The Burmese Kitty

How many times in your life have you taken a look at a Burmese cat and said that it is a Siamese, I tell you it happened to my mother and I one time, she had taken in a stray cat that had a beautiful gray coat with chocolate points.I was convinced that Captain Jack (the cat) was a Burmese, and I believe that even now, my mom on the other hand was convinced that he was a Siamese. Eventually we found a new home for him, but we never did find out which one of us was right.

The reason why Siamese and Burmese look so much alike is because back at the beginning of the breed the two were very badly mixed, something that is a shame because of the general confusion that it causes these days.

The very first Burmese that we know of were imported from Thailand (Siam back then). There were three types of cat in Siam: the Siamese, the Korat and the Burmese (known by a different name). It is believed that soldiers took these cats home with them after the invasion of Siam in the 18th century. They became very popular in Britain but the problem was that the Burmese breed was considered to be a different looking kind of Siamese, this led to the mixing of the two, which it turn led to the basic extinction of the Burmese breed in England.

Things weren't that bad, however, a female Burmese cat was imported from Thailand to San Francisco in the thirties to a certain doctor who started a breeding program to bring the Burmese back to life, he was not only successful, he was very successful and the Burmese breed was recognized in 1936; this did not last long because the same thing that plagued England was now plaguing America, there were too many Burmese mixed with Siamese, so the way to solve the problem was to just not recognize the breed anymore, and from 1947 to 1956 the Burmese was not officially recognized, but luckily they finally got the situation under control and the breed was slowly brought back. It was right around then that the breed was saved in England, and it has been firmly in its place from then on.

Since the breed made its comeback, there have been several colors developed in the breed but not all of them are recognized by the associations, that is why if you are looking for a purebred Burmese that lives up to the standard in your area then do some research before you buy one because the standard does vary from place to place.

The Burmese is a very friendly cat that just loves toget all the attention, and to give love back to his loving owner, they are very vocal, just like their cousins the Siamese, but they have much more pleasant voices...it has been reported that they will try out fruit and vegetables and they will even play fetch.

The American Burmese and the British Burmese have developed quite differently over the years; the American Burmese is stockier and has a much rounder face while the British Burmese has the more oriental look and slimmer build. The Burmese that can be found in Europe is usually the British type.

The two official colors for the Burmese' eyes are yellow and brown but because of the breeding between Siamese and Burmese you can find Burmese with the blue eyes of the Siamese. The color of the Burmese' coat started out as being only brown but intense selective breeding over the years has produced a wide variety of colors, some of them are recognized and some are not, it all depends on the association that you go with.

There has been a controversy going on for some time about the American Burmese and the British Burmese, evidently the American Burmese can have a lethal disease that comes as a direct result of the bigger rounder head, something that does not really exist with the British Burmese because they have the more oriental look.

Friendly and loving, the Burmese cat loves to play and it is a pleasure to have it around. Indeed an excellent pet!