Birman

Birman Cat Breed Profile

Birman Appearance

The Birman has point which means its face, ears, legs, tail and feet are a different color from the rest of its body. Kittens are born completely white and begin to show their points anywhere between 2 days and 2 weeks. The Birman is a beautiful long hair cat with a medium to heavy body weight, brilliant blue eyes and a silky coat in a variety of different coloured points. Birmans have four white gloves on each of their feet.

Birman coats are easy to care for because they do not mat although they still need regular grooming.

Birman Colors

Seal Point, Blue Point, Chocolate Point, Lilac Point, Cream Point, Red Point, Blue Cream, Choc/Lilac Tortie, Tortie /Tabby, Lilac Tabby, Red/Cream Tabby, Seal Tabby, BlueTabby

Birman Personality

Birmans are affectionate, intelligent, playful cats, and are the happiest in family or multi-pet households. Males, in particular, are often very talkative, but Birmans are known for their very quiet voices.

The breed is a very hardy, healthy one, and is considered slow to mature, with most not attaining their full growth until they are 3 years of age. They are a placid cat and very loyal to their owners. Birmans are gentle and playful.

The Birman Legend

The reincarnation of souls and a deep love for priests is the basis for the legend of the Sacred Cats of Burma...................
Once upon a time, before the days of Buddha, the Khmer people built beautiful temples to honour theirgods - particularly the god Song-Hyo and the Goddess Tsun-Kyan-Kse. One of these temples was Loa-Tsun, built on the sides of Mount Lugh. Within the temple was kept a gold figure of the goddess, with her sapphire eyes and dedicating his life to prayer lived the very holy Kittah Mun-Ha - and also 100 pure white cats with golden eyes. One of these was Sinh, the companion of the old priest.
One night Thai raiders attacked the temple, killing Mun-Ha as he knelt before the figure of the Goddess. Immediately the cat Sinh jumped onto the body of his master and faced the Goddess. The priest's soul entered the cat, and as it did so the white hair of its body became golden and its eyes became sapphire-blue like the goddess. Its legs turned brown, except where the feet rested on its master and they remained white.
The transformation inspired the other priests to drive the raiders away and saved the temple from profanation and pillage. Seven days later, Sinh also died carrying with him into paradise the soul of Mun-Ha. And when seven days later, the assembled priests consulted before the statue to decide on Mun-Ha's successor, silently all the other white cats ran up, all dressed in gold with white gloves and with golden eyes transformed to sapphire blue. Transformed just like Sinh they surrounded the youngest of the Kittahs and thus the reincarnated ancestors were designated by the will of the Goddess. From then on, the priests guarded their sacred cats, believing them to have custody of the souls of the priests. When a priest dies his soul is transmigrated into the body of a cat and upon the cat's death the priest's soul's transition into heaven has been accomplished.