Purina

Personality:

• Extremely intelligent, affectionate, social, and deeply bonded to their family.
• Energetic, interactive, and entertaining.
• They will follow their person from room-to-room to be with them.
• Perfect end-of-the-day lap kitty.
• Prefer to have a companion if left alone all day.
• Usually insist on sleeping under the covers.

History:

The Burmese is an established breed.  The Burmese breed derived from a female imported to San Francisco from Burma in 1930.  It was suspected that this original cat was a hybrid and a breeding program was developed with the assistance of a geneticist to extract the solid color cat using Siamese outcrosses.  The solid color cats (sable Burmese) were the early basis of the breed.  The Burmese breed was recognized for championship in the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) in 1957.

Body Type:

• Two distinct types, traditional and contemporary, are seen today.  Good examples of both can be found in the show ring.  The primary difference between the two is a shorter muzzle in the contemporaries.
• Medium in size (males eight to 10 pounds, females six to eight pounds) with substantial bone structure and excellent muscular development.
• Head is rounded without flat planes.  Ears are medium sized.
• Golden eyes are large, round, and wide set.
• Show-quality contemporary Burmese have an extreme, somewhat Persian-like face due to the shorter muzzle.
• Show-quality traditional Burmese have a slightly longer muzzle, which produces a softer look.
• Pet kittens from both types usually have more elongated, wedge-shaped heads.

Coat:

• Extremely glossy, short, fine, and very close lying.
• Sable coloring is recognized for championship status.  Champagne, platinum, and blue coloring has occurred on occasion, perhaps as a result of earlier Siamese crosses, and have been recognized for championship status as well.

Health and Wellness:

• Endocardialfibroelastosis.
• Meningoencephalocele.
• Amyloidosis.

What you should know:

• Maintenance is easy.  Pet the Burmese, as the oils from the hand nourish the coat.
• During shedding season, brush daily to remove excess coat and prevent hairballs.