| About the Burmillas |
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The Burmillas is a man made breed originating in the UK approximately 25 years ago. Baroness
Miranda Von Kirchberg had bought a Chinchilla male, Jemari Sanquist, as a pet for her husband,
shortly before being neutered he accidentally met up with a precocious Lilac Burmese female,
Bambino Lilac Faberge, thus producing the very first litter of Burmillas. These kittens were so
attractive to the breeder that it was decided to embark upon a breeding program.
The aim of the Burmillas program was to produce a short hair cat of Burmese type, with the
sparkling silver coat, the lambent green eyes and the "make-up" (eye and nose liner) of the
Chinchilla. Seen below are a 2nd generation litter from Astahazy Galatea, Astahazy being the
baronesses breeding prefix. Galatea and Gemma were both retained for breeding from that first
litter from the Chinchilla and the Lilac Burmese.
Primarily the main objective of the program was to develop a short haired Agouti cat of
medium foreign type showing a striking contrast between the coloured Tipping/Shading and the
Silver base. In 1983 the Baroness declared an interest in all the variants which were appearing in
the program. In November by mutual agreement she decided to develop the Burmillas and all its
related varieties within GCCFUK, while the Clarkes (Kartush) went on to join the Cat Association of
Britain and concentrated purely on the Burmillas . Within the GCCF Miranda followed the policy of
mating out to Burmese every other generation, thus producing the wide variety of Asian patterns
and colours. The club she formed in 1985 still continues today, the Burmillas and its many
varietals seen at cat shows. GCCFUK recognised the Burmillas in 1995. The newly formed BCC
embarked upon a rigorous breeding program, using sibling matings to set type. Two Kartush cats
were
exported to Brigitte Neihammer in Denmark, she mated these out to her Thamakan Burmese, her
hard work resulted in the Burmillas breed being presented to the Fife General Assembly held in
Prague on 28th of May 1984, at which time the Burmillas was granted recognition as a short hair
breed in its own right. The Fife breeding standard and policy have since been in force worldwide
in all Fife countries.
What a character!
The temperament of the Burmillas is quite exceptional, the demanding and mischievous nature of
the Burmese mixed with the easy going and laid back personality of the Chinchilla, gives the
Burmillas its own unique personality. Impish and mischievous, but quiet and gentle, a sweet
natured cat, people oriented and loving. A little lazy, not the curtain climbing athlete like the
Burmese, quite content to lounge on the couch after a bit of pipe cleaner wrangling. Dribbling ping
pong balls and retrieving pom poms are favourite activities, which can suddenly come to a stop,
and your mad clown can come to rest in your arms with a deep throated purr and a contented
grin, not to mention an angelic look into your eyes, which is so much in character. In all, an
intelligent inquisitive nature and a most affectionate seductive personality are some irresistible
qualities of the bewitching Burmillas
The Look!
The Burmillas is a small to medium sized cat, the females often weigh in at around 3 to 3.5 kg, the
males are often larger, up to 5 kg. The type or overall look should be somewhat like a Burmese,
but with a sweeter, more open look as the eye shape does not have the infamous Burmese
"frown". The eyes can be any shade of green and are often gold to yellowish in youth, with the
green coming in as they mature. The Burmillas is a slightly softer cat than the Burmese, not quite
as heavy or muscular, with the coat being thicker and softer than the "brick in a silk glove" feel of
the Burmese. Like all cats they do shed coat, its just more noticeable in the Burmillas as the hair is
white. As the breed progresses breeders are trying to develop a coat that has less undercoat to
cut down on shedding. Many Burmillas owners like to wash their cats, the cat is quite co-operative
if started when young. One of the special features of the Burmillas are the lambent green eyes,
the shape and set is seductive, giving them "bedroom" eyes, the matching eye and nose liner
(makeup) setting the eyes off to perfection. The Burmillas Long Hair is a true semi-long hair, a
fine silky coat, feathering to the underparts, britches, plume and bib. These cats should not
require intensive grooming, should not look like a pet quality Chinchilla i.e. big full coat, short legs
and cobby body, extreme short face and little ears, they should be a Burmillas in fancy dress.
Thanks to Michele Ristuccia of Miamber Burmillas for this description.
Miranda Von Kirchberg had bought a Chinchilla male, Jemari Sanquist, as a pet for her husband,
shortly before being neutered he accidentally met up with a precocious Lilac Burmese female,
Bambino Lilac Faberge, thus producing the very first litter of Burmillas. These kittens were so
attractive to the breeder that it was decided to embark upon a breeding program.
The aim of the Burmillas program was to produce a short hair cat of Burmese type, with the
sparkling silver coat, the lambent green eyes and the "make-up" (eye and nose liner) of the
Chinchilla. Seen below are a 2nd generation litter from Astahazy Galatea, Astahazy being the
baronesses breeding prefix. Galatea and Gemma were both retained for breeding from that first
litter from the Chinchilla and the Lilac Burmese.
Primarily the main objective of the program was to develop a short haired Agouti cat of
medium foreign type showing a striking contrast between the coloured Tipping/Shading and the
Silver base. In 1983 the Baroness declared an interest in all the variants which were appearing in
the program. In November by mutual agreement she decided to develop the Burmillas and all its
related varieties within GCCFUK, while the Clarkes (Kartush) went on to join the Cat Association of
Britain and concentrated purely on the Burmillas . Within the GCCF Miranda followed the policy of
mating out to Burmese every other generation, thus producing the wide variety of Asian patterns
and colours. The club she formed in 1985 still continues today, the Burmillas and its many
varietals seen at cat shows. GCCFUK recognised the Burmillas in 1995. The newly formed BCC
embarked upon a rigorous breeding program, using sibling matings to set type. Two Kartush cats
were
exported to Brigitte Neihammer in Denmark, she mated these out to her Thamakan Burmese, her
hard work resulted in the Burmillas breed being presented to the Fife General Assembly held in
Prague on 28th of May 1984, at which time the Burmillas was granted recognition as a short hair
breed in its own right. The Fife breeding standard and policy have since been in force worldwide
in all Fife countries.
What a character!
The temperament of the Burmillas is quite exceptional, the demanding and mischievous nature of
the Burmese mixed with the easy going and laid back personality of the Chinchilla, gives the
Burmillas its own unique personality. Impish and mischievous, but quiet and gentle, a sweet
natured cat, people oriented and loving. A little lazy, not the curtain climbing athlete like the
Burmese, quite content to lounge on the couch after a bit of pipe cleaner wrangling. Dribbling ping
pong balls and retrieving pom poms are favourite activities, which can suddenly come to a stop,
and your mad clown can come to rest in your arms with a deep throated purr and a contented
grin, not to mention an angelic look into your eyes, which is so much in character. In all, an
intelligent inquisitive nature and a most affectionate seductive personality are some irresistible
qualities of the bewitching Burmillas
The Look!
The Burmillas is a small to medium sized cat, the females often weigh in at around 3 to 3.5 kg, the
males are often larger, up to 5 kg. The type or overall look should be somewhat like a Burmese,
but with a sweeter, more open look as the eye shape does not have the infamous Burmese
"frown". The eyes can be any shade of green and are often gold to yellowish in youth, with the
green coming in as they mature. The Burmillas is a slightly softer cat than the Burmese, not quite
as heavy or muscular, with the coat being thicker and softer than the "brick in a silk glove" feel of
the Burmese. Like all cats they do shed coat, its just more noticeable in the Burmillas as the hair is
white. As the breed progresses breeders are trying to develop a coat that has less undercoat to
cut down on shedding. Many Burmillas owners like to wash their cats, the cat is quite co-operative
if started when young. One of the special features of the Burmillas are the lambent green eyes,
the shape and set is seductive, giving them "bedroom" eyes, the matching eye and nose liner
(makeup) setting the eyes off to perfection. The Burmillas Long Hair is a true semi-long hair, a
fine silky coat, feathering to the underparts, britches, plume and bib. These cats should not
require intensive grooming, should not look like a pet quality Chinchilla i.e. big full coat, short legs
and cobby body, extreme short face and little ears, they should be a Burmillas in fancy dress.
Thanks to Michele Ristuccia of Miamber Burmillas for this description.
