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Birman
cats are prized not only for their companionable
nature and the great beauty of their easy care
semi-long haired coat and lovely blue eyes but
also for their stunning coat colour.
Birmans have silky white or ivory coloured hair
that develops a slightly darker shading or misting
as they age.
The shading is usually in keeping with the colour
of the hair on the legs, tail, face and ears – called “points” – which
can be considerably darker than that on the body.
Characteristic of the breed are the feet which
are gloved in sparkling white. These gloved feet
are often the only reason that a cat may be designated
as pet quality – having too little or too
much white for show exhibition, particularly as
the white is meant to be evenly distributed. On
the hind legs white gauntlets extend up the back
of the hock and ideally end in a point like the
shape of an inverted “V”.
All kittens are born white and it can be quite
difficult for the breeder to recognise whether
the kittens carry correct markings or not for some
time.
Birman cats can be found in several different point
colours. The most common and to some people the
most attractive being the Seal point and Blue point
which are considered to be the original colours,
Next in line are the dense chocolate points and
the dilute lilac points - which have become well
established in recent years.
Numerous other colour combinations also now exist – often
referred too as the new colours and these primarily
come in Tabby point, Tortoiseshell point, Cream
points and Red points. |
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