Birman - the sacred cat of Burma

Int. Ch. Nora vom Hinkelstein bluepoint

It is almost certain that Birmans originated from the Temples of Burma. There exist a number of romantic tales around the origins of this cat many centuries ago. Noone ever will know the absolute truth but there seems to be a link with Siamese cats along the line. What is known for certain is that a pair of Birmans came to France - just after the first world war - to a french cat lover which established a breeding programm and therefore they were regocnized as a new breed in 1925. They are still a very popular breed in France.

Birmans are semilonghair cats. They are colourpoint cats - which means that their ears, face (mask), tale and legs have a different colour as the beige/golden coat of their body. The eyecolour is always blue - as darker as better!

The defininig characteristic of their appearance are the white-gloved front paw and white gauntlets ont their back legs. This characteristic is the difficultest one for a breeder since the responsible gene for the gloves and gauntlets is rezessiv and therefore randomly inherit to their offspring. That's why it is very important just to mate excellent cats.
It is extremely difficult to breed a extraordinary show cat. Most of the time the kittens do have small colour mistakes at their paws ( not equal white on the paws, gauntlets missing etc.) which means they are very nice pet cats but not good show quality!

Barbie von der Eileburg red tabby point

Today Birmans are available in a lot of different colours. It began with seal- and bluepoint but now you can find them in lilac, chocolate, red, cream as well as tabby and tortie variants.

The character of the Birman is extraordinary! They are extremely charming and ideal for families since they do not like to be on their own. They love to be with their owners!
You should not keep a Birman as a single cat - it is very talkative (but with a quite voice!) and happily gets along with other cats, dogs and other animals at the house.

As kittens they are irrestistibly cute and full of fun. As adults they are easy-going, gentle, loyal personality, intelligent cats. Especially the boys are full of nonsense till they get really old.

Catweazle's Earnest seal tabby point

Author:

Silke Schreuder / Catweazle's Cattery
Im Ziegelfeld 10, 65934 Frankfurt/Germany

E-Mail: catweazle@catconnect.com

homepage: http://www.catconnect.com/catweazle