The Burmilla is a relatively new breed. Born from a chance crossing, it is considered to be one of the most gentle and affectionate breeds of cat.
The Burmilla cat first came to be in 1981, in Great Britain. It is the result of an accidental crossing between a Burmese cat and the Silver Chinchilla Persian. Baroness Miranda von Kirchberg was a breeder of Burmese cats, but also had a male Silver Chinchilla Persian named Sanquist, given to her as a president by her husband.
Before Sanquist had the chance to be castrated, he was accidentally let into the room by the housekeeper, where Fabergé, a female Burmese was resting. At the time, she was waiting for the arrival of another male Burmese, but Sanquist beat him to it.
On September 11 2018, 4 female kittens with black coats were born: Galatea, Gemme, Gabriella and Gisella. The baroness found them too beautiful and refused to neuter them.
A bit later on, the baroness and her breeder friend Thérèse Clarke decided to continue the breed by making two out of the four sisters reproduce: Gemma and Galatea. Mme von Kirchberg also decided to have one of the other females reproduce with Sanquist, in order to allow the line to prosper.
The two women then wrote the standards for this new breed, basing them on the standards for the Burmese. They decided to name the breed "Burmilla", a contraction of "Burmese" and "Chinchilla".
Crosses were subsequently made to fix faulty genes.
Miranda von Kirchberg created the Burmilla Association, and Thérèse Clarke, the Burmilla Cat Club in 1984. The former working to conserve the morphology of the breed, while the latter focused on the quality of the coat itself.
The Burmilla is of average size with a straight back and and a bulging chest. It has well developed muscles, which make it heavy compared to its size.
Their legs are slender and averagely sized with oval shaped paws.
The tail is also of average length, being neither too thick or too thin. It must reach their shoulders when it curls over their back.
The Burmilla's head is rather large and triangle shaped. Its muzzle is quite short, but large. Its ears are of average size, larger at the bottom then rounding at the tip.
The Burmilla's head is of average size and forms a triangle shape. Its muzzle is quite short, but large. Their ears are medium size, large at the base then rouned at the tip. Side-on, they point lightly forward.
The eyes are big and well spaced on their head. Breed standards place more emphasis on the shape of them as opposed to their color. They must incline towards the nose and be rounded at the bottom.
An adult Burmilla is around 35cm in height and weighs between 3 to 5 kilos.
Source : Chats du monde
The Burmilla cat has a short-haired coat, and practically no under-coat. Its fur is fine and soft. It is generally silver or golden in color, although all other coat colors are accepted, except white.
One of the Burmilla's most distinguishing features is its tipped coat, that is to say the color is on the end of the hairs. In certain cases, the color is visible on three-quarters of the hair (shaded), and in other, it is only present on one eight of the hair (shell).
Certains cats born from crossings can have longer hair. They will therefore be registered as Tiffanys.
The Burmilla is a cat with a calm temperament. They are sociable and curious, but less demanding than their cousin, the Burmese. Very affectionate, they are an ideal cat to keep you company. Extraverted and playful, they got along well with their owners and are very easy to live with.
Generally speaking, they are a very sweet and gentle cat.
The Burmilla is a robust cat that doesn't need any specific treatment. However, be sure to provide enough food as they are a cat with a large appetite.
The Burmilla lives on average 15 years.
Although they don't need any particular upkeep, it is important to regularly brush the Burmilla's fur in order to maintain its softness and shine.
