Holy Burma

The Sacred Birman or Birman was developed in France in the first half of the 20th century. It is supposed to represent the golden mean of the two classic pedigree cats, the short-haired Siamese, and the long-haired Persian cat. Today she could also be the smaller sister of the medium-haired Ragdoll cat.

Origin and Breed History

Holy Burma, the official name of this domestic cat breed, is, like the Ragdoll, a partial albino whose fur has the distinctive colors with the points: On a light basic color, which may appear in various shades, there are dark spots, especially in the head area mentioned points.

The white paws, called gloves, are typical of the Birman. The Birman cat should not be confused with the Burmese cat, because the Burmese cat is a different, short-haired breed of cat. Since Burma and Burma are both old names of what is now called Myanmar in Southeast Asia, it is easy to get confused. Holy Burma was officially recognized by the Fédération Internationale Féline in 1949.

Description

The Birman is small to a medium-sized cat with medium-length hair. It is easy to recognize by its fluffy fur with the typical Point colors. The face always wears a dark mask. Their fur is half-length to sometimes long and has a silky texture. The fur on the head should be rather short, then on the neck, it should form a collar made of longer hair that continues on the flanks. The Birman has a little undercoat.

The deep blue color of her eyes is striking and typical. Your tail should be of medium length and form a plume. Holy Burma is one of the point cats. All point colors are allowed with her. These special color codes of all point cats are created by a mutation, partial albinism, called acromelanism. The skin is lightened due to the consequences of this genetic defect, while the cooler regions of the body such as the face, ears, legs, and tail develop what are known as points, which are darker to very dark brown in color.

The kittens are born white and only darken later. The Birman’s legs are short and strong. The standard prescribes so-called gloves for the Birman cat. The pure white paws are called gloves. A Birman male weighs between 4 and 6 kilograms, the Birman cat should be lighter and weigh only up to 4 kilograms.

Temperament and Essence

The Birman cat has a very human, friendly, and gentle nature. She is just lovely and seeks the closeness of people with whom she can develop a close bond. She is a real family cat. Holy Burma has keen senses and good reflexes and likes to play extensively. For this purpose, the trade offers a lot of suitable cat toys such as a game rod or a spring stick. You can play with it a lot. And they do that into old age. Birman cats also like to move around in nature, but their urge to do this is not particularly strong compared to normal domestic cats.

Attitude

The Birman is an ideal house cat for the apartment. Apart from grooming, it is undemanding in its keeping conditions, but needs an intimate relationship with its two-legged friends. She loves the common experience with people or the animal partners in her family and does not have to be outdoors in order to feel completely comfortable. In fact, however, she is not really suitable for being outdoors and for a very simple reason: she is too humane! She would approach every two-legged friend in a friendly manner and allow himself to be petted.

In view of their extremely attractive appearance, the temptation can be too great for a stranger to abduct them without further ado. Holy Burma does not like to be left alone for long. She is happy to have a suitable second cat by her side. Burmese are sociable and get along well with other animal members of the household. However, both cats and dogs, for example, should have been used to each other with patience.

Upbringing

The Birman cat is easy to train. If she comes from a reputable breeder who has looked after and socialized parent animals and puppies well, she will fit into the rules and habits of her family by herself. With a little guidance, she can be house-trained quickly and easily.

Care and Health

Grooming

The thick fur of the Birman cat should be brushed regularly, several times a week. However, it is relatively easy to care for, as it has little tendency to be felt due to the lack of an undercoat. With a little feeling and skill, brushing fur can be turned into a ritual of social bonding that is emotionally good for cats and people alike.

Diseases Typical of the Breed

Some breeds of Birman cats suffer from severe inbreeding, which can lead to immune deficiencies, sickness, and shortened life expectancy. Birman cats have a number of breeding hereditary diseases such as anemia, heart disease, or some eye diseases that are a result of their acromelanism. Among other things, PRA, which leads to blindness, is widespread. Not all cats have to be affected by these diseases.

Nutrition / Feed

The Birman is usually a problem-free border for a cat.

Life Expectancy

A Sacred Burma, bred carefully and healthily, can live to be more than 12 years.

Buy Holy Burma

If you want to get a Birman cat, you can first look around in animal shelters. At the breeder, you should make sure that parents and kittens grow up in good circumstances, especially with a close social connection to the human family. You should look at the family tree. No ancestor should appear twice here in order to rule out excessive inbreeding. Both parents should definitely be tested negative for the hereditary diseases common to them. Reputable breeders indicate this on their own in their advertisements. Of course, the kittens should be vaccinated, dewormed, and chipped several times. Seriously bred Birman kittens should cost around 700 euros.