Burmilla
The result of an accidental mating between a Burmese and a Chinchilla Persian in 1981. The coat is silver with dark tipping, so it shifts as the cat moves.
Photo by Sheila Bormann (Burmillas), CC BY-SA 3.0
Overview
The Burmilla began as a mistake. In Britain in 1981 a Chinchilla Persian and a lilac Burmese were both waiting to be mated to other cats, a door was left open, and the resulting kittens were good enough that somebody decided to keep going.
The result is a Burmese body under a shaded or tipped silver coat, where each hair is pale with a darker tip, so the cat appears to be wearing a fine veil.
Temperament
A genuine middle ground between its parents: more outgoing than a Persian and calmer than a Burmese. Burmillas are affectionate, playful into adulthood and sociable without being relentless.
They get on well with children and other pets and they are moderately talkative rather than insistent. For anyone who likes the Burmese personality but not the volume, this is the compromise.
Care and grooming
A weekly comb for the shorthair and twice weekly for the semi longhair. The tipped coat is fine and shows dirt, so it wants keeping clean.
Polycystic kidney disease came in from the Persian side and is worth testing for, and the Burmese conditions apply from the other side. A breeder who tests both directions is the one to look for.
Living and exercise
An ordinary indoor life. They are active but not demanding, and they settle well.
Good with families and good with other cats. Twelve to sixteen years, and a breed that is easier to live with than either of the cats it came from.
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