Burmese cats are known for their outgoing and playful personalities. The overall impression of a Burmese cat should be one of roundness, as the rounded ears, eyes and head combine into a sweet expression. Burmese are medium sized cats, with surprising weight for their size. Their fur is short, shiny and lies close to the body. While sable is the predominate color, other colors include champagne (chocolate sepia), blue (blue sepia) and platinum (lilac sepia), red, cream and torties. Red and cream Burmese generally trace their heritage to England, as do Tortie Burmese. Burmese have gold eyes that they regularly use to charm you. Always in the mood for a little fun, they’ll take a ride on your shoulder to make sure they are involved in all your activities. Your Burmese will be your best buddy.
The Burmese breed arrived in American in 1930 when a brown female cat named Wong Mau was imported to San Francisco by Dr. Joseph Thompson. While some cat fanciers considered Wong Mau to be a dark Siamese, Dr. Thompson believe she was distinctly different. When Wong Mau was breed to a Siamese, she produced kittens of Siamese type and kittens similar to herself. When one of the dark kittens was bred back to Wong Mau, the resulting kittens had a distinctly different type of coat that was solid dark brown. These off-spring were the foundation of the Burmese breeding program in the United States. Today, it is believed that Wong Mau was likely a Siamese/Burmese hybrid, which is now known as Tonkinese. It’s interesting to note that cats of Burmese type are native to parts of the Malay Peninsula, and there have been later imported cats used in American breeding programs. The fact that this breed originated primarily from one cat is an illustration of the dedication and devotion Burmese breeders have for this breed.
The Burmese breed has continued to evolve, and the Burmese we see today have shorter muzzles, rounder heads, and more compact bodies that the early foundation cats.
|
