Friday, June 25, 2010
Burmese
Burmese are vocal like the Siamese but have softer, sweeter meows. They are very affectionate and enjoy company, being a people oriented breed who form strong bonds with their owners and gravitate toward human activity. Burmese need a reasonable amount of human attention, are not as independent as other breeds and are not suited to being left alone for extended periods of time. The Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) breed information on the Burmese implies that all survival instinct of flight or fight seems to have been bred out of them. However, other sources note that, while rarely aggressive with humans, Burmese cats can defend themselves quite well against other cats, even those larger than themselves.
Burmese are known as the 'clowns of the cat world' and maintain Kitten interests and energy throughout their adulthood. They have a number of dog-like characteristics, often learning to play fetch and tag. Burmese are good with children and dogs. They are suitable as an indoor breed of cat, will usually stay more affectionate if kept indoors and are comfortable traveling in cars.
The first blue Burmese was born in 1955 in England. This was to be followed by red, cream, and tortoiseshell kittens over the next couple of decades. Much effort was put in to remove banding patterns from the coats, and to decide whether these new colours counted as Burmese. Champagne coloured cats (known as "chocolate" in the UK) appeared in America, but breeding was impeded by the refusal of breed clubs to acknowledge that Burmese cats could be any colour other than Brown. In 1971, the first lilac kitten was born, being the latest solid colour introduced in Burmese. Throughout the 1970s, brown, chocolate (champagne), blue, and lilac tortoiseshell types were developed in England. In America, the chocolate (champagne), blue, and lilac (platinum) colors were accepted for registration as a separate breed, the Malayan in 1979. In 1984, the champagnes, platinums, and blues were accepted for registration as Burmese. CFA organizes the champagne, blue, and platinums in the "dilute" division and the sables in the sable division. Cinnamon, Fawn, Caramel, and Apricot Burmese were developed in New Zealand from a breeding programme initiated by geneticist Dr Rod Hitchmough. The first cinnamon Burmese was Arsenios Cinnamon Dream Boy.
From the 1950s onwards, countries in the commonwealth and Europe started importing Burmese cats from Britain. As a result, most countries based their Standard of Points for this breed on the British model, rather than the American.
Burmese cats have been instrumental in the development of other domestic cat breeds, including (but not limited to) the Tonkinese, the Bombay, and the Burmilla.
As a result of these separate breeding programmes, British Burmese are different from American Burmese. The British build tends to be more Oriental, with a more triangular face, while the American Burmese is stockier and rounder in the body, head, eyes, and feet. It has markedly full cheeks and a short muzzle, sometimes called "pug-like". In the British type, both the American Burmese's "cobbiness" and the obvious Siamese influence long seen in the breed are today considered grave, even disqualifying faults.
For the past thirty years, there has been controversy over the appearance of the breed, which can now be divided into two camps. American breeders prefer the "contemporary Burmese" ("American Burmese") which has shorter noses and rounder skulls. The "traditional Burmese" (or "British Burmese") was declassed by the Cat Fanciers' Association in the 1980s. England's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy took the opposite approach and banned the registration of all Burmese imported from America in order to preserve the "traditional" bloodlines.
The controversy revolves around the fact that "contemporary Burmese" sometimes carry alleles for the "Head Fault", a lethal head defect. The head fault rarely occurs with "traditional Burmese". Its widespread presence in the American lineages goes back to a cat named Good Fortune Fortunatas, a fine example of the "contemporary" body/head type, although the defect was present in Burmese cats before Fortunatas. This individual was extensively mated to Burmese cats in the USA, and today's show-type American Burmese cats can usually trace their lineage back to it.
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