Aphrodite cat
Aphrodite cats are one of the two naturally occurring cat breeds on Cyprus. The Aphrodite’s cats are massive cats usually bigger than St. Helen’s. They have triangular head, long body and high legs. Profile has a slight dip and nose is straight and long. The head is triangular with almond shaped or oval eyes set wide apart. Ears are straight and pointed placed high on the head. The back legs are higher than the front legs. Long torso is muscular and powerful, tail is medium or long, very bushy in semi long varieties. Eyes and hair colors are same as in St. Helen’s. Both breeds are slow matured, the full size is reached at the age of 3 years.
STANDARD
- Head – From the front a long triangle, cheek line straight. Long straight muzzle and nose, with a slight dip under the height of the eyes. Strong chin and teeth. Front slightly rounded, slight dome to the forehead.
- Eyes – Olive shaped, from a bit rounder to a bit more oval. All colours allowed. Pale blue and light yellow is valued to be as good as dark blue and green. Colour should be uniform.
- Ears – Wide at the base, medium to large ears, placed in form of an open V with a slightly rounded space between the ears on the top-head.
- Body – Big and strong. Elegant, lean muscular body, not cobby. Long back and neck. Muscular shoulders and hips. Big body measurements. Morphology develops quickly. Due to development of breed, kitten could be less muscular but big boned from the beginning. Back legs slightly longer than front legs.
- Tail – Medium to long and in balance with the body measurement. In shorthair variety tip of tail more slender than the heavy root.
- Coat – Soft cotton-woolly semi-long coat with undercoat in winter, in summer much shorter and no undercoat. Not much topcoat covering, neither in summer nor in winter. Only on back very little (water-resistant) coat. Coat very soft to the touch. The longhair variety has a full, well plumed ostrich feather tail.
- Colour – All colours with the exception of chocolate, lilac, cinnamon and fawn, pointed colours and mink. Solid colour should be without white. In bicolour non regular colour setting is desired.