Burmese catsorigin and history

BurmeseCats appear to have diverse roots! Manuscripts dating back to 1350 havebeen found that trace Burmese to Ayudha in Thailand (then Siam).

Brown Burmese, Zion Elektra, owned by Jane Goble photo © Norma Hush

Thereare also ancient texts from Thailand dating back to the 16th and 17thCentury that depict cats similar to the Burmese of today.

In fact, Burmese-type cats have been documented in various countries in South East Asia.

"Rajah" cats, that resemble the Burmese, are known to have roamed the Buddhist Temples of Burma around the 16th century.

A physician by the name of J C Thompson imported a brown cat fromBurma to the USA in 1930.

The cat was known as Wong Mau - a Burmese/Siamesemix. (which today is called a Tonkinese).

Wong Mau was a beautiful,mahogany-brown cat with brilliant yellow eyes. The only problem wasthat poor Wong Mau didn"t have a mate!

DrThompson was so taken by this cat"s beauty and personality that hedecided to mate Wong Mau with one of his chocolate point Siamese calledTai Mau.

One of Wong and Tai"s solid brown offspring was laterback-crossed with its mother and this mating produced a litter of allsolid brown kittens - and so Burmese cats came to be.

So by all accounts, the Burmese has its roots in Burma, but wasdeveloped in the USA.

It"s important to remember, that Burmese do occurnaturally in Burma and other SE Asian regions.

To ensure genetic diversity and to extend the gene pool, additional cats were imported from Burma to the USA in 1942.

Americanbreeders then concentrated on perfecting the sable-brown Burmese, byeliminating their darker points and barred markings.

Cream Burmese, Sp Ch Onaoan Maid by Eve. Owner Alison Renwickand bred by Alison and Jane Goble. Photo© Theresa Fouche

Burmese were introduced to Britain around 1949.

The British standardallowed for a more Siamese-look. Breeders in the UK also introduced newcolor versions.

American breed standards allowed for onlyPlatinum, Blue, Champagne and Sable colors.

Interestingly, some governing bodies still only recognize dark Brown cats and classify all other colors as Malayan Cats.

As a result of this, there are two recognized cat breed standards:

• American Type
  
• British / European Type
  

1930 - Wong Mau imported into the USA from Burma

1936 - CFA recognize the breed

1947 - Registration suspended by CFA due to increase of Burmese/Siamese hybrids

1949 - Burmese introduced to Britain

1954 - GCCF register the breed

1955 - Blue Burmese introduced

1956 - Breed introduced in France

1957 - CFA re-register breed as 3-generations of pure-pedigree achieved

1959 - Lilac and Chocolate colors introduced

1970 - Tortoiseshell color introduced

1994 - TICA publish Burmese cat breed standard

Othercats owe their existence to the Burmese.

The Burmilla was "accidentally" created by aBurmese/Persian-Chinchilla cross.

The Long-haired Burmese is known asthe Tiffanie cat (not to be mistaken for the Chantilly/Tiffany, which isa different breed).

The Bombay cat which resembles the black Pantherwas also developed using the Burmese and American Shorthair.