EMS codes for cats
Easy Mind System, or EMS for short, is a code used to quickly identify cat breeds and color varieties. The code for color, pattern, or any other feature is always the same, regardless of race. When describing a cat, we first use the three-letter breed abbreviation, always written in capital letters, followed by lowercase letters and numbers describing the color, pattern, and other characteristics of the cat.
A
FIFe recognized breeds:
A
Category 1:
EXO - Exotic Cat
PER - Persian cat
RAG - Ragdoll
SBI - Holy Burma
TUV - Turkish Van
Category 3:
BEN - Bengal Cat
BML - Burmilla
BLH - British Longhair Cat
BSH - British Shorthair
BUR - Burmese Cat
CHA - Kartuzy cat
CYM - Cymric
EUR - European Cat
KBL - Long-haired Kuril Bobtail
KBS - Shorthair Kuril Bobtail
KOR - Korat
MAN - Manx
MAU - Egyptian Mau
OCI - Ocikat
SIN - Singapore
SNO - Snowshoe
Juice - Sokoke
A
FIFe recognized breeds:
A
Category 2:
ACL - American Long Haired Curl
ACS - American Shorthair Curl
LPL - Long Haired LaPerm
LPS - LaPerm Shorthair
MCO - Maine Coon
NEM - Neva Masquerade
NFO - Norwegian Forest Cat
SIB - Siberian Cat
TUA - Turkish Angora
A
Category 4:
ABY - Abyssinian Cat
BAL - Balinese cat
CRX - Cornish Rex, Cornish Rex
DRX - Devon Rex, Rex Dewoński
DSP - Don Sphynx
GRX - German Rex
JBT - Japanese Bobtail
OLH - Longhair Oriental Cat
OSH - Oriental Shorthair Cat
RUS - Russian Cat
SIA - Siamese Cat
PEB - Peterbald
SOM - Somali Cat
SPH - Sphinx
A
Color varieties recognized by FIFe:
A
a - blue
b - chocolate
c - lilac
d - ginger
e - cream
f - black tortoiseshell
g - blue tortoiseshell
h - chocolate tortoiseshell
j - lilac tortoiseshell
m - caramel or peach - for registration purposes only. The letter "m" added to the EMS code for lightened varieties indicates that the cat in another organization is registered as caramel (blue, lilac or fawn + "m") or apricot (cream, tortoiseshell blue, lilac and fawn + "m") .
n - black ("n" comes from French, "noir" means "black" in French), the seal variety (for Himalayan cats, it applies to Burmese, burmilla and Abyssinian cats) and red (for Abyssinians and Somali cats).
o - cinnamon (sorrel in Abyssinians)
p - fawn
q - cinnamon tortoiseshell (sorrel)
r - fawn tortoiseshell
s - silver
w - white
x - any color not recognized
y - gold
A
nt - amber - used only in Norwegian forest cats
at - light amber - used only in Norwegian Forest cats
A
FIFe recognized fur designs
A
After the color letter, in the EMS code describing each cat, there is a number indicating the fur pattern associated with the amount of white or brindle.
White cats are sometimes interesting cases. Black and white bicolor will be described as "n 03", but the Turkish Van, since it always carries the amount of white that corresponds to the van, does not have to be marked with the code "01" in the description. It is simply described as "TUV" to denote the breed, and then the color and eye color are selected, since this is a breed in which we have more than one eye color. (Code for an indefinite amount of white, "09", is reserved only for those breeds in which it is approved, namely Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest, Rex and Manx cats.)
A specific case among Siamese cats is the whole body white cat, formerly known as Foreign White. The EMS code for this cat is "SIA w 67."
A
01 - van
02 - harlequin
03 - bicolor
04 - mitted - only used in ragdolls
05 - snowshoe - only used with Snowshoe
09 - undefined amount of white (less than 1/4)
11 - shaded
12 - shell / chinchilla
21 - unspecified brindle
22 - classic brindle
23 - tiger stripes
24 - spotted
25 - ticked
31 - Burmese color
32 - Tonkinese color
33 - Himalayan type, color point
A
The coding of particular types of tabby can be a problem, especially for point varieties or breeds, or for vans and harlequins, because in these varieties only small parts of the body can be seen in the tabby pattern. Such cats are identified by the number "21", which indicates that the cat is tabby but it is not possible to tell what type of tabby it is.
In the case of other breeds or color varieties where the type of brindle is clearly visible, we enter the number that defines its pattern. The British black tabby will be described as "BRI n 22". British silver spotted cat will be described as "BRI ns 24." The "ticked" tabby patterns are so far reserved only for Abyssinian / Somali and Oriental Shorthair cats. Abyssinian / Somali cats are all "ticked" brindle, therefore there is no need to add "25" to the description in EMS code form; but for oriental cats that have different colors, the brindle pattern should be marked. So a chocolate ticked oriental cat would be labeled "OSH b 25."
A
Designations of individual eye colors
The next element of the EMS code is the numerical description of the eye color which must be used for breeds assessed in different classes according to the eye color. For example, in the case of white British cats, similar to Persian cats, we have color variants with blue, orange, and two-color eyes. The blue color of Himalayan (point) cats, which is the result of a gene in the Siamese breed, is different from that of white and blue-eyed cats. Therefore, blue eyes of Himalayan cats have a separate code. The orange color of most Persians and Brits is also different from the yellow eye color of Burmese cats, which is why it has a different code.
61 - blue eyes
62 - orange eyes
63 - eyes of different colors
64 - green eyes
65 - eye color of Burmese cats
66 - eye color of Tonkinese cats
67 - eye color of Siamese cats
The eye color code may be omitted for a breed that is by definition only one color, such as Burmese cats. The same applies to Siamese and some Persian or British cats, in the case of black, blue, cream, red, etc. varieties, as all of them must have orange eyes by the standard. However, the eye color should be marked for white cats - Persian, British, and some other breeds. So the blue eyed white Persian should be labeled "PER in 61", the orange eyed white British would be defined as "BRI in 62" and a white Maine Coon with two colored eyes would have the code "MCO in 63."
The eye color must also be coded for the silver tabby Persians as they are now judged in two different grades depending on the eye color, orange or green. Thus, a silver tabby Persian with orange eyes would be described as "PER ns 22 62." The EMS code for a green-eyed silver tabby Persian will be "PER ns 22 64." (After the breed designation, "PER", are followed by "n" meaning black, "s" sewing silver, 22 or classic tabby, and finally "62" to describe eye color).
Codes for special breeds
These are codes for breeds that have specific characteristics.
The tail codes, used only for Manx cats, and their longhair counterpart, the Cymric, are used to determine the length of the tail.
51 - rumpy - no tail
52 - rumpy riser - a tiny elevation on the bone at the end of the spine
53 - stumpy - vestigial tail no longer than 3-4 cm
54 - longies - normal or almost normal tail (such cats can be used in breeding, but do not participate in shows)
Ear codes are codes that identify the type of ear for two breeds. The first is the American Curl, both in the longhair and the shorthair versions, which, while having their ears wrapped themselves, can produce offspring with straight ears. The second breed, so far not recognized by FIFe, is the Scottish Fold, again in both the Shorthair and the Shorthair versions. long-haired, which can also give offspring with straight ears.
A
71 - straight ears
72 - wrapped ears
73 - folded ears
By following all of the above rules, you can create your cat's EMS code yourself without looking at its pedigree. The non-genetic EMS system has been developed to be easy to use and logical. With a little practice, any cat breeder should be able to use the EMS code just as fluently as their mother tongue.
Source: Official FIFe website
Prepared by: Dorota Szadurska
A