The Burmilla (a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of Burm-ese and Chinch-illa ) is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

of domestic

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

, that originated in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1981. It is a cross between the

Chinchilla Persian The Persian cat, also known as the Persian Longhair, is a long-haired breed of cat characterised by a round face and short muzzle. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats might have been imported into Italy from Khorasan as early as ar ...

and

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (horse), a ...

cats. In certain

cat registries A cat registry or cat breed registry, also known as a cat fancier organization, cattery federation, or cat breeders' association, is an organization that registers domestic cats (usually purebred) of many breeds, for exhibition and for breedin ...

the breed falls under the Asian group, and is sometimes referred to as the ''Asian Shaded''. Standards were produced in 1984, and the breed gained championship status in the

in the 1990s. Female Burmilla cat

History

Origin

The Burmilla was accidentally born in the cattery of Miranda von Kirchberg in the United Kingdom. Two cats, a

chinchilla Persian The Persian cat, also known as the Persian Longhair, is a long-haired breed of cat characterised by a round face and short muzzle. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats might have been imported into Italy from Khorasan as early as ar ...

kitten, called Jamari Sanquist, and a lilac

, called Bambino Lilac Fabergé, were both awaiting a partner in different rooms. One night, the cleaner left the door open. The two cats mated, producing four kittens born in 1981; also birthing a new breed.

Recognition

GCCF The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) is a cat registry, established in 1910 and the largest organisation that registers Pedigree (animal), pedigree cats in the United Kingdom. It was formed from a small number of cat clubs which were ...

(Governing Council of the Cat Fancy), the Burmilla is considered part of the Asian group. It is accepted in

FIFe Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

as the Burmilla. Only the ''silver shaded'' and ''tipped'' varieties have been recognised in

, CCCA, ACF and CFA. As of late 2011, additionally ''golden shaded'' and ''tipped'' Burmillas are recognised within FIFe. The ACF also recognises ''golden shaded'' and ''tipped''.

Australian Tiffanie

One governing body in Australia (

Australian National Cats Inc. Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, ANCATS) uses the name Australian Tiffanie; however, international acceptance and standardisation did not follow. It is different from the European Tiffanie and the North-American

Chantilly-Tiffany The Chantilly-Tiffany or Chantilly/Tiffany, also known as the Chantilly or the Foreign Longhair, was a breed of domestic cat which originated in the late 1960s in North America. The Chantilly breed never got off the ground and has always been ...

. The Tiffanie from the UK is also originating from crossbreeding

and

cats similar to the Burmilla, and is the semi-longhaired variety in the Asian Group. However, Australian Tiffanies are essentially longhair Burmillas, as they only come in silver or golden tipped or shaded. The breed is separately developed in the late-1990s in Australia from European Tiffanie cats by breeding them back to the chinchilla Persian. Therefore, many Australian Tiffanies contain more than three-quarters chinchilla Persian and retain the appearance and temperament of the Old-Fashioned chinchilla Persian. To summarise, the Australian Tiffanie and Tiffanie from the UK both are developed from crossbreeding chinchilla Persians and Burmeses, but the Australian version contains more chinchilla Persian. Consequently, only silver and golden tipped and shaded is allowed in the Australian Tiffanie. The name's use is declining in favour, due to the lax standards for the breed name, the lack of unique identity and the varied genetic makeup.

Appearance

Ancelaine Lumikki BML ns 11 female EX1 CAC BIV

Body

Burmillas are medium-sized with muscular, elegant bodies, tending to weigh between 3–6 kg. Their distinguishing feature is their sparkling silver coat, and distinctive "make up" lining the nose, lips and eyes.

Head

Gently rounded top of head; medium width between ears; wide at eyebrow level and jaw hinge, tapering to a short, blunt wedge. The profile shows a gentle nose break. Tip of nose and chin should be in line. Chin is firm, with good depth.

Ears and eyes

Medium to large, broad at base with slightly rounded tips. Ear set with slight forward tilt in profile. Eye shape is large; placed well apart at slight oblique setting; slightly curved upper; line angled toward the nose, with a fuller curved lower line. Eye colour luminous, any shade of green. Some allowance can be made for a gold or yellow tinge in kittens and young adults.

Coat

The Burmilla comes in two coat lengths, semi-longhair and shorthair. Semi-longhair Burmilla are known as the Tiffanie in GCCF. The most common (standard) coat is the shorthair. This is a short, close-lying coat, similar in appearance to the Burmese, but with a slightly padded feel. Due to the undercoat, it has a soft, silky feel. The recessive longhair gene inherited from the Chinchilla Persian can produce longhair Burmilla. These cats have a semi-longhair coat following the lines of the body, with a soft, silky feel and a large plumed tail. The shorthair gene is dominant and where a cat receives one of each, shorthair dominates. Two longhair Burmillas mated together produce longhair kittens, while shorthair matings depend on whether the longhair genes are carried by the shorthair parents.

Colours

The Burmilla sports a variety of coat colours, including black, blue, brown, chocolate and lilac. Red, cream and tortoiseshell (

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

) varieties have been bred, although these colours are not recognised by CCCA in Australia. Burmilla coat colours can be expressed in either Burmese expression, or full expression. The Burmilla is now recognised in ''golden shaded'' and ''golden tipped'' in FIFe and ACF registries, but only ''silver shaded'' and ''silver tipped'' elsewhere. The Burmilla's shading comes in two major coat patterns which relate to the depth of colour; these are ''tipped'' and ''shaded''. Tipped Burmillas have a light dusting of colour (1/8 to 1/4) over the top of a silver or golden undercoat. In the case of ''silvers'', these cats can appear almost white. Shaded Burmillas have 1/4 - 1/2 of their hair length pigmented, giving the appearance of a mantle of colour over the back, shoulders and outside of the legs. The

smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...

pattern is not a Burmilla (in GCCF these fall under the Asian Smoke-category), and in some registries is only allowed to be registered for breeding, not showing. Smokes have only a small part of the hair root in the silvery-white or golden colour, and almost all hair length is pigmented. The cats have nose leather coloured correspondingly to their coat colour and outlined in the matching coat shading colour. In addition, their paw footpads correspond to the coat colouring: black silver cats have black or dark brown paw footpads, browns (sepia blacks) have dark brown, chocolates have pinkish brown, blues have blue-grey, and lilacs have dove-grey tinged with pink.

Colour genetics

Since the Burmilla inherits its colour ranges from two breeds, there is also the possibility of the entire Burmese spectrum of colours; black (incl. brown or sepia black), blue, chocolate, lilac and all the O gene range, both in Burmese Expression or BCR ( sepia coloured), and in Full Expression or FEx (solid/self coloured). The inheritance of the silver-gene also means that expression of colour can be variable; silver can darken and cool colour. However, since the Burmilla has a shaded coat pattern, it can be difficult to identify the various subtle shades of Burmese colouring that are recessive to the Persian colouring.

Temperament

The Burmilla is an irreverent and independent cat who adores its owner and displays many kitten-like characteristics, even into adulthood. In temperament they are sociable, playful and affectionate and get along well with children and other animals.

Notes

References

External links

Burmese-Burmilla Pedigree DatabaseRemedies For Constipated Cat
{{Authority control Cat breeds Cat breeds originating in the United Kingdom