The Birman cat is an ancient Burmese breed although it has no connection with the breed of cat known as the "Burmese". Referred to as the "Sacred Cat of Burma", the strongest following of this breed is seen in France where it is called the "Burman" or Chat Sacre de Birmanie. The history of this breed is quite mysterious as it has many stories and myths that have been added to the truths. Many breed historians sometimes have difficulty separating the myths from the facts.
A legendary story tells of the hundred pure white cats with yellow eyes that guarded the sacred temple Khmer located in Burma. The temple, found on the side of Mount Lugh in Lao-Tsun, was protected by these felines long before the time of Buddha. Tsun-Kyan-Kse, a golden image with blue eyes, was housed inside the temple and was believed to reincarnate the bodies of priests into holy animals. The priest's souls were transferred into the body of the white cat and then passed onto the afterlife. The cats were considered a sacred pathway for the priests to pass onto the next life.
Mun-Ha, the high priest, and his most favorite of the cats, Sinh, were seen in the temple as it was attacked by invaders from Siam. As he prayed, Mun-Ha suffered a heart attack and Sinh placed his paws on the priest's body and faced the blue-eyed golden image located in the temple. Sinh apparently changed at that moment from a white, golden eyed cat into a golden-furred, blue-eyed cat excluding his paws. The witnesses believed that this was the dead priest entering Sinh's body. Sinh died only a few days later which the witnesses say was to take the priest's soul to the afterlife. From that time, the Birman cat has retained its current coat and eye coloring.
Those that don't believe in this miraculous transformation have stated that if there were white cats inside the temple, it is more likely that a Siamese cat bred with the cats causing the changes of appearance of the sacred cats. However, even the Birman cat's recent history is caught up in controversy and four different versions of their transfer into French hands can be found.
One of these versions is that the Birman cat is not from Burma at all but a breed created by French breeders by crossing the Siamese and Long-haired cats. The exotic and historical tale of the sacred cats, the temple, and the priests may have been created to add to the appeal factor of the Birman.
What facts are known are that the Birman was recognized by the French Feline Federation in 1925. By the end of World War II, the populations of Birman had decreased so dramatically, that very few remained. Breeders in Germany began to revive the numbers and some were exported to the United States during the late 1950s and to Britain in 1964. The Birman cat was first recognized in the UK in 1966 and then a year later in the United States by The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA).
The appearance of the Birman cat has been described as a "long-haired Siamese". The Birman is a long-hair, heavy built breed with unique characteristics. The coat is silky and portrays the dark points of a Siamese. The coat color is a golden-fawn and the paws are pure white. The legs have the dark coloring which ends at the paws giving the feet the appearance of wearing gloves. The eyes are a vibrant blue and the head is large and rounded. The Birman cat's personality is noted to be gentle, intelligent, and very faithful to their owners.
It should be mentioned that the history of the Birman cat will always be under speculation. And to add to the confusion is the story of an American breeder who in 1960 came into ownership of two "Tibetan Temple Cats" which turned out to be Birmans. Some believe that these cats were descendants of the original Birmans that lived in the temples and were rescued by the priests. The importation of these Tibetan Temple Cats has had some historians reevaluating the original stories of the ancient cats that lived in the sacred Khmer temple.
References:
CAT BREEDS OF THE WORLD, by Desond Morris, copyright 1999.