The Controversial yet Loving Burmese

One of the most interesting cat breeds in the world is the Burmese that originally came from Thailand. They formerly belonged to the Siam group along with Siamese and Korat cats. With Thong Daeng as its Thai name, Burmese cats were not immediately recognized by many cat registries. They claim that this breed is not pure and is just a variant of the Siamese breed. Some tried to increase the population of this breed but due to the extensive breeding of Siamese cats, they were quickly outnumbered, causing them to lose what remained of their recognition as a pure breed.

Then in 1930, when a doctor brought this Thai cat to the United States and become successful in breeding kittens of its kind, the Car Fancier’s Association finally gave a right to its name in 1936. To avoid confusing this cat breed with the popular Siamese cats, the United Burmese Cat Fanciers or the UBCF made a single standard in identifying this controversial cat breed in 1958. Imports of this cat breed increased around the world in Britain especially. Today, most countries import their cats from Britain rather in America. The British have made their own standard which gained grater recognition.

This resulted to two major varieties of this cat breed, the British and the American version. The British breed appears rather oriental, while the American breed tends to be stockier and rounder in almost every body part. Its cheeks are full and the muzzle is said to be “pug-like” because of its shortness. The British still detests the American breed’s close resemblance to Siamese cats and continue to ignore the standard that they made.

Because of this apparent conflict between two variants, even the recognition of colors varies. The British breed has a wide variety of colors. The British cat breed could be anywhere from red, cream, tortoiseshell, chocolate, lilac, platinum, blue, cinnamon, fawn, caramel to apricot. Some American cat registries, however, differ in recognizing the colors. For one, the Cat Fancier’s Association only recognizes blue, tortoiseshell, red and cream colored Burmese cats.

Whatever differences in appearance they have, all Burmese cats are relatively friendly towards people. They can be as vocal as the Siamese but their meows are undoubtedly softer and have a sweeter tone to it. They could easily form strong relationships with their owners and always has a quest for human activity. Their unquestionable love for humans may cause them to lose their survival instincts but other sources claim that these cats are still able to protect themselves against other cats.