as a "baby
doll face." A good spacing between the eyes help to create this overall open look.
Chin: Rounded within contour of head. In alignment with nose. Again, the word rounded. Nose alignment for the chin is talking profile.
Nose: Moderately short, broad, and straight with an obvious stop.
Top of nose leather cannot be equal to or higher than the lowest point of lower eye lid. Not snub. A specific wording of "not snub" is a huge
difference between the modern day Persian and our Napoleons. See the noses - they do have an obvious stop without going snub.
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