Birman

History

The Birman has a lovely legend about being raised by the Kittah priests in their temple in Burma. The story tells of a golden eyed, white cat that stood guard over his dying holy master and was transformed into a cat with a dark brown head, and dark brown legs and tail, but his coat became a cream color with a golden glow from this master's golden goddess. As the master died and his soul passed on to the cat, the cat's paws and hocks, where he sat on his master's chest, stayed pure white as a sign of his master's purity. As the cat gazed up at the golden goddess, his gold eyes turned to a beautiful sapphire blue, the same as his master's goddess. There are many versions of the legend, and this is just a very short one.

As for fact, the Birman was first recognized and shown in France in the 1920's. England then recognized the breed in 1966. The Birman was first imported into the United States in the 1960's and was recognized and shown in 1967. The Birman breed is now recognized and loved worldwide! This Birman breed has consistently remained in the top ten most favorite cats for many years.

Personality

The Birman is a great family cat. It dwells peacefully within a single cat home or a home with many cat friends. With a constant response from his owner when the cat meows, the Birman will become quite a talker. If you prefer just the quietness of his purr, lack of response will discourage the cat from talking. With lots of love, good food, fond grooming, and proper health care, the Birman makes the greatest buddy, friend, confidant, and all around purrfect pet.

Traits

The Birman is a medium to medium-large longhaired pointed cat with distinctive white gloves and laces. All four feet have white gloves and the back feet have laces extending about halfway up the back leg.

The Birman has a long, soft, almost silky single coat. The thickness will vary with seasonal conditions. This coat is of such that it has a tendency not to mat. With good grooming habits on the part of the owner, stray hairs can be combed out weekly. The combing action can be good together time for cat and owner.

Birmans have a distinctive roman nose that, when viewed in profile, starts at the change of direction at the forehead and rises in a hill-shape that goes down at the end with the nose leather low. The chin has good depth and should not be bulbous or receding. The ears are almost as wide at the base as they are tall. They have good width between them. The eyes are medium to large and moderately round, with good width between. The tail is neither long or short, but in balance with the body. This is checked by gently holding the tail along the back so that it reaches the shoulder blades. The body is long and sturdy. The legs should be well muscled and in good proportion to the body.

Birmans come in all pointed colors. There is a color to match anyone's desire. They are all beautiful.....they are all BIRMAN

Health Issues Common to Birman

All pedigreed cats have some sort of health problem, just as all people have the potential to inherit a particular disease. Any breeder who claims that her breed has no health or genetic problems is either lying or is not knowledgeable about the breed. Run, don't walk, from any breeder who does not offer a health guarantee on kittens, who tells you that the breed is 100 percent healthy and has no known problems, or who tells you that her kittens are isolated from the main part of the household for health reasons.

That said, Birmans are generally healthy. Always buy a kitten from a breeder who provides a health guarantee. A guarantee does not mean that your kitten will not ever get sick, but it indicates a breeder who is willing to stand behind what she produces.

Pet Insurance for the Birman

Pet insurance for purebred cats costs more than for mixed breed cats. This is because a purebred cat is more likely than a mixed breed cat to make claims for hereditary conditions that are expensive to treat.

Embrace cat insurance plans offer full coverage for all breed-specific conditions (excluding those that are pre-existing) to which purebred cats are susceptible. The best time to get pet insurance for your cat is when he's a healthy kitten. You can't predict what will happen in the future, and pet insurance is the one thing you can't get when you need it the most.