THE OFFICIAL AUSTRALIAN MIST BREED STANDARD

AUSTRALIAN MIST standard approved by Dr Truda M. Straede.
Australian Mist breed founder.     7th September 2012

AUSTRALIAN MIST
(Breed 85)
(Preliminary 26/10/11)
The Australian Mist is a well-balanced cat of moderate foreign type, with no tendency to
extremes in any of its characteristics. Both males and females have well sculpted facial
features creating an open generous expression. The males are usually slightly larger than
females, with more developed facial characteristics and musculature. Full muscle
development, desired coat texture and eye colour are normally not achieved until 2 years of
age.
Head - The head is wedge-shaped broad and moderately short with gently rounded contours
from both side to side and front to back. The curve at the back of the skull flows smoothly
into a well-defined neck of medium length and in proportion to the body. Allowance should
be made for jowls in entire males.

Cheeks - Rounded and of good breadth and in proportion to the breadth of the skull. The
junction of the nose, cheeks and inner corner of the eyes form a definite depression on
either side of the bridge of the nose .

Jaws / Foreface - Jaws are broad at the jaw-hinge and taper to a blunt muzzle. Nose leather
and chin are flanked by well-defined whisker-pads such that the nose leather, chin and
whisker pads give the impression of a four-leaf clover when viewed from the front
.
Nose/Profile - Nose is broad, moderately short and of uniform width. In profile there should
be a concave curve below the line of the eyes and a convex curve above that line flowing
into the curve of the forehead, the two parts of the curve being of equal length. No distinct
nose break.

Chin - Level with the upper jaw such that the chin forms a vertical line from the nose leather to
the bottom of the chin; firm and of sufficient breadth when viewed from the front to
complement the nose leather.

Ears - Moderately large, wide at the base with rounded tips and tilted slightly forward ; opening to the front spaced well apart with rounded top of head of generous proportion between
.
Eyes - Large and lustrous, the upper lid is STRAIGHT the lower lid is curved, set wide apart and slightly obliquely to give a soft, open gentle expression. Desired colour: all shades of green from chartreuse through to aquamarine. In kittens the colour may start as various shades of gold, generally with a green outline, therefore allowances must be made for age and development.

Body - Medium to large in length and size, feeling substantial and muscular and heavier than
it appears; chest broad and round. The back has a broad arc over a rounded rump, which
is distinct from the more obvious curve over the shoulder blades and flowing into the well defined neck.

Legs & Paws - Legs are slender yet proportionally strong, hind legs slightly higher than
forelegs. Paws are neat and oval in shape.

Tail - Long and thick with minimal taper to a rounded tip, well furred and in balance with the body .

Coat Texture - Short to medium in length, texture is dense and resilient with some degree of
undercoat, the overall feel being plush, 'moss' like with some resistance and should
display a glossy shine indicative of good health and condition.

Coat Pattern - The pattern of the Australian Mist is distinct and a key feature of the breed.
The “misted” effect is partially caused by agouti invasion of the overlying darker pattern and has been deliberately selected for to give the overall impression of a pattern softened at the
edges and merging slightly into the agouti ground. (It is NOT the only source of misting, the remaining part is to do with the colour range selected for, particularly the length of the agouti banding on each hair) All markings are delicate, though distinct from the paler agouti ground, which provides a misted background.

Spotted - An unbroken line runs back from the corner of the eye to meet a broken line
running from the corner of the mouth. Markings on the forehead form an intricate letter
“M” with complex scarab behind it and extending into lines over the back of the head and
down the neck. Several broken or unbroken necklaces on the upper chest and neck.
Spine lines may be broken or unbroken. Markings on the body are formed of symmetrical
spots of any size or shape covering the sides, flanks and under-parts. Elongated spots or
bars on the legs. Tail is evenly ringed with a solid tip of the pattern colour. Paws may be
spotted on top, undersides of paws and hocks are of the pattern colour.

Marbled - The marbling consists of symmetrically placed patches of the darker pattern colour,
broken internally with blotches of lighter colours, on a pale ground. Margins between
ground colour and patches may be uneven, but should be clearly delineated. Ground
colour has uneven margins along the spine. Head shows dark lines from the corner of the
eye, below the eye and below the jaw to meet mid-cheek below the ear. Markings on the
forehead form an “M” shape with a coronet, the central apex of which reaches to between
the ears. From the coronet, four parallel lines run over the top of the head and down the
neck. The body shows marbled pattern on shoulders, sides and flanks, the flow of the
pattern is horizontal, not vertical. Dark spine-line from the mid-point of the rib-cage to the
base of the tail bordered by two bands of lighter colour. Belly spotted with a least two
rows of rather heavy elliptical spots. Chest shows a series of broken or unbroken
necklaces which extend from the shoulder pattern. Irregular shaped banding on the upper
legs, incomplete smaller bands and spots on lower legs and feet. Underside of paws and
hocks in darker pattern colour. Banding on the upper surface of tail irregular, scalloped in appearance in side view. Underside pale.

Coat Colour - In all cases the overall colour should be rich and warm, paler on the underparts
of the body and with darker rufus tones on nose, cheeks and ears present even in
the pale colours. Chocolate, Lilac, Gold and Peach coloured kittens are very much paler than adults, with the rufus tones dominating the body markings. Full colour develops in an adult cat of approximately 2 years old.

Brown - (Genotype AA BB/Bb/Bb1 cbcb DD/Dd)
Seal brown markings against a silvery fawn to old ivory ground.
Nose Leather: Brick red outlined in brown
Paw-pads: Brown

Blue - (Genotype AA BB/Bb/Bb1 cbcb dd)
Bluish-grey markings against a warm oatmeal to pinkish cream agouti ground
Nose Leather: Pink outlined in blue
Paw-pads: Blue

Chocolate - (Genotype AA bb/bb1 cbcb DD/Dd)
Warm milk chocolate markings against a creamy fawn to old ivory agouti ground
Nose Leather: Pinkish-brick outlined in chocolate
Paw-pads: Chocolate

Lilac - (Genotype AA bb/bb1 cbcb dd)
Dove grey markings against a delicate pale pinkish mushroom agouti ground.
Nose Leather: Pale pink outlined in dove grey
Paw-pads: Dusty pink

Gold - (Genotype AA b1b1 cbcb DD/Dd)
Old gold markings against a rich cream ground. Rufus tonings on ear tips, nose, underside of paws and tail tip intensify the colour to bronze .
Nose Leather: Pinkish orange outlined in bronze.
Paw-pads: Pink

Peach - (Genotype AA b1b1 cbcb dd)
Pinkish markings against a pale pinkish cream ground. Ear tips, top of head and back brushed with a feint lilac lilac bloom salmon. Rufus tonings salmon pink. A warm extremely vibrant colour.
Nose Leather: Pale pink outlined in salmon pink
Paw-pads: Pink


Condition - Cats should feel firm and muscular and of good weight for size.

Temperament - The Australian Mist is an even tempered cat, any tendency to aggression
should be penalised .

Withholding Certificates and First Prizes in Kitten Open Classes for:
1. Small or fine boned adults
2. Body that is too cobby or oriental in shape
3. Small or close set eyes
4. Round or oriental shaped eyes
5. Shallow or long skull
6. Small or upright ears
7. Whippy tail
8. Lack of weight, poor muscle tone and/or condition
9. White toes or white marks/spots anywhere not in colour description
10. Blue, Amber or Orange eye-colour
11. Incorrect tabby pattern, colour or ground colour
12. Coat which is woolly or single/thin with no resilience or too long
13. Any defect as listed in the preface to this SOP booklet
14. Extremely aggressive behaviour
15 Pattern on flanks obscured by overmasking, resulting in lack of definition.

Faults:
1. Pinched muzzle in adults
2. Slight bony excrescence at end of tail
3. Distinct bump on nose or definite Roman nose