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The nomenclature of the Burmese, from a world perspective, can be a bit confusing. The breed began its development in the United States, but on its export to England and Europe, its development took a rather different path. Therefore, the breed that is referred to as the Burmese on the Continent is called the European Burmese in the United States. It is suggested that the reader refer to both this article and the European Burmese article for a complete overview.
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The Burmese as we know the breed today originated with a cat brought back from the Orient by Dr. Joseph Thompson named Wong Mau. She was described as “a rather small cat, fine boned, but with a more compact body than that of a Siamese, with shorter tail, a rounded, short-muzzled head, with greater width between rounded eyes" and as being walnut brown with darker brown on her extremities (face, ears, paws and tail). Cats similar to her in appearace did and still do occur in Southeast Asia and many of them have been imported for use in Burmese breeding programs.
Wong Mau was bred to Siamese (that breed at the time being much less extreme that it is today and being the breed closest in appearance to Wong Mau). Part of the kittens were Siamese-type pointed, some were dark with darker, subtler points (like their mother) and others were more solidly dark. These latter kittens bred true with bred to each other and were used as the basis of the Burmese breeding program and the breed began to be registered and shown in the mid-1930’s.
As the developing breeders were working with a very limited gene pool, they still used Siamese outcrosses to develop the breed. As CFA required a 3-generation like-to-like pedigree, the organization ruled that these hybrids could not be registered and rescinded their championship status in 1947. Ten years later, the breed had established itself to regain its status. The standard had also changed (in part to further distance itself from the Siamese). The head became rounder, the eyes further apart, the muzzle was shorter and the body cobby and solid with a wide chest. The Burmese in the United States became even more extreme in the 1970’s. The head became even more rounded and the ears further on the side of the head, producing what is referred to as the “Contemperary” Burmese (as opposed to the “Traditional” )
The breed developed somewhat differently in England, where the outcrosses used were Siamese and British Shorthairs. Their Burmese retained the longer body and head type. Later on, they began appearing in other colors (as a result of outcrossing) and would become what is known in the United States as the European Burmese (although still referred to as Burmese on the Contentient).
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The coloration pattern of the Burmese is muted. The color is darker on the extremities, but gently shades into the lighter body color (as opposed to the distinct mask, tails and paws of the Siamese).
Originally the dark sable color of Wong Mau’s kittens was the only recognized color of Burmese in the United States. But the lighter colors (a result of the original Siamese outcrossings where blue and chocolate points were used in addition to the seal point) still occurred in litters. Breeders were divided on accepting these non-sable cats as Burmese, as the original vision was that of a dark brown cat. CFA accepted these dilutes as Malayans in 1979 and later brought them in as the dilute division of the Burmese in 1984.
These dilute colors are blue (blue with fawn undertones, result of the blue gene), champagne (warm honey beige, the result of the chocolate gene) and platinum (silvery-grey, the result of both chocolate and blue genes). Refer to the European Burmese article for their additional colors.
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The classic description of the breed is that of “a brick wrapped in silk” for while their fur is soft, the standard calls for their body to be surprisingly heavy for its size. It is a medium –sized cat with a round head and short muzzle and broad chest.
The Burmese is a very people-oriented cat. It is very intelligent and usually likes to be in charge and as they often like to talk, will usually tell their owners all about the plans for the day.
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