Birman Cat

Country of Origin:	Burma
Colors:	Seal, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Red, Cream, Tortie, Tabby
Average Size:	Weight: 8 – 12 lbs  ( 3.6- 5.4 kg)  Length: Medium
Life Span:	13-15 years
Coat:	Semi Long
Personality:	Playfully outgoing, self-assured, friendly and extremely inquisitive without being too demanding
Characteristics:	Energy: High    Talkative: Moderate   Kid Friendly: Yes      Less Allergic: No

This enigmatic animal, the Birman cat, is also known as a sacred cat of Burma, although it has nothing to do with Burmese cats. With her pale flesh color, with dark markings (face, ears, tail and feet) and long hair, the Birman cat still looks like Colourpoint (Siamese pattern fur) Longhair cat (Himalayan Persian cat in the U.S.) except for one striking feature – white gloves on the feet, which may be caused by a recessive gene, although the romantic story of the origin of the Birman cat is very interesting.

Legend says that before the period of the Buddha, Khmer people in Southeast Asia built beautiful temples to honor their gods, especially the god Song – Hyo and the goddess Tsun – Kyan – Xe. Golden statue of the goddess, with sapphire eyes, was in the temple Lao- Tsun, and was guarded by 100 completely white cats.

One of these cats was called Singh which was a friend of the old priest named Mun –Ha. One night some foreign invaders attacked the temple and killed the priest Mun -Ha as he knelt in front the statue of the goddess. Singh immediately jumped to his master’s body and turned to the goddess. Soul of the priest entered the cat and while this was happening, her eyes became as blue as sapphire eyes of the goddess. Face, ears and legs of the cat got the color of the earth – except paws that remained pure white, because, according to legend, the cat touched the priests long white beard.
This transfiguration stunned the other priests, and they gathered courage and refused to attack the invaders. Seven days later, Singh died and he took to the heaven the soul of the priest Mun -Ha. But the next morning, the other white cats in the temple also transformed, and since the priests were protecting sacred golden cats, they started believing that they keep the souls of their departed brothers.

The first Birman cats in France apparently were a gift of the new priests of the temple of Lao- Tsun in the mountains of Tibet. They sent two cats to France and one of them – male – died on the journey. However, the female was pregnant and became the founder of the Birman breed in Europe. Less romantic version of the origin of the Birman cat says it’s a breed that was created in France from breeding Siamese cats and long-haired black and white cat.

The Birman cat is a strong cat with compact body, strong legs and large round paws. Birman cat is very mild-mannered and very intelligent. Her hair doesn’t have that fluffy texture like Himalayan cats have but is more silky – similar to that of the Turkish Angora cats in length and texture.

Birman cat with black and blue markings were the original colors of the breed, introduced in the twenties of the 20th century, and some believe they are the only true colors of this breed, but breeders have introduced the labels of other colors including chocolate and purple, red and striped with spots on the cheeks and striped legs.