What is a Birman?




          First of all - itīs a CAT! It belongs to the group of semi-longhaired cats such as for instance the Norwegian Forestcat. But other than that the two breeds do not have much in common.
          The Birman is in many ways a "medium" cat - meaning it is of medium size, has a slightly stretched body with short, sturdy legs.
          The head is often described as "heart shaped" with full cheeks, medium nose length and a rounded forehead with NO stop. The eyes are rounded to slightly oval - the colour is blue - the deeper, the better.
          The coat is semi-long, silky with little wool.This makes grooming quite easy.

          The Birman is a "masqued" cat, meaning it has a light, egg shell coloured body, and the masque is the contrasting coloured points: head, ears, legs and tail. The hallmark of the Birman are the white socks. The ideal socks are all alike, ending just above the toeline on all 4 legs. On the back of hind legs the glove should end in points looking like an inverted "V".
          The Birman is presently recognized in 20 colour varieties, from the original sealpoint to the more "douce" colours such as lilacpoints or cremepoints.
          The white socks can be quite difficult to see on the legs of the lighter masque coloured cats, but they ARE there.
          The perfect Birman is described in the FIFe standard. Or ask your local Birman federation for info. The PERFECT Birman is very hard to make, but luckily the good nature of the Birman has nothing to do with good or bad markings on the legs!
          The Birman has a very "medium" temper. It is a gentle, devoted cat. Very curious but in no way dominant. Many describe the caracter as something between the tempremental Siamese and the dull Persian - but the Birman has his very own personality!
          He likes to be the life of the party. He is very playfull - when it suits him, and he loves to cuddle with his owner. According to my experiences, the Birman is also VERY good with kids, that is if he has grown up with children who have been treating him right. It is a very sweet cat that normally has the patience of an angel! In case of problems it is usually because the child went too far - and that is normally quite a way!!
          Of course not all Birmans are alike, but all in all their temper is very stabile.
          Wanna know more? Check out the next page, where I have listed a few links to other cat pages.