Birman owners

[liza24]

I need to know everything there is to know about the breed. A friend of mine is letting me adopt her 6 year old male retired stud. She says he's CFA cert and is a champion. She just is getting overwhelmed, and i offered to help her out. I have already seen pics, and know he is easy going, loves all other cats, and loves his scratch post, which i have a few of.

When he comes into the home, i will only have Prue , Tigger and Kali. All the kittens will have gone to their homes.

Uno is a seal lynx point.

 

[goldenkitty45]

Birmans are nice cats. They are longhair but don't require daily combing - their coats don't mat/tangle like a persian. I'm sure you will be happy with him. Hopefully he will not be a sprayer. Some breeding males, even after being neuter can spray.

 

[sandtigress]

Oh, Birmans are wonderful wonderful wonderful!

Let's see....like GK said, even though they're longhairs, their fur texture is like rabbit fur and doesn't really mat. If they have really long hair (my two range from full out longhair to more of a longish medium hair) it might possibly get matted a bit during the winter, but not badly.

Personality-wise, they tend to be really laid back and easy going. When my Billy was an intact male, he used to purr and butt heads against the enclosures with the other intact males. He doesn't have an agressive bone in his body!

They can be quite "dog-like" in behavior - Chay sits at my feet sometimes when I'm at the computer, and they run to meet me at the door when I come home. Birmans tend to be fairly intelligent - Chay likes to let himself into all the cabinets, and beware if you don't shut a door all the way - he'll let himself in!

They both have typical meows, but also trills and brrrips. Birmans as a whole tend to huff instead of hiss when they're upset, but Chay didn't get that memo, and Billy just runs instead of standing around to make noises at things

More in next post

 

[sandtigress]

For vet visits - Birman aren't known for any specific hereditary problems, though there is some concern among lines for sensitivity to anesthesia, so if you can get blood tests and such done before putting them under, that's best. After World War II the Birman population was decimated, and they had to outcross to other breeds in order to keep them from going extinct. The sensitivity to anesthesia (as well as some undesired show traits like white spots other than on the feet) are thought to possibly have come from this outcrossing in the past.


They're very social cats - most do better with a buddy or two around, so its good you already have other cats. They're also very people cats, but at least my two would rather have me than someone else. They're not always very cuddly (my two rarely sit in my lap) but they will often sit next to me or near me, and love pettings.

As far as activity level goes, they're sort of medium level. They'll have their
"midnight crazy" sessions where they run around like elephants, but of course they have no where near the activity level of a Bengal, say.

Birman as a whole tend to like to play in water, yet another thing my two don't do.


What else can I think of.....as far as looks go, Birmans are suppoesd to have a nice broad Roman nose with a "bump". The trademark feature of Birmans are their white feet - show-marked Birman have "gloves" on their front feet, where the white should end in an even line across the top of the foot. Their back feet should be white from the front, ending in a nice sharp V in the back. These two traits are what most commonly keep a Birman from showing. Their coats also tend to have a goldish cast to them, as if someone misted them in gold.

Random fact - Birman are named for the year they were born in, like some other purebreeds. So Billy was born 3 years ago as a B, Chay is 11 months younger and so was born in a C year, last year was D, so this year's litter is E, I believe. Q and Y years always end up having fun names.

They are just the most gentle, beautiful cats in the world, and I am so blessed to have two of my own after wanting one for three years! I'll let you know if I think of anything else, but check out the online Birman sites - there are some really good ones out there. Be sure to read the legend of the origin of Birmans, its one of my favorite stories!

Official site http://www.birman.org/
CFA site http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/birman.html
Another good one http://www.birmanbreeder.com/
A great breeder with lots of info on the breed http://www.birman.net/

I know you'll just fall in love with him!

 

[liza24]

wow, thanks for all the info , it was sure handy!!!!

oh, and the woman called me. she asked if i could take Uno's brother, Sace, cause she tried to seperate them, and all they did was cry all night. i said sure!!! imm post pics of them in a sperate post.

 

[denice]

That is great that you can take both since they are bonded.

 

[sandtigress]

Aww, yay! Two Birmans are even better than one!