A variety of domestic cat of the Asian feline species, the Burmilla (sometimes referred to as a ‘Tiffany’) is the result of a chance intermixture of two other breeds, namely, the Burmese and the Chinchilla Persian; its beginnings were in the U.K. and it was first produced back in 1981 but it had to wait another 10 or more years until it was officially granted championship status.
These cats are of average size, with strong physiques, small muzzles, a circular shaped face and large, vivid eyes in shades of brilliant green, blue, and even yellow or amber in the kitten stage; the black variety of Burmillas’ have dark eyeliner. Their ears are large and rounded and they have reddish-pink noses, (some varieties have a black nose).
The length of the Burmillas’ fur comes in three classes: the most usual type has a soft, silky short-hair coat; the Long-hair Burmilla, produced from a recessive gene, has a smooth, glossy coat that lays close to the skin, and a long, opulent looking tail; the third variety is known as a ‘Plush’, similar to the Short-hair except it has a thicker, woolier coat.
Burmilla fur colors are many and varied, and include: blue, black, brown, deep-brown and grayish-pink; red, yellowish-white and tortoiseshell varieties have also been produced. A silvery or golden colored undercoat is the norm for this breed; pattern-wise, their fur can be either, shaded (coat is a quarter colored), tipped (a fine dusting of color over the undercoat), or smoked (solid colored fur with a soft, whitish basis to each individual hair).
The Burmilla’s personality is inquisitive, self-reliant and warm, without being overly-friendly; they are kittenish and active even into adulthood; getting along well with other pets and young children, they may live up to an age of 15 years or more. Health-wise, they are very fit and hardy and have few problems being suitable as pets for families or elderly owners as they require little attention and grooming (once weekly).
11 DecCat Breed – Burmilla
19 NovCat Breed – Birman
The Birman is a pedigree species of domestic cat, first officially recorded as a breed in France in 1925 under the name ‘Sacre de Birmanie’; it’s said to have originated in Western Burma where it is regarded as being sacred; its beginnings as a species are shrouded in exotic myths and complex legends which gives this cat a special mystique. This variety is so old and venerated that its existence has even been traced back to Ancient Thailand.
Male Birman cats can be quite large in size with the females a little smaller. They have average-length, silken coats, not quite as long and wild as a Persian’s and not as prone to tangles, starting off white in kitten-hood, they start to develop color in the fur at the age of one week, progressing to a flaxen or eggshell shade; markings on the coat are blue, deep brown, cream, seal, yellowish-white, red, and lilac. There are tabby and tortoiseshell variations in this breed.
Birman’s have sapphire colored eyes, remaining a striking shade of blue throughout their life; they are the one cat that has pure white paws in the colorpoint coat range of felines; this feature is highly unusual and genetically puzzling.
These are classic people oriented cats and they will tolerate play with children and will even cohabit with other pets if introduced sensitively; a definite indoor pet, the Birman is bright, alert, curious and active. As a member of the family, they will want to follow you and be a part of your daily routine, whether you’re washing, gardening or reading quietly in the study, your Birman will let you know of its presence with a soft, bell-like mew.
19 DecCat History And Cat Classification Of Domestic Cats
Scientists classify living organisms into different kingdoms, family, and orders to study more about them. Although, most people do not get into such details, but certain individuals who love cats, will definitely want to know the scientific classification of cats.
However, before that here is little history about classifications. In nineteenth century, there was this huge craze to classify the organisms scientifically. During that era, researchers identified numerous species and subspecies. They named the organisms by their own name or by the name of traveler, who bought them from different regions. Accordingly, cats were no exception and researchers classified them too.
Below is a detailed description of the scientific classification of the cats. To start with, the domestic cat in the household is commonly referred as Felis Catus.
How Researchers Classified Cats:
Life science expert Carouse Linnaes gave the name Felis Catus to the domestic cat in the year 1758. The domestic cats are in fact distant relatives of the wild cats. Therefore, domestic cats are the subspecies of feral cats. Thus, according to the guidelines of the ICZN (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature), wild cats are referred as F silvestris and F silvestris catus for the domestic species.
19 DecPersian Cat Breed Origin
There’s a beautiful legend which tells that the Persian cat was created by a wizard from a sparkle, which jumped out of the fire, the shimmer of two far away stars and a curl of grey smoke. I’d say that this legend rather closely describes appearance and temperament of the Persian cat, but the real history of persian cat breed is not less interesting or less mysterious.
So how does such mutation as long hair appear in a domestic cat? None of its wild counterparts has long hair gene. Well, if only lynx and snow leopard have a slightly longer coat due to the environmental conditions of their habitat.
It’s rather difficult now to investigate the origins of the long-haired cats, but most probably they are rooted in Persia, which is now called Iran. That’s from where Pietro della Valle brought several long-haired cat beauties to Italy in 1620. And a few years later the scholar and naturalist Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc brought long-haired cats form Angora (now Ankara in Turkey) to France. When the first long-haired cats appeared in England (which is now called ‘the second motherland of the Persian cats) they were called ‘French cats’.
It’s not exactly known whether those were the cats of one and the same breed. Nowadays it is the recognized fact that there existed several breeds of long-haired cats in the East. Angora cats were described as fluffy, light and active animals of a medium size, while well-known Alfred Edmund Brehm described long-haired Angora cats as big-sized and clumsy cats. He as well noted that grey and blue Angora cats were observed in the South of Siberia.
It’s not easy to answer the question why the animal from hot Asian counties has got long hair, while Mother Nature usually gifted long-hair to animals from severe Northern countries.
There are several versions regarding the long-haired cats origin. Some believe that among the ancestors of the Persian cat breed there were long-haired cats form Siberia which at first got into East and Small Asia, and only then were brought to Western Europe.
Others believe that long hair was a mutation which happened to a short-haired cat in the East, which then was kept in the process of domestication and some sort of selection – thus the cats which got into Europe and Siberia were aborigineous to Eastern countries.
The third theory roots in the phenotypic differences between the Persian cats and other domestic cats. This theory suggests that massive stocky with the ears set wide, big round head are related to Pallas’ Cat ( Felis manul ) otherwise known as Manul – wild cat which lives in Central Asia and has comparatively long hair, flat face with round eyes and ears set low on the head. Recent research however refutes this theory.
Such are the different Persian cat origin theories but anyway, all of them are pointing to Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan as the Persian cat native lands.
England is rightfully called the second Motherland of the Persian cats, as it were British cat fanciers who started to purposefully breed cat breeds (and primarily – Persian cat breed) in the 19th century. Although that was the time when the long-haired cats started being differentiated into Turkish Angora (long flexible body, silky but less thick coat, big pointed ears) and Persian cats (massive, with big round head and small ears), as a matter of fact only blue cats of the latter were called Persian, and all the rest were simply called ‘long-haired’ cats. Every of about 50 colors of long-haired cats was considered to be a separate breed. Till nowadays the Persian cat in England is not in fact called ‘Persian’ but rather ‘long-haired’, and every color variation is attributed to a separate cat breed. Also the official ruling of the British cat fanciers club regarding this issue was issued as early as 1910, the Englishmen still follow this kind of breed distinction.
The Persian cats arrived into America in the eighties of the 19th century and soon became a very popular cat breed. Unlike British clubs, in America all the color variations of the long-haired cats were attributed to one cat breed – “the Persian cat”. There are lots of color variations for Persian cats but Persian show cats are limited to the following colors: solid color, shaded and smoke, tabby, particolor, bicolor.
For today we know about 150 variations of the persian cat breed and contemporary persian cat, due to the efforts of many breeders, is a work of art among the other cat breeds. New age Persian cats are quite different form their ancestors. The Persian cats of the ‘old type’ had a narrower face, the color variations were not so rich and the coat was not so thick and delightful. Contemporary Persian cat might have its coat as long as 10 centimeters. One could say that the contemporary persian cat is the result of selective breeding by cat breeders from different countries. Probably due to that fact there are several Persian breed standards and some of the traits are still not agreed upon.
For one, starting form the middle of the 20th century, American cat breeders’s efforts were aimed at reinforcing traits peculiar to Persian breed – they were trying to breed a cat with even more massive, short body, even more round head and flat muzzle. As a result a new variation – Extreme Persian (or Peeked Faced Persian) – emerged. The first kittens of that type were born to red and red tabby persians in 1920-s. Although veterinarians believe that extreme manifestation of such traits is harmful to the animals health (specifically affecting their sinuses and breathing), and the despite the fact that British cat fanciers stand against such breeding, extreme persians are extremely popular in America and many European countries.
Contemporary persian cat became progenitor to a new breed – Exotic cat – a short-haired cat breed which has all the traits specific for the Persian cat breed with the exception of the coat length. Exotic cat is a hybrid with adorable temperament and excellent physical condition. The breed was created by American cat breeders in 1960-s. FIFe (Federation Internationale Feline) recognized the Exotic cat breed in 1984. Short (though longer than with other short-haired cat breeds) but awesome sparkly coat of the Exotic cat does not cause any problems with grooming.
27 OctOrigins of the Domestic Cat
Housecats are known for being independent and inscrutable, not generally characteristics of domesticated animals. Their closest relatives, the large cats, are fierce and aggressive, hardly animals you’d want to cuddle. How did cats come to live among us, as pets and as parts of the family? The story of cat domestication is a long one, with these pets sharing the hearts and hearths of humans for centuries.
There are signs of cats living with humans as far back as 8000 years ago. Cat and human bones have been found together on the island of Cyprus, indicating that the two species cohabited. Historians speculate that cats were first brought indoors to control rodents. As humans began to plant, harvest and store grain, mice and rats became an increasing problem. Cats were probably valued as hunters long before they became the adored members of the family they are today.
Approximately 4000 years ago, domestic cats appeared in Egypt. They were welcomed into the homes of humans, who were considered hosts to the animals, rather than owners. The relationship probably began as a method for keeping huge stores of grain from being eaten and tainted by smaller animals. However, domestic cats were eventually considered to be the living embodiment of the goddess Bastet, and were worshipped accordingly. Ancient tomb engravings depict Egyptians pampering their cats, and the bones of cats are found within those tombs alongside their human companions. One reason that cats don’t appear to have been domesticated in other parts of the globe is that it was illegal to export them from Egypt. It was also considered a crime to kill a cat, punishable by death.