Birmans
Sacred cats of Burma

Classicats Handsome Hunk & Heartbreaker
Sealpoint Birmans

Birmans have long bodies, low on short strong straight legs. Head is wide, round with full cheeks. Ears spaced well apart and medium in size. Eyes are round and clear blue, the deeper the blue the better. Nose medium in length with a slight dip in profile but no stop. Tail medium in length and bushy. The Birman coat is long and silky but not as dense as the Persian coat. They are pointed cats and come in a wide range of colours. Their main characteristic is their distinctive gloves on their paws. Front paws should have symmetrical gloves ending in an even line across the paw. Hind paws have white gloves covering the entire paw with a gauntlet tapering up the back of the foot.
There is a charming story of how the Birmans got their distinctive colouring:
It is said of them that centuries ago in Burma white cats were guardians of the Temple of Lao-Tsun, which housed a golden goddess with deep blue eyes, Tsun-Kyan-Kse. One beautiful cat, Sinh, was the close companion of the head priest, Mun-Ha. As the priest and his cat sat in front of the Goddess, the temple was attacked by raiders and Mun-Ha was killed while praying. Sink placed his paws on his dying master and faced the golden goddess.  As he did this, his white fur took on a golden he. His yellow eyes became dark blue, and his face, tail and legs turned to the colour of the earth, but the part of his paws that touched the dead priest remained white, the symbol of purity. The other priest watched in amazement, then inspired by this sacred transformation, they attacked the raiders, who fled from the temple.  For the next seven days Sinh refused all food, and finally died ,taking his master's soul into paradise. When the priests met to choose Mun-Ha's successor, the temples hundred cats came into the holy chamber, but they were no longer white: their coats had turned the same golden colour as Sinh's, and their eyes had become just as blue. They encircled a young priest, Lioa, who became the new head priest.

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