Varieties Of The Burmese Cat
When you mention Burmese cats to people, they automatically think of the single breed that has short hair, silky coats, and expressive faces. But there are actually two variations of cats in the world. The British Burmese variety tends to have a triangular face reminiscent of Oriental breeds such as the Siamese. The American Burmese variety has a stockier body, and their head, eyes and feet are more like the standard domesticated cat commonly found in the United States.
Most Burmese cats are the recognizable sable brown color with a glossy, short-haired coat. Some cat associations limit the colors of the cat that can be considered part of the Burmese bred. Brown or sable, blue, chocolate or champagne, and lilac or platinum are all considered acceptable colors according to the Cat Fancier's Association. The coloring should go from darker to light from the back to the underbelly and there should be no spotting or barring. The coat should be solid. Other colors that are recognized, but not widely, include red, cream, and brown, chocolate, lilac and blue tortoiseshell.
A Burmese cat's brown coat is actually caused by a gene that is part of the albino family. It's like adding white to black and coming up with grey. This gene causes the amount of pigment produced to be reduced, causing a paler version of the colors to appear. The darker fur will always appear on areas of the body that are the coldest, such as the face, ears, tail and feet. This same gene also causes the beautiful fur variations in Siamese, Bengals, Asians, and rex breeds.
It is interesting to note how the two variations of the breed are looked upon throughout the world. While the American cat associations on recognize the rounder skulled, short nosed variety of Burmese, the British recognizes the Oriental inspired variety. The American Cat Fancier's declassed the British Burmese which as effectively restricted them from being shown in competition and bred with other Burmese varieties.
One of the reasons behind the differing opinion is that the American or 'contemporary' Burmese cat occasionally will be born with a lethal head defect. It is very rare in the British breed. This gene traces back to one cat and most of the American Burmese cats that are pedigreed will find him somewhere on their family tree. Breeders who have kittens with this defect usually euthanize the kitten shortly after birth or they are born still born. Spaying or neutering an adult car would cause the breeding gene pool to become very small and many hope that the gene will eventually be eliminated thanks to medical science or highly controlled breeding. Researchers think that culling animals that carry this recessive gene will eventually save the breed from this head fault defect.