Birman cat

The Birman (including Burma, Birman ; Engl .: Birman, Sacred Birman ) is a purebred cat with semi-long fur, leading to the semi-long-haired cats counts. Birman cats are partial albinos, so-called point cats , with a light, soft body fur and dark markings (points) on the acra , the cooler parts of the body such as the face, ears, tail , legs and testicles. Birman cats have blue eyes. Another special breed characteristic is the white color of the paws , which should run up on the back of the hind legs in an inverted "V", the so-called spurs.

Birman cats are considered the "golden mean " between Siamese and Persian cats , which also has an impact on their character. They have the human-centered and moderately active nature of the Siamese cat and the quiet-loving, gentle one of the Persians. They are also very sociable animals that feel uncomfortable on their own and should therefore actually be kept in pairs (also with other cat species). You are very curious and, above all, trusting. The Birman is not to be confused with the Burmese , which is a different breed. Since Burma in English Burma is, there are occasional confusion.

Breeding history

The Birman breed goes back to a breeding program that began in France at the beginning of the 20th century . It was recognized as a breed in France in 1925 - its origin can be traced back to 1915 in stud books . The breed was recognized by the English Breeding Association in 1966 and by the United States Association in 1967.

There are various reports about the origin of the Birman cat, which by the way is called " Holy Burma " in all publications from the beginning .

One of them says that a certain Mr. Vanderbilt (from the American industrial family of the same name ) brought a pair of Birman cats back from a trip to the Orient around 1919 . The cat had an accident during the crossing. How the breeding went on remained largely in the dark. It seems certain, however, that the young were mated either with Siamese or with a cross between Siamese and Persian cats . All research ends in France with the kennel name "de Madalapour". The first recorded Holy Burma in Germany was the tomcat "Timour de Madalapour", of which a picture appeared in 1933 . The breeding of the Burma then also flourished in Germany in the 1930s . The Second World War finally brought almost complete ruin for Holy Burma.

After the Second World War, breeding was started again and in 1955 the Birman cat population was secured in France. In the following years, mostly the classic colors Seal-Point and Blue-Point were bred in the USA and on the European mainland , while in England new colors such as Chocolate-Point and Lilac-Point were already being bred .

In Germany, Anneliese Hackmann was instrumental in the success of the Holy Burma with her kennel " von Assindia ". In the 1960s she brought the cat " Nadine de Khlaramour " from France to Germany. Nadine's descendants were distributed all over the world.

The colors red-point and creme-point have recently been added. Sacred Burma is also available today in tabby and tortie , at least in Europe. In the USA, the tabbies, which are called Lynx, were only officially recognized recently.

Breed standard

The breed standard is set by various cat breed associations. At FIFe , the breed is listed in Category II (semi-long-haired cats) under the abbreviation SBI (Sacred Birman).

• Body: elongated and of medium weight with short, stocky legs.
• Head: strong skull, pronounced chin, full, round cheeks.
• Eyes: deep blue, round eyes.
• Coat: depending on the part of the body, long (back, sides, collar) to half-length, short on the face, bushy on the tail.
• Color: light, eggshell-colored, back golden beige. Tail and legs darker. Contrasting markings on the face (points), dark ears. Clearly demarcated, pure white paws (gloves).

The breed standard of the Sacred Birman according to WCF

Point scale
body	20th
Head and eyes	20th
Gloves in front	05
Gloves in the back	05
Back spurs	05
uniformity	05
tail	10
hide	10
Body and point color	15th
condition	05

Body: The cat has strong bones and well-developed muscles . The body is of medium weight and slightly elongated. The legs are short, the paws broad and delicately rounded. The tail is of medium length, elegantly shaped and hairy with feathers.

Head: The skull forms a blunt triangle with rounded contours . The cheekbones are set high, the cheeks well rounded and the forehead slightly arched. The profile is slightly curved with a medium-long Roman nose and pronounced chin .

Ears: The ears are medium in size, about as high as they are wide at the base, with slightly rounded tips and a good width between the ears.

Eyes: The eyes are deep blue, large, but not completely round, but slightly oval. They are placed far apart.

Coat: Long to medium-long coat with a silky texture and little undercoat . The hair is short on the face , but becomes longer on the cheeks and merges into a full ruff. The fur is very long on the back and on the flanks .

Color variants : The Birman is a point cat and recognized in all point colors . Since January 1st, 2009 also in the point colors Cinnamon and Fawn. The color descriptions can be found in the general color list. The peculiarity of the Birman cats are the white "gloves" and "spurs". The white markings on all four paws are called gloves. The uniformity and symmetry of the gloves is essential ; be it between the front paws on the one hand and the two hind legs on the other; or - even better - the evenness of all four paws. The white is absolutely pure; it can end at the root of the toe or the joint. It must not extend to the leg. Slightly longer gloves on the hind paws are tolerated. The white markings on the soles of the hind legs, which taper to a point, are called spurs. They should be even on both soles and end as centrally as possible on the metatarsal bone.

Mistakes: Mistakes that can lead to disqualification are white spots outside the gloves and spurs as well as partial pigmentation of the nasal mirror, as well as any tendency to squint . Serious mistakes are gloves that exceed their normal shape (so-called runners), gloves that are too short, belly spots (spots in the point color on the underside of the body) and a lack of point on the spurs. Slight flank spots and stripes can be tolerated. The overall appearance must not have any resemblance to the Persian cat , but also not lapse into the other extreme and remind of a Siamese cat . White spots on the face are a serious mistake in Burma and a reason for exclusion from breeding.

Color variations

The following colors are recognized for Birman cats:

• Seal point

Sacred Birman in Seal-point. Stains on the face are not allowed, or rather they are a feature of lover firmas.

• Blue point

Sacred Birman in Blue-point

• Chocolate point
• Cinnamon point
• Fawn point
• Lilac point
• Red point
• Cream point

• Seal tortie point
• Blue tortie point
• Chocolate tortie point
• Lilac tortie point

• Seal tabby point

Sacred Birman in seal tabby point

• Blue tabby point
• Chocolate tabby point
• Lilac tabby point
• Red tabby point
• Cream tabby point
• seal-silver-tabby-point

• Seal-tortie-tabby-point
• Blue-tortie-tabby-point
• Chocolate tortie tabby point
• Lilac tortie tabby point

( Tabby = with stripes - Tortie = with red spotting in the points)

• 

  Holy Burmese tomcat
  Blue-point

• 

  Holy Burmese tomcat
  Blue-tabby-point

In addition to the established colors mentioned above, we are working on breeding with new colors such as silver, cinnamon and fawn. However, these new colors are currently still quite controversial.

Birman cats, like all point cats, are born almost white.

Sacred Birman kittens, a few hours old

The color of the markings takes a few days to weeks to develop. Many animals darken very strongly in the first years of life, especially on the back and flanks.

Keeping and care

Holy Burmese tomcat and cat from private ownership, 6 months old (Tortie-point, Seal-point)

Birman cats are considered ideal indoor and children's cats because of their calm, gentle nature. However, they are very family-oriented and affectionate and should not be kept as individual animals, especially by working people. Their thick fur is relatively easy to care for and - due to the lack of an undercoat - hardly tends to become matted. Burmese should not be kept as "free walkers " because they are very people-friendly and like to be petted and picked up by strangers. As with all cats, the fur should be brushed regularly, as otherwise swallowed hair can lead to intestinal obstruction.

genetics

In 2009 it became known which gene is responsible for the expression of the gloves. This is a mutation in the Hardy-Zuckerman 4 feline sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KIT) gene. The allele is also found in lower frequencies in Ragdoll, Egyptian Mau, Exotic Shorthair, Maine Coon, Manx, Seychellois, Siam, Siberian, Sphynx and Turkish Van cats. Since the allele is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, a Birman cat must have two variants of the allele in order to develop the typical gloves.

Well-known animals of this breed

Choupette , who lived with Karl Lagerfeld , is one of the most famous Birman cats .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ THE GENOMIC ANALYSIS OF KIT IN WHITE SPOTTED CATS: CHARACTERIZATION OF THE BIRMAN GLOVES PHENOTYPE: corso di BIOTECNOLOGIE APPLICATE ALLE SCIENZE VETERINARIE E ZOOTECNICHE / Barbara Gandolfi; tutor: M. Longeri; coordinator: G. Poli; supervisore: LA Lyons (University of California, Davis, USA). - Milano: Università degli studi di Milano. DIPARTIMENTO DI SCIENZE VETERINARIE E SANITA 'PUBBLICA, 2009. 22. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2008/2009.
2. ↑ Feline Coat Color Tests (English)
3. ↑ B Gandolfi, LH Bach, et al. Off with the gloves: Mutation in KIT for the unique white spotting phenotype of Birman cats. Submitted for publication.

swell

• Desmond Morris: pedigree cats. Heyne, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-453-15355-3 .
• FIFe (Ed.): Breed standards - Sacred Birman - SBI . ( PDF 100kB [accessed on May 15, 2012]).

Web links

Commons : Birman Cat  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Racial Standard Sacred Burma. Word Cat Federation (WCF), accessed May 15, 2012 .