A friendly and outgoing little cat, the Burmese is extremely people-oriented and almost dog-like in its devotion to its chosen humans. The Burmese are unusually good with gentle kids, will put up with Fido, and if introduced to it carefully as a kitten, might even learn to like joyriding in the car.

The Burmese delights in helping to manage the house. The Burmese needs and expects to be at the center of your universe, so if your schedule keeps you away from home for more than a few hours each day, then your pet would enjoy having a pet of its own – another cat will be acceptable company for your Burmese, and they can entertain each other while you’re away.

The Burmese cat carries surprising weight for its size and has often been described as a ‘brick wrapped in silk’. The Burmese coat is very short and satiny, requiring little grooming beyond daily petting.

A Burmese should never be let outdoors as it is extremely trusting and has little survival instinct. The Burmese is happy to depend on you for all of its needs - a perfectly useful strategy inside the house, but not a good one for catching food, fighting off enemies or avoiding speeding cars.

History and Origin

Animals resembling Burmese Cats existed hundreds of years ago in Thailandand Burma. Like the Siamese, the Burmese was originally a temple cat.

In the modern world, the Burmese is a manmade American breed having both Burmese and Siamese ancestry. This breed was created in the 1930s by a doctor who brought a brown Burmese cat back with him from the Far East. This cat, named Wong Mau, was the only cat of this type in the USAat the time. Wong Mau was bred with a Siamese male, and became the founder of the Burmese breed in the United States.

Grooming requirements

A cat with a very short, single coat, the Burmese needs very little grooming.

Health Ailments

The Burmese can be prone to cranial deformities in newborns, as well as excessive tearing and breathing problems due to the foreshortened nose. Although the American Burmese has these genetic tendencies, the traditional and European Burmese do not.

Selecting a qualified breeder or buying from a reputable pet store can help eliminate many of these Burmese health problems. Maintaining your Burmese proper weight and grooming requirements will also help insure its good health, along with regular checkups at the vet.

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