Cat Breeds – The Birman

The Birman falls somewhere between the Siamese and the Persian in its character, build and length of fur, yet it is very much a breed of its own. It also has the distinction of being the sacred cat of Burma.

All Birmans have color pointed features, darker coloration on the ears, face, tail and legs. The original Birman was seal pointed, but there are now blue, lilacs, chocolate, and a wide range of tortoiseshell and tabby points.

All are now regarded as different breeds, but share the same blue eyes, dark points, white feet, body shape and general temperament. The Birman body has some of the mass of the Persian’s, with thick set legs and a broad, rounded head.

However, the body and legs are longer than those of a Persian, and the face is pointed rather than flat, with a longish, straight nose and relatively large ears.

The unique and most distinctive feature of the Birman is its paw design. Each forepaw ends in a symmetrically shaped, white glove. The show standard is for the white to end in an even line across the paw and not pass beyond the angle of paw and leg.

The white areas on the back paws taper up the back of the leg to finish just below the hock, and are known as gauntlets.

These white finishing touches are the result of a rare recessive genetic trait, although, rather more romantically, there are various legends that explain their origins.

One version tells of a raid on a Burmese temple in which the high priest was killed. A white temple cat leapt on to the priest’s body, and immediately its fur turn gold in the light radiating from the resident goddess.

The cat’s eyes reflected the sapphire of the goddess’s own eyes, while legs and tail look on the rich brown of the Burmese soil. The paws that rested on the dead priest, though, remained white, a symbol or purity.

A more recent story reports that a pair of seal pointed Birmans was given to French explorer and Englishman. The male died on the journey back to France, but the female survived and bore a litter.

This queen may have represented the beginning of controlled breeding of Birmans in France, when Siamese and bi-color Persians were introduced into the program.

The breed was officially recognized. Its character reflects the Persian and Siamese input. It is quieter and less active than the Siamese, but not as docile as the Persian. The queens mature earlier than a Persian, at around seven months, and are generally very attentive mothers.