Birman

THE LEGEND
All Birman lovers are proud of it that there is a legend concerning our breed. There used to live a group of Kittah priests in Tibet, who worshipped the god Song-Hyo and the goddess Tsun Kyan-Kse, with eyes like sapphires. They built beautiful temples for them which were surrounded by high walls, to protect them from white cats which were present in all temples. In a temple on the mountain Lugh a priest named Mun-Ha lived. It was said that the god Song_Hyo had braided his golden beard himself   
 
He dedicated all the thoughts of  Mun-Ha’s to the goddess with next to him the white cat Sinh, with golden eyes, a reflection of the golden beard of his master.

One night the temple was raided and Mun-ha was killed, while he was devoting the sculpture of the goddess. Sinh jumped on the head of his killed master and looked the goddess straight in the eyes. On that moment Sinh changed. His eyes turned as blue as the eyes of the goddess and his fur got a golden gleam, his paws, tail, ears and face got the dark color of the earth. Only his feet, which touched the white hair of his master, remained white.

Sinh turned his head once more in the direction of the bronze entrance door and the Kittah priests managed to close the temple door in order to avoid further calamity.

Sinh didn’t eat and drink during 7 days, while he continued to look in the eyes of the goddess. After 7 days Sinh died and took the sole of Mun-Ha back to Tsun Kyan-Kse. Seven days later the priests gathered around the sculpture to decide who would succeed Mun-Ha. All cats also appeared and they had changed just like Sinh, with eyes blue like sapphire, a golden fur; tail, ears and face dark like the earth and white feet. In complete silence they sat around the youngest Kittah priest and he became the successor of Mun-ha. This was the goddess’ will.     

The breed standard

Body:
The Birman must have a somewhat stretched and medium heavy body with short, solid paws and round feet. 
 
The head:
The Birman cat has a powerful skull with full, round cheeks and a bit vaulted forehead. The nose has a medium length, without stop and preferably a solid chin. The ears, not too large, and well-rounded must be placed well, which means not too high on the head, preferably with some space in between. The Burmese is preferably seen with deep blue eyes, but it also depends on the cat’s color. The eyes are deep blue until violet. The eyes may not be too round, they must somewhat have an oval shape. 

The fur:
The Birman has a long to half-long fur, preferably with few or no undercoat and a silky texture. A full collar is preferred. The most important feature of the Birman, are his white feet or gloves. A Birman with a perfect marking is very hard to breed and that is why few deviations are allowed. The marking must be really white and it is wrong if it goes up at the side. We call it a “climber”.  At the hind paw the white must end in a point, but it may not cross the heel. The most beautiful has equal points. The tail should have a medium length and a hairy plume.

The color:
The Birman is a point cat, which means that the face, paws, ears, genitals and tail have a color (point). The body has a light color. The Birman exists in various colors, from dark to light. Seal point –dark brown, Blue point –blue grey Chocolate point –chocolate brown Lilac point –light blue grey, Red point –red, Cream point-light red.

All these colors are also available in tabby (striped). The tortoise point (spotted, tabby-and-white cat) only in the first 4 colors since they already contain red. A combination of tortoise-tabby point is also possible.
 
The character:
We only discuss the general characteristics here. Of course no cat is the same. It is said that in general the Birman isn’t a lap cat. However, there are plenty of Burmese cats which love to lie on the lap. They love to be close to their owner, since they love contact with people. They are playful, naughty and remain young long, under the condition that there is enough amusement.    
 
The Birman isn’t a cat which can stay at home alone all day (if you have to go to work). You’d better purchase a second cat then, which of course doesn’t have to be a Birman
 
It will be easier for you since the Birman requires a lot of attention and it is cosier for the cat to have a playfellow. The Birmancan associate with various pets, also with a dog, especially if he is used to it from childhood. Give the Birman a nice scratching-post where he can play around. You can decide yourself what you prefer: a tomcat or a female cat. The female cat can be a real girl, sometimes a “cat”, but very sweet. The tomcats are more agreeable. Whatever you may decide, the Birman is and will remain a lovely breed. 
 
Breedinformation and pictures provided by :  Cattery van de Edelhof