Burmese cat

The Burmese cat (Burmese: ဗမာကြောင်, Băma kyaung, Thai: แมวพม่า or Suphalak, RTGS: Thongdaeng or Supphalak, meaning copper colour) is a pedigreed breed of domestic cat, originating in Burma, believed to have its roots near the Thai–Burma border, and developed by selective breeding in the United States and Britain.

Most modern Burmese are descendants of one female cat called Wong Mau, which was brought from Burma to the United States in 1930 and bred with American Siamese. From there, American and British breeders developed distinctly different Burmese breed standards, which is unusual among pedigreed domestic cats. Most modern cat registries do not formally recognise the two as separate breeds, but those that do refer to the British type as the European Burmese.

Originally, all Burmese cats were dark brown, genetically called black sepia, but are now available in a wide variety of sepia colours; formal recognition of these also varies by standard. Both versions of the breed are known for their uniquely social and playful temperament and persistent vocalisation.

History

In 1871, Harrison Weir organised a cat show at the Crystal Palace, London. A pair of Siamese cats were on display that closely resembled modern American Burmese cats in build, thus probably similar to the modern Tonkinese breed. The first attempt to deliberately develop the Burmese in the late 19th century in Britain resulted in what were known as chocolate Siamese rather than a breed in their own right; this view persisted for many years, encouraging crossbreeding between Burmese and Siamese in an attempt to more closely conform to the Siamese build. The breed thus slowly died out in Britain.