The Burmese is a very bright, curious and playful breed of cat. It loves action and variety, which is why it likes things to be a little more turbulent in its home.
Profile Burmese
The Burmese cat is neither a particularly slim nor an extremely strong cat. It is in the middle: compact, of medium size, short-haired and quite muscular. Interestingly, they are heavier than their appearance suggests. Some males weigh almost 6 kilograms, while there are also females that weigh just 3.5 kilograms. What they all have in common are their large, bright eyes, which come in all shades from yellow to amber. Their fur offers an even wider range of colors: it ranges from a light cream to deep black. In between, there are various shades of brown, blue, purple and red as well as tortie, which refers to a wildly mixed coat.
The colors of the Burmese cat are as varied as its character. On the one hand, they are cuddly, trusting and affectionate, on the other hand, you have to be prepared for them to run around the house or be in a playful mood and make this known in no uncertain terms. If she doesn't have a conspecific by her side or if the conspecific doesn't feel like playing, she will ask her humans to do so. Restraint and boredom are not her thing, she is far too alert, curious and lively for that.
If the Burmese cat does not have a partner, you should plan enough time each day to spend together. The great thing is that you can spend almost all of this time playing and cuddling. Unlike long-haired cats, you hardly need to allow any time for grooming. The Burmese cat does this almost by itself. However, you can occasionally use a comb or grooming glove to give the coat a fresh shine and remove dead hairs. The Burmese has hardly any undercoat, which is an advantage for people with a cat hair allergy. However, there is no certainty with any cat breed.
Whether kitten, adult cat or senior - the food for a Burmese cat should always be of high quality and adapted to its age. Cats are carnivores by nature, so the cat food should contain a high proportion of meaty ingredients. Sugar, flavor enhancers and artificial colors and preservatives should not be added to the food.
animonda offers the right food for every stage of your cat's life. Choose between kitten, adult and senior food. The products are specially formulated to meet the particular nutritional requirements of the different life stages of cats. This creates the best conditions for a healthy and long cat life.
Burmese cats are particularly long-lived, with an average life expectancy of 15 years. This basically speaks for a healthy and robust cat breed. However, the Burmese gene pool is not particularly large, which increases the risk of hereditary diseases. In the Burmese breed, these include hypokalemia, GM2 gangliosidosis and pyruvate kinase deficiency. The latter is a hereditary disorder of carbohydrate breakdown, which affects the red blood cells. If the enzyme "pyruvate kinase" is missing, the blood cells dissolve, which can cause lethargy, diarrhea, loss of appetite and jaundice. If the Burmese suffer from hypokalemia, this causes problems with movement, as this disease is characterized by muscle weakness. If GM2 gangliosidosis is present, the main consequence is nervous system disorders.
Responsible breeders have genetic tests carried out on all breeding animals and exclude affected cats from breeding. Therefore, if you are interested in this cat breed, look for a reputable breeder who can prove his commitment by means of health papers.
The Burmese cat originated in what is now Myanmar, originally known as Burma or Burma. The country is located in South-East Asia, surrounded by India, China and Thailand. The cats still live there today, often as temple cats, and are known as Maeo Thong Daeng ("copper cat"). The breed was exported in 1933 by the American Navy doctor Joseph Thomson. He took an animal with him to San Francisco, where it was examined in detail. Initially, it was assumed that it was a dark variant of a Siamese cat. However, it turned out to be an independent breed. In order to enable pure breeding with just this one specimen, the cat "Wong Mau" was mated with a male Siamese. The result was dark brown kittens, with which the breeding was successfully continued.
Just three years later, the breed was officially recognized by the Cat Fanciers Association. However, too intensive cross-breeding of the Siamese led to the breed being temporarily de-recognized. Dedicated cat breeders, however, succeeded in bringing out the breed-typical characteristics of the Burmese again. From 1954 it was recognized again and also found its way to Europe. However, the breed characteristics increasingly drifted apart, which is why cross-breeding between the American and European variants is not permitted today.