Incazo Cattery
Breeding Beautiful Burmese
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Breeding Beautiful Burmese
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© Copyright 2000 - 2001 Carol Lutz. All rights reserved The beginning - In the United State of America... The Burmese cat that you see today, was developed in San Francisco in the in United States of America by Dr Joseph C. Thompson. He started the breed with a little brown female cat called Wong Mau, who it is believed came from Burma in 1930. It has been documented that Dr Thompson actually brought two Burmese cats to San Francisco, but that the male died before he could be used for breeding. As Wong Mau was the only cat of her type in San Francisco, Dr Thompson embarked on a careful breeding program with Siamese to develop the breed. All the kittens in the first litter were hybrids, but when some of these kittens were mated back to their mother, brown kittens resembling their mother were born. These brown kittens were Burmese and by careful breeding, the Burmese breed was established - the result of a controlled breeding plan. Two more Burmese were brought into the United States of America in 1941 to increase the gene pool. The progress of the breed in the USA was not smooth. In 1934 it was proposed that the Burmese be recognised as a new breed for show purposes. In 1936 they were eligible for registration in the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) stud book. This eligibility was withdrawn in 1947 as some breeders claimed that it was essential that Siamese blood was reintroduced every three years, disputing the evidence that the Burmese was a true breeding separate cat variety. This was because Burmese breeders still had to outcross to Seal point Siamese in order to increase the gene pool and keep from in-breeding their beloved Burmese to extinction. Even though the CFA did not allow the registration of Burmese, there were other USA registries that continued to recognise the breed and a group of determined Burmese breeders continued with the breed, working on it to distinguish it from its Siamese relative. They worked on several aspects of the breed. Firstly to weed out any show faults such as kinked tails and lockets (white patches in the throat area) by only breeding from sound stock without these faults. Some breeders even tried to eliminate any Burmese that looked like Siamese. Also they worked to breed cats whose pedigrees showed only Burmese in their pedigrees, for at least three generations. Eventually their hard work paid off, and the CFA accepted the Burmese again in 1957. However it wasn't until June 1967 that the Burmese were classified as an "Established Breed". Up to this point the only recognised colour for Burmese was Brown (or Sable), even though Blue, Chocolate (Champagne) and Lilac (Platinum) kittens had been recorded in litters. The CFA solved this by declaring that these new colours were actually a new breed, the Malayan. This situation was finally corrected in the mid 1980s, with the four main colours being accepted as Burmese by the CFA, as other USA cat registries had done. Other colours of Burmese - Red, Cream, Tortoiseshell and Silver are accepted throughout the world by different registering bodies. The Burmese in the United Kingdom... The Burmese was the first breed to appear in the United States of America before it appeared in Europe or England. Three Burmese cats (one male and two females) were imported from the United States of America in 1949. The Burmese was not recognised by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy at this stage, as they required three true-breeding generations before they would grant full registration to the Burmese. In 1950 a pregnant queen was imported, who subsequently gave birth to three male kittens. On 20th June 1952, the first third generation litter was born and the Brown Burmese were officially recognised by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. In 1953 a male cat was imported from the United States of America that was, as far as possible, from different lines as the other Burmese in England. In 1955, the first Blue Burmese was born from a father-daughter mating. The kitten was aptly named "Sealpoint Blue Surprise", and was not received well by the members of the Cat Fancy. It was not until 1960, that Blue became recognised as a legitimate colour for Burmese. In 1957, a third male cat was imported from the United States of America. This cat was also from different stock to the Burmese already in England. At this time there were approximately 150 Burmese in England. The five originally imported Burmese were the foundation of the Burmese breed in the United Kingdom, appearing in practically every English Burmese pedigree. In 1977, the last four colours were granted championship status. The first Burmese (one male and two females) to be imported from England were purchased in October 1956. They were first exhibited in public in 1957. In 1960, the first all Blue litter in the Southern Hemisphere was born, comprising of 2 males and 2 females. As both parents were Brown, the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in England decided that Blue Burmese were recognised as a true Burmese. These three Burmese were the foundation of the breed in New Zealand. The first Burmese to arrive in Australia was a Brown boy named Tomahawk. He was from the same litter as one of the females imported into New Zealand in 1956. Tomahawk arrived in Sydney in 1957, aged 14 months. In 1957, a female kitten was imported from England. In 1958, three female kittens were imported from New Zealand. These five cats were the foundation of the Burmese breed in Australia. Due to the limited availability of Burmese, Australian breeders had the same problems that plagued the early American breeders. The breeders sought permission from the RAS Cat Control Consultative Committee (now the NSW Cat Fancier's Association Management Committee) to outcross to Siamese, in a similar way to the original American development of the breed. The committee agreed to this, as long as strict conditions were met. These conditions involved a long term breeding project and were accepted by the breeders. The first Blue Burmese in Australia was born in Brisbane in 1959. Blue was not recognised in Australia at that time, and although he was shown, he was not judged as a Blue Burmese and was neutered before he sired any progeny. The second Blue Burmese male born in Australia didn't come along until 1962, and whilst this cat became the first Champion and Grand Champion Blue Burmese, he suffered from lungworm which made him impotent, and he too died without progeny. A Blue female was imported into Australia from England in 1959 and the first litter of four Blue and one Brown Burmese kittens was born in Sydney in 1964. Tasmania welcomed it's first Burmese with the introduction of two female kittens from mainland Australia in 1965. The first Chocolate Burmese in Australia was born on 1st October 1968 in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales. In 1974, a Cream female kitten was born in Western Australia. She became the first Cream Burmese in New South Wales. In 1975, the RAS Cat Control recognised Lilac and Chocolate as official Burmese colours, allowing cats of these colours to be awarded challenges at cat shows. The first Chocolate Tortoiseshell cat was born in 1978, and two Lilac Tortoiseshell kittens were born in 1979. These colours were officially recognised in 1982. In 1989 the Burmese Advisory Committee was formed which worked to improve the standard of Burmese in Australia. They also achieved the recognition of all four tortoiseshell colours. The Burmese in other countries... Two Brown Burmese (one female and one male) were imported from the United States of America into Japan in 1967. The first Brown Burmese arrived in South Africa on 23 October 1957. This was a male. Two females arrived in April 1958. These three cats came from England, as it was not permitted to import cats from the United States. A pair of Burmese (one male and one female) were imported in August 1958. The first Blue Burmese came from England early in 1960, and the first litter containing Blue kittens was born in late 1960. © Copyright 2000 - 2001 Carol Lutz. All rights reserved |
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