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Show Standards

Body Type

Head- The head should be long and wedge-shaped, with soft lines tapering to a clean, dry nose. The nose should be small, rounded, and clearly visible, without an overly-fine or sharpened point. It should be aligned directly with the animal's top teeth.

Ears- Ears to be large, smooth, with a rounded edge and a symmetrical shape. They are to be carried at the 10:00 and 2:00 positions on the head, well and evenly spaced relative to the eyes, and are to be free from rips, tears, or other natural or unnatural defects.

Eyes- Eyes are to be large, clear, bright, and well-spaced towards the sides of the head.

Body- The body is to be long and racy, without being thin or too narrow. It should be well muscled without being stocky, or at all overweight.

Tail- Tail is to be long and thick, at least the length of the body, and free of kinks & bumps. It is to have a wide set, tapering gradually to a fine point.

Varieties

There are currently 13 varieties recognized by the Midwest Mouse Club.

Standard - to have a short, dense coat; should be smooth without kinks or curls of any type. Coat should densely cover whole body including extremities, rump area, and under ears. Long guard hairs to be penalized.

Angora - to have a dense coat as long as possible; guard hairs to be the same length as the undercoat. Hair should be silky and straight, with no crimp or curl of any type. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Satin - to have a short dense coat; should be silky and fine, with an unmistakable luster and shine. Should densely cover all areas of the body. Guard hairs to be the same length as the undercoat. May be any recognized colour or marking with due regard for the effects of satinization.

Rex - to have coat to be as curly as possible with due regard for age-induced straightening. Whiskers to be curly. Coat should be dense. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Texel (Angora rex) - coat to be as curly as possible as with rex mice, including whiskers. Coat should be as long as possible with guardhairs the same length as the undercoat. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Satin Texel - coat to be as long and curly as possible as with texel mice while exhibiting the distinctive metallic sheen of satin mice. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Satin Rex - coat to be as curly as possible as with rex mice while also exhibiting the distinctive metallic luster of satin mice. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Satin Angora - coat to be as long as possible as with angora mice while also exhibiting the distinctive metallic luster of satin mice. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Fuzzy - Coat and whiskers to be crimped, dense, and rough. Coat can be uneven in length. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Fuzzy Angora - Coat and whiskers to be crimped, dense, rough, and as long as possible. Coat can be uneven in length. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Fuzzy Hairless - Coat and whiskers to be crimped, rough, and uneven in length, with a thin, sparse coat. May be any recognized colour or marking.

Fuzzy Hairless Angora - Coat and whiskers to be crimped, rough, and uneven. Coat should be thin, sparse, and as long as possible . May be any recognized colour or marking.

Hairless - to be as close to hairless as possible; guard hairs permissible but undesirable. Guard hairs and whiskers permissible but not desirable. Skin to be completely smooth, free of scarring and wrinkles. No undercoat permissible.

Sections

Within each variety, there are 6 sections: Self-Solid, Fox & Tan, Marked, Any Other Color, Any Other Pattern, and Unstandardized.

Solid Self

includes all mice of a standardized solid (e.g. non-agouti) color which have no white markings.

Black - mouse to be as black as possible, including ears, feet, and vents. White tail tips to be penalized severely. Eyes black.

Chocolate - coat to be a dark brown similar to dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, free of any white or silver hairs. Faults include a lighter coat, to be penalized to the extent of the flaw. Should two mice be equal in all other regards, preference to be given to the darker mouse. Eyes black.

Coffee - coat to be a clear, diluted brown as near as possible to coffee with cream. Eyes black.

Beige - shade to be a deep shade of beige, without roaning. A lighter mouse to be given preference to a darker mouse. Eyes black or dark ruby.

Champagne - shade to be a warm, pink shade of beige with no mealiness or sootiness. Eyes pink.

Cream - colour to be a pale yellowed off-white, distinct from white, beige, and champagne. Dark or darkly yellowed coats to be penalized. No eye colour restrictions.

White - colour to be a bright, stark white similar to new paper. Any dark hairs or yellowed coats to be severely faulted. Eyes pink, ruby, or black.

Blue - colour to be a medium slate blue, including ears, feet, and vents. White tail tips to penalized severely. Eyes black.

Silver - to be as close to an old silver coin as possible, with no pink cast. White hairs to be faulted. Eyes pink.

Lilac - colour to be a medium grey with pink undertones. Should be distinct from both sky blue and silver. Eyes pink.

Dove - colour to be a warm blend of brown and slate blue and should show no trace of pink. Coats that are too blue or too brown to be faulted. Eyes black.

Red - colour to be as deep a red as possible, the darker the better. Sootiness and mealiness to be faulted. Eyes black.

Fawn - colour to be a clear orange, distinct from both red and gold. Sootiness and mealiness to be faulted; dark and light coats to be penalized equally with preference given to the most even-toned mouse. Eyes black or pink.

Gold - colour to be a clear bright yellow, as close to a new gold coin as possible. Coat should have no red cast, with sootiness severely faulted. Eyes black

Tan and Fox

includes any fox-marked or tan-marked mouse in any standardized color possible. Tan mice should have a rich golden-red belly, chin, and inside of legs. Their top may be of any standardized solid color and there should be a clear line of demarcation between the tan belly and top color, with the greater degree of contrast the better. Fox mice should have a creamy white belly with the markings identical to those of a tan mouse. Greater contrast and a clear line of demarcation between belly color and top color are highly desirable.

Marked

Marked mice are mice of any standardized color, solid or agouti-based with standardized patterns of white markings.

Banded - may be shown in any recognized color. They should have a band around their midsection taking up 1/4 of their body length, not including the tail. This band shall be continuous all the way around their body, with the line of demarcation being as sharp and smooth as possible. All four feet should be white, and the tail should be colored. Faults-major faults are band too wide or narrow and feet colored, white tailtip is a minor fault.

Broken - may be shown in any recognized color. They should be marked with patches of well-defined color on a white background. These patches should be as even in size and sharply defined as possible while retaining an asymmetrical appearance. No single spot should dominate on the body, and the balance of color to white should be as near 1:1 as possible.

Dutch - should resemble the pattern of a dutch rabbit and may be shown in any recognized color. The front half of the body shall be white with the exception of cheek patches which shall start at the back base of the ears and continue forward to the upper edge of the whisker beds. These patches shall be sharply defined and separated by a symmetrical, wedge-shaped blaze. The mouse shall be colored from the midpoint back, with the defining line to be clean and sharp, extending to the midpoint of the tail. The rear feet should be colored to the midpoint of the hock.

Even Marked - shall be marked with as many clear, well-defined spots of any recognized color as possible. These spots should be as close to symmetrical as possible, making the mouse somewhat resemble a dalmation.

Spotted Tans - are mice which are both tans and marked, and may be shown in any recognized color and marking pattern. Fox mice shall be allowed in this class but must have bellies which are sufficiently creamy as to differentiate them from poorly marked mice with white marked bellies.

Variegated - shall be marked with an even pattern of clear-cut small splash marks distributed evenly over the entire body. These should have ragged edges but be more or less equal in size and not concentrated too heavily at any one location on the body.

Marked Merles - shall be marked in any of the standard patterns (Banded, broken, Dutch, Even, Spotted-tan and Variegated) but with the marked portions consisting of approximately equal parts roan and solid.

Tri-Color - to have 2 distinct, clearly demarcated shades of the background color and white spotting. White markings to match any standardized marking pattern, such as even marked, variegated, etc. Points permissible but not desirable. Eyes to match base color.

AOC

Any Other Color includes mice without white markings (as in selfs) in non-solid standardized colors, which are primarily agouti based.

Agouti - to be a rich golden brown resembling the natural 'wild type' coloration. Each hair to be individually banded with black at the tip, golden brown in the middle, and slate at the base.Coat's overall appearance to have a golden cast and ticked appearance. Eyes black.

Argente - to be a golden yellow, each hair having a lilac base. Eyes pink.

Blue Agouti - to be a ticked blue color. The base of each hair should be a dark slate blue, the middle dun and the tips silvery gray. Eyes black.

Cinnamon - to be a burnt red color evenly ticked with true chocolate bands, similar to agouti with chocolate bands instead of black bands. Milk chocolate bands to be faulted. Base of hairs to be a middle slate color. Eyes black.

Chinchilla - to be an even pearl grey, with medium slate blue undercolor. Each hair to be tipped evenly with black, with too much black to be faulted. Eyes black.

AOCP

Any Other Color Pattern includes mice which have a pattern of two or more colors, not including white in a standardized fashion.

Blue Siamese - to be a cool silvery blue with no white hairs and gradual shading over the saddle and rump. There are to be clear points as dark blue as possible on the ears, feet, nose, and tail root, as dark as possible at the ends with gradual shading into the coat. Eyes black.

Burmese - to be any standardized color, with clearly defined darker points of the same color at the nose, feet, ears, and tail root. Eyes to match base color.

Brindle - to have clear dark striping against a lighter background. Stripes to be as even as possible; overly thick stripes with little background showing to be penalized severely; however, a thick line down the forehead and along the spine is permissible, but not desirable. Eyes to match base color.

Himalayan - to be as pure white as possible, with clear points on the ears, nose, feet, and tail root. Points to shade gradually into the coat; shading over the saddle and rump to be penalized. Points to be chocolate or blue, with darker points preferred. Eyes pink. Himalayan may not be shown in fox.

Merle - to have roughly equal patches of solid and roan, distributed as evenly as possible throughout the coat. The coat should be as close to 50/50 roan/solid as possible, and may be shown in any standardized colour with eyes to match.

Reverse Siamese - to be any recognized color, eyes to match, with clear white points at the nose, ears, feet, and tail root shading gradually into the rest of the coat. Overall appearance to be similar to a Siamese but in a reverse pattern, going from light points to a dark body, and without hindquarter shading. Reverse Siamese may not be shown in fox.

Roan - to be an even mix of white and any other standardized colour, with heavy white or heavily coloured patches to be faulted. Not be confused with variegated. Eyes to match base colour.

Sable - to be as dark brown as possible with the belly a bright golden tan. Opposite the tan standard, there should be no clear line, but rather gradual shading between the two colours. White hairs, sootiness, and mealiness severely faulted. Eyes black

Siamese - to be beige, with gradual shading over the saddle and rump and clear points on the ears, feet, tail root, and nose, as seen on the Siamese cat. Points to be as dark seal brown as possible, with gradual shading into the rest of the coat. White hairs to be severely faulted. Eyes ruby. Siamese may not be shown in fox.

Splashed - to be a pale version of any standardized color, with splashes of streaky color across the coat. Not to be confused with a roan mouse as there must be clear splashes present across the splashed coat. Or confused with, a variegated mouse which has a white base. White hairs to be heavily penalized. Eyes to match base color.

Silvered - to be any recognized color, with silvering as evenly dispersed as possible. Not to be confused with roan; heavy silvering to be faulted. Eyes to match base color.

Unstandardized

Unstandardized mice are those which do not fit into an existing color or pattern. This may include new patterns or colors currently under development but which have not yet been voted on by the membership for inclusion into the regular classes, or mice which simply do not fit into any other classes. For information about standardizing a new color, pattern, or variety, click here. Mice do not have to be recognized as a new color or pattern to show within the unstandardized class, but will be judged against all other mice in the section.