This year the Burmese Cat Club celebrates its Golden Anniversary. To mark this event, OUR CATS is pleased to include this special feature. Rosemary Hale has written a history of the breed and Joint Show Managers Steve Crow and Tommy Goss write about this year’s show and the special celebrations that will take place on 25th June 2005.
HISTORY AND ORIGINS OF BURMESE
Playful, energetic, acrobatic and extremely intelligent, the Burmese cat is the extrovert of the Cat Fancy. They are very mischievous, curious and adventurous. Burmese love high places. Tops of doors, curtains and pelmets, tops of cupboards, trees, roofs, these are all favourite spots for the Burmese, who is the most accomplished climber even in kittenhood. Their curiosity knows no bounds. They need to know what is on the other side of every door, and they can open doors themselves with ease. The normal lever handle is child’s play. They jump up, hang on the handle, and let gravity do the rest for them. Knobs are a little trickier, but jumping up, grasping the knob between both paws, and then swinging or jiggling from side to side will usually have the desired effect. To keep a Burmese out of a cupboard or fridge you need to install childproof locks, as they can open any cupboard door. Leave a door or drawer open for a second and the Burmese is inside, usually quite unbeknownst by you. This need to investigate can cause untold harm to the inquisitive Burmese, as many have been trapped and injured, even killed, in washing machines and tumble dryers, or under the bonnet of a car, as these warm, cosy places are like magnets for them.
Living with a Burmese is quite a noisy affair most days. As they jump into cupboards they dislodge the contents, usually all over the floor. They knock pans and containers off work surfaces as they race around. They will happily bat your precious ornaments from the mantelpiece or the shelf. They have been known to answer the telephone by knocking off the receiver. The Burmese will spend a lot of time talking to you, and they have a large range of sounds to get your attention.
Most Burmese are fascinated by water and will sit for hours playing with a dripping tap, and many have come to grief playing with the foam in a bubble bath. Many will drink from taps, but given the chance they will prefer to drink from a muddy puddle rather than drink the clean water offered. Their climbing instincts will also get them into trouble out of doors, where many will be trapped at the top of a tree, or on a roof. Getting up was easy, but they would rather sit and howl for assistance than try and get down on their own. Due to their inquisitiveness they will enter any open garage or shed in the area, and many have been trapped inside such a building for days, or even weeks, if the owner of the property has gone on holiday.
They love to accompany their owners on walks, and can even be trained to walk on a lead. Many a Burmese cat demands to sleep with its owner, some curled up behind their knees under the duvet, some sleeping alongside them with their head on the pillow. Certainly there is no need of a hot water bottle or heated blanket when you own a Burmese cat. A Burmese has a great sense of humour, and will happily share a joke with you. However, never laugh at a Burmese cat when it makes a mistake, as they will certainly show you their displeasure.
The Burmese is a very busy cat, and therefore will not appeal to everyone. It is a very playful cat which remains kittenish throughout its life. Even stately ladies and gentlemen of 16 plus years will be seen chasing a ball, or killing a leaf or a feather. They demand that you play with them, but their energy is boundless and it is you who will give up on the game first.
The Burmese is not a lap-cat who does nothing else but sit with you, although many are willing to spend a lot of their time curled up with their owners. But despite all of the above, the Burmese is an extremely affectionate cat. They will sprawl in your lap, or wrap themselves around your neck. They gaze earnestly into your eyes as they purr and knead your skin. The Burmese loves the company of humans, and will rush in to say hello to the most unwary of visitors, and they are tuned in to the moods of their owners. But if you are away from home for long periods during the day the Burmese will need a companion. It is not a cat who enjoys its own company or wants to spend long hours alone. Despite all their energy and playfulness, once you have known a Burmese you have a lifelong passion for the breed. Certainly life is never dull when a Burmese cat owns you.
Burmese cats have been known for centuries past living in Burma, Thailand and Malaya, and have been imported along with the Siamese. But the striking appearance of the blue-eyed, seal pointed Siamese always left the Burmese in the shade. They were found in England in the late 1800s when they were known as Chocolate Siamese (nothing to do with chocolate pointed Siamese which appeared later), but these yellow-eyed cats were never favoured and gradually the breed died out in England, but persisted in Europe for some time.
Then, in 1930, Dr Joseph C Thompson of San Francisco, California, a retired naval officer and practising psychiatrist, imported a little brown female called Wong Mau. Many breeders of that time regarded Wong Mau as a dark Siamese, but Dr Thompson disagreed. He thought Wong Mau was distinctly different from a Siamese, so he decided to enlist the help of a group of people well trained in biology, genetics and animal husbandry, to carry out breeding experiments to settle these doubts on a scientific basis. It was found that Wong Mau was a hybrid between Siamese and Burmese, and when mated back to her first-born son produced the first true Burmese kittens.
In 1949 Mrs Lilian France, who bred Siamese cats under the Chinki prefix, imported two Burmese cats. One was a male, Casa Gatos Da Foong, and the other was a female, Chindwin’s Minou Twm, already in kitten to an unrelated male in the USA. Unfortunately Minou lost her kittens in quarantine, and she herself suffered bad health from that point on. However, she did manage to produce three further litters, all to Casa Gatos da Foong. Her first litter included Chinki Yong Zahran, who became the first English bred Stud Cat.
Because of Minou’s health problems Mrs France decided to import a third cat, an American Champion, Laos Cheli Wat, who had already successfully produced and reared kittens in the USA. Cheli proved to be a very good brood queen, producing healthy litters almost every six months for most of her life
From these three cats the breed quickly gained popularity, and within two years Mrs France imported another stud male, Casa Gatos Darkee.. It was at this point that Mrs France had to give up her Burmese cats and they were all transferred to Mrs C F Watson, who bred Siamese at Matlock in Derbyshire, under the Milori prefix.
In 1956 Mrs Watson imported another unrelated Burmese male, Darshan Khudiram, and then had the good fortune to purchase a female from a Canadian serviceman who was returning home. This female, Folly Tou Po, was the last of the USA cats to join the early breeding programme.
The GCCF was not willing to grant breed recognition to Burmese on the basis of the American pedigrees and it was not until 1952 that official recognition was accorded after the three-generation requirement had been satisfied, when the breed number 27 was accorded. The original Standard of Points was inevitably based entirely on the American standard of the day and the most striking and attractive characteristics of the early cats were their sleek, silky coats of rich, seal brown, and their wonderful character, disposition and friendliness.
On 29th March 1955 a litter of five kittens was born to Ch Chinki Golden Gay, now owned by Mrs Watson. The sire was Ch Casa Gatos Darkee. Gay, and her litter sister Ch Chinki Golden Goddess were the daughters of Darkee by Ch Chinki Yong Jetta, the first British born champion. As Gay was a maiden queen it was decided to send two of her kittens to be reared by Mrs Margaret Smith’s Chinki Yong Kassa, a very experienced queen who had just produced a single kitten. These two kittens were taken from the litter at random and sent to Leicester. As the kittens grew it was quite obvious that the female was a totally different colour.
At first there was some speculation as to the colour of this paler kitten. In fact when a prospective owner went to purchase the brown male, Sealcoat Konyak, for 7 guineas, she was offered the little pale female for 12/6d as no one was sure what she was. Mrs Smith eventually decided to keep the female and she was named Sealcoat Blue Surprise. At first Blue Surprise did not produce blue kittens and this was a great disappointment. Her first matings were with Mrs Smith’s Burmese stud, Ch Sablesilk Bimbo, who was descended from Casa Gatos da Foong, and therefore did not carry the blue gene.
It was found, after exhaustive enquiries in America, that Darkee was the only one of the American imports to come from a line carrying this dilute gene. Many of Darkee’s offspring were now carrying the blue gene, but because they were all brown cats a programme of selective breeding would have to be embarked on to find out who the blue carriers were. When Blue Surprise was mated back to her father she did produce blue kittens, and also when mated to a son of Darkee. When Lamont Patrick, a blue carrying son of Darkee, was mated to Ch Chinki Golden Goddess, litter sister of Chinki Golden Gay, blue kittens were produced, one of the best being Ch Lamont Blue Burmaboy, who was owned by Robine Pocock, and in 1957 became the first champion Blue Burmese.
Another son of Darkee who was instrumental in producing some good blues was Ch Kingsplay Fei-Fo. But perhaps the best known of Darkee’s blue carrying sons was Kathoodu Kimi. He was the sire of Kathoodu Sapphire Kilvi, instrumental in clearing the coats of the reds and creams. It was Kimi who produced the first all blue litter in the UK when mated to his daughter, Mrs Hooper’s queen Pussinboots Sapphire Bibi, whose dam was Ch Sablesilk Mouse, the first daughter of Sealcoat Blue Surprise. Unfortunately this litter did not survive. It was in fact a Ballard litter bred by Rosalie Knowles, out of Ch Lamont Blue Burmaboy and Angela Vanessa, which was the first surviving all blue litter, and the forerunner of the wonderful line of Ballard blues that were exported all over the world.
Late in 1963 Pussinboots Blue Truepegu, managed to escape whilst calling, and was mated by a red tabby shorthaired cat. The resultant litter contained a very elegant black-tortie kitten, which Robine Pocock, Pegu’s breeder, decided to purchase and breed from, in the hopes of producing a new colour in the Burmese breed. This kitten was named Wavermouse Galapagos. She was mated to Robine’s brown male, Ch Soondar Mooni. One of the kittens in this litter was also a very striking black-tortie, who was named Pussinboots Pagan’s Pride. Pagan’s Pride produced red sons and a blue tortie daughter, to further the breeding programme.
Two other unrelated matings took place in the hopes of widening the gene pool. A tortie and white female carrying the siamese gene, was mated to Ch Soondar Mooni to produce a red male, and Arboreal Fenella, a brown female, was mated to a Redpoint Siamese male.
Meanwhile Mrs Joyce Dell had mated her female Kipushi Blue Silk to one of the red males to produce a blue tortie female, Kupro Kepikilo. Kepikilo was the dam of Kupro Silken Sophina, another blue tortie who was to become the foundation queen for Joyce’s wonderful line of Cream Burmese.
By 1969 Champagne Burmese were beginning to be more widely seen in America. Breeders in the UK had learned of this new colour and had started to look for cats of quality to import.
By chance, two UK breeders, Iona Beckett (nee O’Neill), breeding cats with the Morningstar prefix, and Moira Mack with her Belcanto cats, discovered that they were both trying to locate champagne Burmese in the USA. As Moira was planning to visit America, it was decided that she would also search for a kitten for Iona. Eventually, two unrelated champagne kittens were found, both bred by Jo & Dee Armstrong. Jo-Dee’s Golden Morningstar, a four-month-old male, was destined to be a stud cat for Iona. Jo-Dee’s Belcanto Norma, a five-month-old female became Moira’s new breeding queen. The first litter of Champagne kittens, renamed Chocolate, were born during the cats’ period in quarantine.
At about the same time that Iona Beckett and Moira Mack decided to search for champagne Burmese two other British breeders had also made this decision. They were Elizabeth Caldicott who breed Burmese under the Ramree prefix, and Pam Evely, whose Kernow cats were very well known. After some searching it was decided to import four cats, two males and two females, from Jane Simon’s Californian cattery. So Si-Mon’s Aybo Budda, a very pale champagne male, and Si-Mon’s Karissima, a champagne female were added to the Ramree household, and Si-mon’s Sirrocco Suda, a brown male carrying the chocolate gene, and Si-Mon’s Kyeema, a brown female, also carrying the chocolate gene, went to Pam Evely. For some reason when these cats were registered in the UK their names were changed and they became Aybo Budda, Kari-Simone, Suda Sirrocco Simon and Kimboh Kyeema.
It was known that Aybo Budda carried the blue gene as his father; Ch Si-Mon’s Frosty Knight was registered as platinum in the USA. When Ramree Judi, one of Kari-Simone’s first litter, gave birth to kittens by Aybo Budda, it came as a surprise to find that Sabra Honeymist Will was actually a platinum (later called lilac), proving that Kari-Simone also carried the blue gene. Later that year Judi’s litter sister, Mata Mas, also mated to her sire Aybo Budda, produced a lilac kitten, which was called Sittang Sylvan Surprise. In fact it was Sylvan Surprise who, in April 1973, produced the first all lilac litter.
In1972, the chocolates and lilacs being well established in the UK, a breeding programme was undertaken by Elizabeth Caldicott to introduce the chocolate gene into the cream Burmese. The first of these matings took place between Aybo Budda and Kupro Cream Coral, and produced a brown tortie female and cream and red males. A lilac girl, Ramree Betina Bapa, was mated to Pussinboots Golden Lustre, and produced blue tortie females and blue males. The third mating was between Ramree Mimpi Elok and Primsu Golden Aquila. This was a litter of seven and was the most exciting as it contained a brown tortie, a blue tortie, and the first lilac tortie, Ramree Kepala Susu. Further matings produced more torties of these colours, but it was not until much later, in August 1976, that the last colour, the elusive chocolate tortie was produced. This was Kaboobi Isabelle, who was three and four generations removed from the original Chocolate imports.
Rosemary Hale ©
The Burmese Cat Club Show 2005
Thinking about what to write about the 2005 show, we have been reflecting on the five years that we have now been Show Managers. During this time we have developed the “themed” approach with the aim of making each show unique and interesting with new and different things to see and win. Doing this does give the opportunity to stretch your imagination and test members’ sense of fun.
This year as I’m sure you all know by now, it is the Burmese Cat Club’s Golden Jubilee - the Club was established in 1955 and has grown in fifty years to have one of the largest memberships in the Cat Fancy. The 24th Championship show will form a key part of the jubilee celebrations, and so it will be no surprise that we have chosen “Gold” as the theme for 2005. However, we do want to be inventive in deciding how to pursue this theme – King Midas, the Golden Fleece (Jason & the Argonauts etc), Alchemist’s elixir, gold ducats and doubloons (pirates etc), Rheingold (Valkyries, etc), James Bond films such, Goldfinger and Man with the Golden Gun, Inca and Aztec gold ingots, El Dorado, Krugerands - all leap to mind (well my mind anyway). We are thinking hard about which we can use to create the themes and influence the prizes we should offer to winners of the Special Jubilee classes and Burmese Cat Club classes.
The show team will be planning and designing the fine details of the show over the coming months. Our aim as always is to make ensure the show is well organised, runs smoothly and is as much fun as possible for judges, stewards, exhibitors, cats and of course for us! We are in the same venue as last year – Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre, Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham, which is easily accessed from Motorways, and again we will be sharing the hall with the Asian Group Cat Society Show.
The hall will be decorated to reflect our Gold theme and we hope both judges and exhibitors will enter into the celebration and dress in costumes of gold or with a “golden” theme (see suggestions above, although I don’t know if any of you will be daring enough to come as King Midas or even Goldfinger?). At the very least we expect everyone to wear something gold: shoes, top, belt, etc., again we will be offering a prize for both “Best Dressed Exhibitor” and “Best Dressed Judge or Steward”. A special exhibition area for “Burmese Beauties” will be available to any who do not want to enter their cats in competition but would like to bring them along to be part of the Club’s Jubilee celebration – please decorate pens keeping with our Gold theme; there will be a prize for the best dressed and most imaginatively conceived pen.
We have gained GCCF agreement to split Grand Champion and Grand Premier Classes this year as follows: male Grands split into Blue & Brown, Chocolate & Lilac, Red & Cream; female Grands the same plus a separate Grand class for Torties. In addition Burmese Tortie Open classes will be split into Brown Tortie, Blue Tortie, Chocolate and Lilac Torties. Unfortunately once again we did not have enough Chocolate Torties and Lilac Torties at last years’ show to gain this additional split in 2005 - but who knows we may get a sufficiently good entry this year to try again for next show. The exciting new addition to the Grand classes this year is the Imperial Grand and we (along with our twinned Asian show) will be the first Breed Show ever to offer the Imperial Grand. Four separate classes will feature - Imperial Grand Champion and Imperial Grand Premier, split into separate classes for male and female - a great opportunity for you all to bring out your very best Grand titled cats to compete for the coveted new Certificate.
Although we has a small entry last year for our “Stars for the Past” class and have the Imperials on offer too, after serious consideration we’ve decided to offer this class again this year, since it is a very special celebratory show for the club and we hope that many of the super matriarchs and patriarchs of our wonderful Burmese breed will come out to enter either Stars or the Imperial Grand classes. The winner of Stars for the Past will as ever become Best In Show Veteran and will compete for overall BIS.
Also on offer again this year is our “Stay at Home” class for Pet Burmese; all cats entered in this class will be judged on temperament and condition and the top four cats will win a special rosette. The overall winner will be awarded the “Jemma” Trophy donated by Sharon Neil in 2001, and will become Best In Show Pet Burmese.
We also have numerous classes for Household pets. We hope you will bring these home loving boys and girls to the show where they will be judged on their own unique personal qualities. On offer once again this year we have an award for Best in Show Household pet, winning the same superb prizes as our other Best in Show winners but you have to enter to have a chance of winning it!
GCCF have agreed that if you enter a Household Pet in the BCC show you can also enter it in the Asian Group Cat Society show as long as your cat is not entered in more than 4 classes in each show. It will give every cat entered in both shows two chances to win Best in Show as each club holds their own finals!
We will be continuing the judging of Best In Show Adult, Neuter, Kitten and Veteran across the table so that you can all view the even, which proved to be particularly popular last year since the new venue gives us a little more space to set chairs in rows so exhibitors can watch in comfort. Each BIS winner will receive a special commemorative prize, plus rosette, a bottle of champagne, and cat “goodies” including food kindly donated by Franks Progold and other sponsors.
The Breeders’ Cup class, which has attracted very good entries over the past two years’ will be judged by Anne Gregory this time. As you no doubt remember this special class is open to Burmese Breeders, who can enter, in groups of three, any combination of adults, kittens or neuters bred by them and holding the same prefix. The group of three do not have to be owned by the same person, and will be judged collectively against all other groups. So put your best girls and boys together. The Breeders’ Cup will be awarded to the winning group together with a “First Breeders’ Cup” rosette for each cat. The group coming second will be awarded “Reserve Breeders’ Cup” rosettes and the group placed third will gain “Runner-up” rosettes.
We have been very grateful for the continuing support we have received from so many of you over the past five years and want to ask you to give us even more support this year since it is the Club’s Jubilee show. We will decorate the hall to reflect the Golden Jubilee, balloons, plenty of gold and glitz, “golden” prizes for special class winners, special awards and of course a Jubilee cake which will be cut during the afternoon and served to all along with a celebratory drink so we can toast the continued health of our club and lovely Burmese breed.
If you would like to sponsor a class at the show and have your prefix or the name of a favourite cat feature in the catalogue beside a specific class, we would very much like to receive your sponsorship at £5 per class. Alternatively you may want to donate a prize to the raffle or tombola both of which will be held on the day in support of the show; this additional help really does make a difference to the financial viability of our show. To encourage you to enter your Burmese, we are offering discounted prices for multiple entries and guarantee that the rosettes and prizes will be especially worth winning this year!
We hope we have done enough to tempt you to travel to Birmingham, which the majority of you did select as the preferred venue for the annual breed show, so please come and support and join other club members in celebrating fifty years of the Burmese Cat Club!
Schedules will be posted to 2004 exhibitors towards the end of March and will be available to other members on receipt of a 9 x 5 sae. The closing date for entries will be 23rd May 2005.
STEVE CROW & THOMAS GOSS
Burmese Cat Club Membership
The Burmese Cat Club was formed in 1955 and is one of the largest cat clubs in the UK with a national and international membership.
The club exists to safeguard the well being and the purity of the breed, and to encourage a wider appreciation of the unique qualities of Burmese cats.
The Membership Secretary (address below) will be pleased to send a Membership Application Pack on receipt of a stamped, addressed envelope. Alternatively, an application form can be downloaded from the club website www.burmesecatclub.com The subscription year runs from 1st January to 31st December. Renewal may be by direct debit or cheque/postal order. Subscription rates are:
Single membership: £14.00 plus Entry Fee £8.00 Joint membership: £21.00 plus Entry Fee £8.00 Junior membership: £5.00 plus Entry Fee £2.50
Services for Burmese Cat Club Members
Services for members of the BCC include:
The Club holds an annual Burmese Championship Show under GCCF rules, and sponsors classes for its members at other all-breed shows, with cups and rosettes for winning cats and kittens.
The Club magazine, the BCC News, is published and circulated to members three times a year. It includes up-to-date information on health and welfare, articles by members on the pleasures of owning Burmese, photographs, poems, illustrations and lists of Trophy and Club Class winners.
A comprehensive selection of information leaflets and other publications, including the definitive book The Burmese Cat, a Stud List and our own pedigree forms, are available for purchase from Club Tables at shows or by mail order from our Publications Secretary.
Regional Kitten Lists are compiled and updated on a monthly basis and members are invited to register details of litters on the relevant List through Kitten List Co-ordinators or Regional Advisers. Information from these lists is given by Co-ordinators and Regional Advisers to telephone enquirers seeking to purchase kittens.
Welfare Activities
The Burmese Cat Club has its own Benevolent Fund; this is now a Registered Charity (No 1094488).
Welfare of the Burmese cat is the Club’s prime concern. We have a regionally structured rehoming service which helps around 400 needy cats each year. The Burmese Cat Club Benevolent Fund, which depends entirely upon private donations, provides the financial support to care for distressed cats in emergency situations, and to pay for boarding and veterinary costs for cats awaiting new homes. Suitable accommodation is available by means of a series of “safe houses” established across the country. These may be held by Regional Advisers, or by any other members of the Club who can offer an appropriate environment and the necessary time and devotion to the cats in our care.
Needless to say, the costs of caring for cats in need of rescue or re-homing can soon mount up, so any donation you can make to help support a distressed or homeless Burmese cat will be greatly appreciated. Cheques, made payable to “The Burmese Cat Club Benevolent Fund”, may be sent either to the Benevolent Fund Trustee or to the Honorary Treasurer.
Rehoming Service
Cats which are not claimed, or which are released into the Club’s care by their former owners, are rehomed (with their non-Burmese companions where applicable!) by means of the waiting lists of people wishing to give a home to an adult Burmese. These lists are compiled by Regional Advisers in liaison with the Welfare & Rehoming Co-ordinator. Great care is taken to match cats and homes as closely as possible.
Lost And Found Register
We have a centrally co-ordinated Register for lost, found and abandoned Burmese cats. They are rarely streetwise, and their fearless and friendly nature inclines them to explore open vans and cars. They can therefore find themselves “hitching a lift” which may take them far away from home. This national Register increases the chances of “matching” lost and found cats.
Useful Contacts:
Membership Secretary
Mrs Julia Davis
Woodhouselea, Polton Road, Lasswade, Midlothian, EH18 1AA
E-mail: julia68davis@msn.com
Hon Treasurer
Mr Guy S. F. Wilkin
Tel: 01892 822399
E-mail:guy.wilkin@ukgateway.net
Invitation
You are cordially invited to visit the Burmese Cat Club Show on 25th June 2005 to join in the celebrations and share our birthday cake!
Please bring this invitation slip to the show and save £1.00 on the normal entrance fee!
