Burmese

The whole breed goes back to Wong Mau, a brown female that the doctor Joseph Thompson brought from Burma to San Francisco in 1930. She was crossed with Siamese, and from that came the Burmese, recognised by the CFA in 1936. Over the years it split into two types: the American, with a round head and short muzzle, and the European, more slender with a slightly longer face. It weighs more than it looks, hence its nickname, “a brick wrapped in silk”. It is one of the most sociable cats there is: it seeks people out, greets visitors, gets on well with dogs and children and plays all its life. Its weak spot is loneliness.

The coat stays in shape with a weekly once-over with a mitt or chamois and shines on its own. What it needs is company and play: it loves fetching toys, agility-style courses and being held. It suffers if left alone for long hours; another sociable cat helps. It is greedy and muscular, so weigh its portions and avoid free feeding, because obesity adds to its diabetes risk. It is best kept indoors or given safe outdoor access, as it trusts strangers far too readily.

Burmese hypokalaemia (episodic muscle weakness, WNK4 gene, DNA test available), a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in European and Australian lines, and feline orofacial pain syndrome (FOPS). Some American lines carry the Burmese head defect, lethal in kittens that inherit two copies, with a DNA test. Insist on the parents' test results.