European Burmese Cat

The European Burmese and the North American Burmese originated from the same source. Both Burmese are slim active cats with short silky coats and golden eyes. The Burmese cat is thought to have originated in south-east Asia during the Middle Ages. The history of the modern breed began around 1930 when a retired US Navy psychiatrist (Joseph Thompson) brought his pet, a brown female cat called Wong Mau, home to the US from his station in Burma (Myanmar). Dr. Thompson claimed that Wong Mau was representative of a new breed and started a breeding program involving a seal point Siamese. Other breeders and geneticists came to his help and as a result of their efforts the Burmese became the first purebred breed to be developed entirely in the US. The majority of Wong Mau’s descendants retained her overall dark brown coloring but some had Siamese coloring (lighter color with darker points) and some had a darker coloring with even darker points. This last group was later independently developed into the Tonkinese breed. The Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) recognized the Burmese in 1936 but later withdrew recognition in 1947 because of the number of out-crosses to Siamese that were made to maintain the breed. The Burmese was re-instated by the CFA in 1958 when they recognized the sable (dark brown) variety while the British recognized them in 1952. The European Burmese originated from Wong Mau but went through different out crossings to Siamese in the United Kingdom. Today we have two very different looking cat breeds, each with their own standard but both sharing a common history.

European Burmese Pictures

Cat size	Medium (muscular frame)
Exercise	Quite active - requires some exercise
Grooming	Minimal grooming - combing once per week
Temperament	Intelligent, affectionate, playful and inquisitive

Characteristics

European Burmese are medium-sized slim and active cats with a muscular frame that feel heavier than they look. Male Burmese can weigh up to 12 pounds and female up to 8 pounds. Burmese have a rounded head that tapers to a blunt wedge with medium-sized ears spaced well apart. Their eyes are large and round and set far apart. The color is yellow-gold except for the blue color variety for which the eyes can have a slight hint of green in the gold color. The major difference in type between the two Burmese breeds is that European has gently rounded contours and the eyes are gently curved which gives a more oriental look compared to the round look of the North American Burmese. In the US, the soft, silky short coat comes in four shades: sable, champagne, blue and platinum. While in the European Burmese, the introduction of the red gene to the four basic (brown, chocolate, blue and lilac) colors led to the addition of six additional colors as described below.

Color Varieties

There are many color varieties of European Burmese and most are recognized around the world. However, the CFA recognizes only the following ten color varieties.

Brown: rich, warm, seal brown. Nose leather is a rich brown and paw pads are brown.
Blue: soft, silver blue-gray with a warm tone. Nose leather and paw pads are blue-gray. Chocolate: warm milk-chocolate; overall evenness of color very desirable. Nose leather is a warm, chocolate brown and paw pads are pink shading to chocolate.
Lilac: pale, delicate dove-gray with a slightly pink cast. Nose leather and paw pads are lavender-pink.
Red: warm, orange apricot or tangerine. Slight tabby markings permitted on the face. Nose leather and paw pads are pink.
Cream: rich cream. Slight tabby markings permitted on the face. Nose leather and paw pads are pink.
Brown Tortie: seal brown and red patches. Nose leather and paw pads are seal brown, pink or both.
Blue Tortie: blue-gray and cream patches. Nose leather and paw pads are pink, blue-gray, or both.
Chocolate Tortie: milk chocolate and red patches. Nose leather and paw pads are milk chocolate, pink or both.
Lilac Tortie: lilac and cream patches. Nose leather and paw pads are lavender-pink, or lavender-pink and pink.

Temperament

The temperaments of the European Burmese and the Burmese are identical. The Burmese are exceptionally sweet tempered cats that adore their humans and want to be involved in everything they are doing. They will follow their people around to give and receive attention. These are intelligent and charming cats that get along well with children and dogs, if introduced at an early age. European Burmese are affectionate, loyal, active, playful and inquisitive. They make extremely good pets. They love to be stroked and cuddled and will usually end up in your bed. These are indoor cats and have few mechanisms for coping outdoors. This breed is not as loud or demanding as the Siamese but nonetheless will run your household and demand their fair share of attention. Burmese can be quite talkative and can be taught to retrieve objects. Burmese can even be taught to enjoy traveling in a car. If you have to leave your Burmese alone for periods of time, then plan on getting two cats and they will enjoy playing together until you get home.

Cat Care

European Burmese are very healthy and known for their longevity. They should live for 15 to 20 years if given sufficient exercise and a healthy diet. The short soft and silky coat requires minimal grooming beyond a weekly comb and frequent stroking.