The Birman, also called the Sacred Cat of Burma is a domestic cat breed. The Birman is a long-haired, color-pointed cat distinguished by a silky coat, deep blue eyes, and contrasting white socks on each paw.
The breed name is derived from Birmanie, the French form of Burma. The Birman breed was first recognized in France by the Cat Club de France in 1925.
History:
No clear record of the breed's origin exists. They are most often claimed to have originated as the companions of temple priests in northern Burma in the Mount of Lugh. Many stories exist of how the cats first came to France including pairs of cats being given as a reward for helping defend a temple or being smuggled out of Burma by a Vanderbilt. Another pair of Birmans were said to have been stolen and later imported to France by Thadde Haddisch.
Only two cats were alive in Europe at the end of the war a pair named Orloff and Xenia de Kaabaa, both belonging to Baudoin-Crevoisier. The foundation of the breed in postwar France were offspring of this pair. They had to be heavily outcrossed with long-hair breeds such as Persian and Siamese to rebuild the Birman breed. By the early 1950s, pure Birman litters were again being produced. The restored breed was recognized in Britain in 1965 and by the CFA in 1966.
Birmans have a medium-sized and rectangular body with a broad face and distinct Roman nose. Their ears are ideally as wide on the base as they are tall and should be set as much on top of the head as on the side. The eyes are rounded and should be a deep sapphire blue.
The Birman fur is medium long and should have a silky texture. Unlike a Persian or Himalayan they have no undercoat, thus are much less prone to matting. Coat colour is always pointed, save for the contrasting pure white. On each paw that are the trademark of the breed. The white must involve all toes and in front must stop at the articulation or at the transition of toes to metacarpals. The base body colour is white to cream, with a wash of color that corresponds to the points, but is much paler. Recognized point colours are seal chocolate, blue, lilac red, or cream. Tabby and tortie variations in seal, chocolate, blue or lilac are also allowed; other colours are in development.
Like all colour-point breeds, Birman kittens are born white and begin developing their points after one week if a dark color and 14 days or more if the points are clear or lighter colored. Their coats do not reach full development up until the cats are two years old.
Health:
The most severe threat is feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy the most common heart disease seen in cats. In Birman cats it is thought to be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. HCM is a progressive disease and can result in heart failure, paralysis of the hind legs due to clot remobilization originating in the heart and sudden death.
