The Sacred Birmaan

The Sacred Birman
 

The Sacred Birman is a striking half-long-haired cat with an exotic appeal. There is probably no other race of which there are so many different opinions about their possible origin. The typical race mark, which doesn't appear at any other race, are their white feet. Cats of this race are in general quiet and wise animals which go around very well with everyone.
 

Origin
Concerning the origin of this elegant race, the most splendid and fantastic tales are told. A well known tale which of course best could be regarded as a fairy tale, is that these cats lived in a Birman monastery for centuries, totally isolated from the outside world. The ancestors of these animals, so the story tells, would have had become white feet after one of them touched a dying monk just before his last breath. Anyway it's clear that there have been many people who have taken home cats from Birma, which looked similar like the Sacred Birmans, around the year 1900. Mostly because of particularly French cat-lovers the race was introduced in Europe (and afterward in America as well). France did play an important role in the expansion of the Sacred Birman which can be proven, as the family tree of all Sacred Birmans finally lead back to France. Critics allege that the French created the Sacred Birmans their selves by using different cat-races and have made up a most interesting story in order to generate more needs. It's clear however, that when the breeding started in France, house-cats with white socks were used. as well as Siamese cats and colour point Persians.
 

Character

In general Sacred Birmans are gentle, quiet, discrete and tolerant. They're very fond of their tranquillity and however you should offer them the opportunity to retreat once in a while. A busy environment is a less comfortable circumstance for them, they could become unbalanced. Sacred Birmans are fond of cosiness and need pretty much attention and contacts with their 'household mates' in order to feel fine. Some Sacred Birmans tend to turn into a single man's cat, picking one certain person from the family, with whom they develop a very close relationship. In general they go around with other cats very well without any problem. The Sacred Birman can live together with dogs very well, at least if they don't 'hunt' after them, because they cannot appreciate the humour of that at all.

Sacred Birmans are well known for sometimes having a delicate food taste, but that maybe has something to do with the fact that many cat owners just love to spoil their cat; it's certainly not a typical race-characteristic. Cats of this race in general are not noisy and try to express their intentions especially by giving you cheeks and searching for eye contact. Despite their easy nature most of them will like to play every now and then, but it's certainly not so that they consider your home totally being a playground.
 

Maintenance
The soft, half-long hairy but very dense fur of the Sacred Birman doesn't need much attention. The texture makes that the fur doesn't show burrs very much. In general you can keep the fur in good shape by grooming the Sacred Birman once a week. Don't ever comb with a metal comb, as you can damage the lower fur this way. In general a solid, hairy brush is the better choice. If you have plans to visit shows with your Birman, the upkeep needs some more effort, because at the cat show there will be taken note of the quality of the fur attentively. Some owners wash their cat a day or two before the exhibition day, but this is strongly discouraged by experienced exhibitionists. Due to washing treatment the fur still hasn't enough solidity on that very day. That's why it is recommended to wash the Birman like five days before the show. After that you can still powder the fur every now and then, just as you do with races like the Turkish Angora and the Maine Coon. Lynx's tips are not appreciated at the show, so do carefully cut these off; and of course you will take care of clean ears and hearing canals as well. Sharp nail tips can best be cut with a good, rigid nail cutter.
 

External characteristics
 

Body

The Sacred Birman is a midsize, well-proportioned cat. The tail's length is average compared to the rest of the body and should give an elegant impression. The Birman must not be positioned too high on their legs; so these mostly are more short than long. The feet are round shaped and show the race-typical white socks.
 

Head

The head has more or less round cheeks and a round forehead. The nose is average of length and is not allowed to show a stop, but a small light notch on the nose back will not be judged. The chin is supposed to be firm, but not too pertinent. The ears are a bit slanted in the head and are slightly pointing forward. The eyes of this race are supposed to be as deep-blue as possible and not round; like those of the Persian Longhair, they are more like oval shaped.
 

Fur

The fur of the Sacred Birman has a particular texture. It feels silky soft and is draped around the cat like an opulent veil. The Sacred Birman doesn't have much lower fur (by no means the fur should be too thick) and a curly lower fur is not appreciated on shows. Around the collar, at the tail and the rear legs the fur is longer than the other body parts.
 

Colours

The Sacred Birman just comes in the so-called Himalayan pattern. The white feet form the most striking difference with other races which show the Himalayan pattern. This important race characteristic should never be absent. The white drought should be as symmetric as possible and sloping up in a V-shape at the backside of the paws. It's essential that the body colour is as pure as possible, which is supposed to be in good contrast against the coloured points. The eyes are deep blue, regardless the fur colour. The Sacred Birman appears for instance as a seal point, blue point, chocolate point, lilac point, red point, cream point, tortie point, tabby point en tortietabby point.
 

Remarks

Like all other cats with '"points" also the kittens of the Sacred Birman is born white; the points will show much later. Sometimes it will take a year before the Sacred Birman's coat shows it's final colour.