Burmese

The Burmese is an elegant cat of a foreign type; they are alert, active, intelligent, extremely friendly and affectionate. The colours are brown, as in the picture, blue, chocolate, lilac, red and cream with tortie varieties of the first four colours. The large eyes of the Burmese are of shades of yellow, the more golden the colour the better. The breed does originate in Burma, the first recognised example of the breed having been imported into the USA from Burma in the early 1930s.

The Burmese has been known for some centuries as native to Burma, Thailand and Malaya and cats of Burmese type were quite well-known in the UK in the 19th century but they never managed to catch the public imagination against the striking blue-eyed Siamese. They were known at that time as Chocolate Siamese, which is an interesting comment on how Siamese type has altered in the past hundred years or so. The Burmese Cat Club has photographs of some early cats and it appears that their type has remained largely unchanged.

The coat is fine, lying close to the body with a satiny texture and is glossy, particularly striking in the darker colours. Extremely elegant, they are surprisingly solid and muscular; active and enquiring they enjoy being with their people. The Burmese has a greater affinity with the humans in the household than some breeds. Good with children they are real family cats, requiring and giving lots of affection. They are not especially vocal but, in common with a number of other breeds, will quite happily carry on a conversation with their owners. Generally the Burmese has a lovely nature, but as with all cats this can be adversely affected by poor rearing and socialisation in the first weeks.

Although Burmese have no particular health problems, it makes good sense to insure your cats.  Many breeders sell their kittens with six weeks free insurance cover.  More and more owners are now insuring their pets as advances in veterinary medicine, plus the soaring costs of drugs can mean astronomical bills.

Burmese Breed Clubs & Rescue

• Burmese Cat Club
• Burmese Cat Society

Burmese Breeders

Charleste  Location Bath, North Somerset.  Visit website for kitten availability. Also Asians and Burmillas.  Email

Pescadorable  Location Ashford, Kent. All colours are bred including Tortie. Kittens are reared in the home and are registered with the GCCF, vaccinated and insured.

Contact the Breed Clubs who will have lists of Breeders and may have Kitten Lists.