Care Sheet for Burmese Cats

Do you want cats that manifest dog-like personalities? How about the type that is genuinely affectionate, friendly, lovable, and overall endearing, from their physical characteristics down to what’s within them? These are all characteristics of the much-loved Burmese Cats. 

So, Burmese Cats? 

Burmese Cats are a breed of domestic cats that theoretically, have an Asian origin. Burmese Cats are medium in size, with small rounded heads and big fascinating and expressive yellow or golden eyes. The kind of eyes, you can get lost in. They have short, soft in texture glossy coats that are milk chocolate in kittens, that turn into a great rich saddle brown when they become adults, with their ears, face, legs, and tails a little shade darker. Their tails are tapered and can be either straight or curved at the tip. They have attractive facial features, it almost will give you a serotonin boost, and if someone swears that he or she is not, or never will be a cat enthusiast, trust us that this cat will make them into one. 

History of Burmese Cats

They have earned the name “Burmese” to the name of place of their origin which is Burma, which is to be found in Myanmar. They are acknowledged as “copper cats” because of the shade of their fur, in their native region and they have been wandering around Southeast Asia for centuries. 

In 1930, there existed a female Burmese cat named Wong Mau that was transported from Burma to the United States. It was then believed by historians to be given to Dr. Joseph Thompson. Dr. Thompson then becomes fascinated and in love with the Burmese cat’s attractive appearance, and pleasing affectionate personality. Dr. Thompson wanted a cat that would resemble it, so he went and bred Wong Mau with a Siamese cat. Continuing, Wong Mau has birthed many other litters of kittens, and she is believed to be the one who started the Burmese cat breed that we now know and adore. 

The physical appearance of these adorable cats has changed over the past years, and because of this alteration, there now exist two types of Burmese cats: American Burmese and European Burmese. 

In this day and age, the Burmese cat breed is now common and dominant. They have been known by many and have become popular, all credit goes to how their loving personalities together with their captivating looks capture the heart of many cat lovers.

How do Burmese cats behave? 

They resemble dogs very much, and that made them stand out to other cat breeds there are. They are very playful, and will easily get social and form a connection with you. Because they are intelligent, just as with dogs, they too like to play fetches or tags. 

They are outgoing and love entertaining other people with their athletic skills. These cats love to take leaps and jump to the highest spot of the room. Burmese are friendly with families, great to bond with children, and are really irresistible and clingy when it comes to their owners.

I am not kidding when I say that these cats love attention. They would follow you wherever you go and enjoy just as little as silent petting, snuggling, and playing. Them being clingy is how they show their affection and love towards their owners. These cats are very vocal! They love furring their deep rumbling voices. They are so adorable in doing so.

Overall, they are simply the most compassionate, and lovable cats. Burmese cat owners often describe how their presence makes their day a little brighter, eases their stress, anxiety, and overall enhances the quality of their life, as though they have given birth to these balls of sunshine because of the pure connection they give. They treat these cats as a child, a best friend, a loving companion. 

Essential facts to know about Burmese Cats

• They are a very loyal companion, with children, to adults to retiring old people, they will offer genuine love, affection and faithfulness. 

• Their intelligence is often surprising. They can manage to open doors, sneak into things, snacks, they like to work on problems such as figuring out how to escape. 

• Bursem cats are very heavy. The medium sized cats, but they are so much heavier than their cute bodies seem, it is misleading. They are known to be bricks that are wrapped in silks. 

• Extroverts of the Cat land. This is a very obvious one, they are social butterflies that will happily engage with other people and pets.

• They are very curious and like to be involved. They love to investigate how their owners behave, what are the things their owners like to do, and they want to show up with it and figure out ways they can help or just be involved in doing those types of activities. For instance, need company in the kitchen? burmese cats are on their way. 

• They love to play. These cats love to show up their athletic skills by jumping,fetching,tugs together with interactive toys and puzzles. They love to be active as well. It keeps their mind stimulated and those muscles chiseled and strong.

• They trust easily. Including strangers since they are very welcoming. Letting these cats outdoors might cause them to be lost and join other people when they get out of your sight. Thus, it is extremely important to keep a close eye on them, and keep them safe indoors since they are very vulnerable to catnapping. 

• They exist in four gorgeous colors. Sable, champagne, platinum and blue. Their eyes are typically yellow, but some of them have blue due to cross breeding. 

• They are not independent. Long periods of time spent alone just by themselves makes them sad, and anxious. They are indeed people oriented cats, and like to savor every moment with them.

• They get along with other pets. Their friendly nature does not stop with us humans, they love to befriend dogs, pet birds, turtles, rabbits and many more. They offer a warm welcome.

Burmese Cats: Complete Care Sheet

Part 1: Health and Well-Being 

Awareness in Breed-specific issues. Burmese cats, although generally healthy, have some health issues that are riskier because of their breeds. Burmese kittens can have the probability to be born with congenital diseases that are facial and head defects, some might have heart diseases. 

Adult Burmese cats have a higher risk of obesity and diabetes. This is why although generally healthy, you should keep a close look at their diet and eating practices, obesity correlates with diabetes. As they age, these are warning signs to look out for diabetes:

• Increase in drinking.
• Increase in urination.
• Inappropriate urination, where in urinating in spots they should not be doing it.
• Increased appetite.

Get them to be fully vaccinated. Upon adopting or buying one, he/she must undergo a series of vaccinations. These are for distemper, feline leukemia, rabies as well as general health diseases protection that are common with cats. Also, you must deworm them to be protected against worms and parasites.

You have the choice to spay or neuter them. If you do not have the plan of breeding them, then it is best to have them spayed or neutered to avoid unwanted pregnancies, unwanted kittens, and problems with other cats. Doing these procedures, also have shown protection against urinary tract infections and genital-based cancers. 

Regular veterinary consultations. Burmese cats will likely have at least one check-up every year, to ensure optimum health, this is the base requirement. If you suspect that your cat is sick, these are the warning signs to look out for: 

• Changes in overall aura, appearance. This can look like feeling tired, low mood, energy.
• Appearing lethargic. Is not in the mood to be sociable and lively.
• Dilated pupils
• Weight loss, or sudden weight gain
• Less vocal than usual
• Rapid breathing/ shortness of breath
• Discharges from eyes or nose
• Vomiting

These warning signs should not be avoided for they can be a symptom of something bigger and in general, your cat is in pain that needs medical attention. Acting as though these warning signs do not exist will only worsen your cat’s condition and God forbid, may result in their death. Always be responsible.

Part 2: Care Maintenance

Their shelter or their personal space should be large enough and comfortable for them. If you want to keep them in a cat cage, especially when it is time for bed, choose one that is wide, with comfortable bedding. Decorate it with a few toys as well. 

Burmese cats should be exercising. To keep their muscles toned and in shape, their body in a medium muscular size, and their minds active, they need any form of enjoyable physical activities daily. You can use interactive toys i.e. balls, fake mice, feather toys. You can buy or build a cat gym for them to show their leaping and jumping skills. It is a great bonding experience to do and engage with them.

Groom their furs. They need a little grooming every week, to keep their furs silky and free from any unwanted dirt and stray hairs. This can also help in ruling out if your cat has skin issues and fleas.

• As you are brushing their furs, look out for lump, bumps, patches of red skins or soreness.
• If you happen to notice some fleas, you can aid it by using a topical flea treatment and flea shampoo. 
• For skin issues, you should observe them for a few days. If they do not subside and therefore just continue to grow, take them to a veterinary clinic to give proper medical attention and treatment. 

Maintain proper hygiene. Hygiene is the secret in your cat looking and feeling its absolute best. More importantly, hygiene is a really healthy and great prevention for those stubborn diseases. 

• Regularly trim their nails. 
• Brush their teeths once a week. To not build up bad breath, and poor set of teeths that might lead to them having cavities or other dental issues. 
• Bathe your cat at least once a week or every two weeks. This is necessary since cats get dirty, it might make their skin irritated, and their stinky smell does not really appeal to anyone.
• Keep their cages and litter box clean.

 

Part 3: Diet and Feeding 

Burmese cat’s diet will say a lot about how healthy they are, properly feeding them will aid a foundation for it. Therefore, their diet must be nutritious, healthful, and balanced, more importantly, intended and suitable for them. 

The optimal diet for them is just similar to other cats. They need foods that are high in meat protein, a great number of vitamins and minerals that will aid in maintaining and enhancing different systems of their body. In achieving so, it is helpful that their commercial cat foods are:

• High in protein
• Uses human grade ingredients
• Potato and grain free
• Decent amount of fats
• Decent amount of carbohydrates
• Look for high amount of vitamins A,B,C, folic acids and vitamin B12
• Look for a high amount of minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, sodium and phosphorus. 
• It should be certified by The Association of American Feed Control Officials. Their organization is responsible for assuring pet foods quality and safety. This can help you filter out cat foods that are just all about marketing, helping you to lean towards really high quality and worth your money cat foods.

You should also add human food for their diet to give some variation and generally, it is nutritious, healthy, and advised as well to do so. You can try feeding them a decent amount of: 

• Fish
• Meat
• Eggs
• Spinach
• Melon
• Banana
• Oats
• Pumpkin
• Apples

Also, there are some human foods that can cause harm, moreover medical issues to our Burmese cats. These should be avoided for safety:

• Onion, garlic and chives
• Milk and dairy products
• Grapes and raisins
• Caffeine
• Raw eggs, meat, fish
• Alcohol
• Junk foods

You must feed your cat two to three times per day. Feed just an adequate amount, a cat bowl that is full, not overflowing should be enough to keep your cats satisfied. The intervals should belong for your cats to feel full throughout their day and to avoid unnecessary snacking. 

If you want to feed them treats, limit it to two to three times a day. This is to ensure that your cat will still maintain a healthy weight. Do not overdo giving treats. We do not want them to be overweight, moreover to be obese. 

Give them access to safe drinking water. Place them as well in different places since they do not typically like water, but if they are easily accessible for them, they will drink it. This can help them stay hydrated throughout their day. Their water should be fresh as well every day, always throw up yesterday’s water as it is prone to germs and bacterias that might upset your cat’s stomach.

Part 4: Fostering a healthy and loving relationship with your Burmese cat

In order to build a great relationship with them, all you have to do is let them. Let them bond with you, play with you, caress and love you, and in return, bond, play, caress and love them as well. 

Always set aside a time of your day for a great and meaningful catch-up, and in those where you seem busy or if you are doing activities, let your cat watch you and get them involved. Do not leave them unattended and all alone. There is beauty in the silent moments of you as an owner and with them, just enjoying those silent companies and they are more than okay with that. 

Make sure your friends and families are engaging with your cat as well. Do tell your friends and families to treat your cat gently and with care, that your cat is friendly and approachable and if they do not like cats, simply avoid, do not engage, and do not act violently, for it will hurt your cat. 

Why should you own a Burmese cat? 

Wondering what benefits humans ought to experience Burmese Cats? Owning a Burmese cat can have tremendous amounts of fulfillment and joy, and benefits that do wonders to our lives. Here are the top five that is proven to work: 

It is great for your well-being. 

Their wonderful rounded personality will help them have a much happier life. Their affection, love, friendliness, intelligence are all great traits that we should surround ourselves with. In fact, there is a study that cat owners feel a little more fit, energetic, attentive, less sad and are able to cope better. Wonderful, right? 

It eases our stress and anxiety

Spending time with our cats, even simply sitting on our laps, is found to relieve our stress. Moreover, spending time for more than ten minutes with them will significantly make our mood lighter, and our worries smaller. It is a great coping mechanism for problems, traumas, loss because they are compassionate that will really lift us in our sad moments. 

They will make us live a much healthier life

Notice that stress, anxiety, and improvements of well-being are to be found in Burmese cats? Improvements in cardiovascular health are to be found true as well. This can mean that we are able to live a much healthier life with cats by our side. 

Their presence will make us happy

This is true because Burmese cats have a great personality that you will totally adore and love the life out of. When you form a relationship with a pet, you do not just see them as something you should give basic care about every day, but something that is special, meaningful, and holds value. 

They will make us more compassionate

They have their needs to be fulfilled in order for them to live healthy, lively, and happy life. In fulfilling their needs, they are in general making us a better person who is capable of caring for others other than ourselves. It makes us responsible and be held accountable for another life, and I really think that this will hone our character better, and us being a much kinder and loving version of ourselves. 

Conclusion

I have come to the conclusion that yes, Burmese cats are worth having and raising. Everything about them is lovely and appealing, moreover makes you want to really have one and test whether their loving traits and personality are true. Burmese cats really stood their breeds out because of how unique and seemingly special they are to keep. 

Keep in Mind

Make sure to use this information as a guide every now and then to keep you updated and educated. I hope that you have learned a thing or two, and if you are pleased, and really considering owning one for yourself, please take this as a sign that you should go for it. While yes, this is a sign, also keep in mind that owning a Burmese cat, like any other pet, is a big lifetime of theirs, responsibility and you should be aware of it. You should be ready, in all aspects of your life so that you can show up great and in the best state for your Burmese cats. It has been great introducing and telling all the essential things and information there is to know about Burmese cats. They will definitely feel your heart’s happiness as you plan to raise one for yourself!