European Burmese - the cat with capital "D"!

“D” you ask?  No, this is not a mistake.  “D” as in doglike.  Many European Burmese (lovingly nicknamed EuroBurm) owners say their cats are much more like dogs than cats.  Most generally, they learn to respond to their name, follow their owners around like a puppy and often will learn to play fetch.  Sociable, playful, smart, curious, loving (especially loving) are all adjectives used over and over by owners in describing their EuroBurm.

The EuroBurm is not a one man’s cat.  The owner is of course the most popular person, but guests are also looked upon with much enthusiasm.  Some guests don’t even make it through the door before they have the EuroBurm up on their shoulders or begging for attention.  The EuroBurm craves considerable attention and want a lot of body contact.  They are very cuddly and usually insist on sleeping in the owner’s bed, preferably under the covers.  Cleaning, baking, surfing the Internet are all activities they will happily share with you.  EuroBurms are also experts when it comes to packing or unpacking suitcases and cleaning closets.

A EuroBurm will look soulfully into your eyes to communicate with you, either to let you know s/he understands your feelings or to let you know his or her desires.  One could fill pages upon pages of endearing anecdotes told by owners of this delightful breed.   All are incidents describing how close of a relationship the owner and cat have with each other.

The EuroBurm has the same ancestors as the American Burmese, which means their temperament is essentially the same (see American Burmese Breed Profile). The biggest differences are in physical details.  The breeders in Europe and Australia decided to stay with the original standard for the Burmese, which is a more moderate look.  The American Burmese breeders changed their standard to move more towards a rounder and more compact cat with a shorter nose.  The two breeds now have two different standards in the Cat Fanciers’ Association and cannot be mixed in a breeding program.  In addition, while the American Burmese come in four colors, the EuroBurm come in 10 colors.   These include the same four colors of the American Burmese (sable, champagne, blue, platinum); however are termed differently (brown, chocolate, blue, lilac).  Due to the introduction of the red gene by breeders in Great Britain, the EuroBurm also come in six additional colors which are red, cream, brown tortie, blue tortie, chocolate tortie and lilac tortie.

The EuroBurm is essentially a very healthy cat due to the wide genetic diversity available to breeders.  Due to its’ affectionate nature, it is an extremely popular breed in many parts of the world (especially Europe and Australia) making it possible to import new bloodlines whenever needed or desired to maintain a healthy gene pool.