Burmese cats are sometimes referred to as copper cats, which we think is a pretty cool nickname. In general, they are well known for their playful and affectionate natures, and as we all know many breeds of cats are simply not very comfortable around people, that is not the case with Burmese.

Burma (formerly Myanmar) is a large country in Southeast Asia bordering Thailand and China, and also has close ties to India via sea. The country has a long and turbulent history, and was colonized by the British not long ago. It is through British colonization and ties to the Western world that Burmese cats came to their homes around the world. In fact, the colonization of much of the world in the 19th century did much to disperse most breeds of cats, without ties to the western world we would not enjoy these cats today.

Interestingly, all Burmese cats in the United States are supposed to have a common ancestor, that cat’s name is Wong Mau, and it was brought to the United States sometime in the 1930s by a man named Joseph Thompson.

If you have one of these cats, you may want to build a small makeshift altar for your little friend’s great ancestor, the illustrious Wong Mau. It is known that the ancient Burmese worshiped these cats and also worshiped their ancestors, who knows, this could make your cat feel at home.

There are three distinct races of Burmese: contemporary, traditional, and European; they are all a little different. The European variety is slimmer, for example, and the traditional look more closely resembles the original cat brought in from Burma (the illustrious and prolific Wong Mau). All of these cats are quite muscular and have short fur, which makes perfect sense knowing that Burma is a tropical country where a long-haired cat would not be advantageous.

Buying Burmese kittens in most areas of North America should be pretty simple as this is a fairly common breed, the only thing we ask is that you check if the breeder is licensed and trusted because sometimes in the industry of pets there is some cloudiness.

Burmese cats are somewhat similar in appearance to the Siamese cat, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when you realize that Thailand (the home of the Siamese cat) is located just east of Burma. In closing, these Burmese are very human-like and therefore extremely popular cats all over the world.