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The history of the Birman cat is steeped in mystery. According to legend, the people of Asia built a temple to worship a golden goddess with sapphire-blue eyes. A priest often knelt in meditation with a white temple cat. One night the temple was attacked at the priest killed. As the priest died, the cat placed his feet upon the priest and faced the golden goddess. As he did, the hairs of his white body turned golden, and his yellow eyes to sapphire-blue, his four white legs turned brown, but where his paws rested, they remained white. Where this legend ends, history begins.

The temple was raided at the beginning of the 20th century. Two westerners, Auguste Pavie and Major Gordon Russell, came to the aid of the priests. As a gesture of gratitude the priests later sent the two men a pair of Birman. The male cat did not survive the trip but the female, who was pregnant, did. The Birman is an average size cat (males generally ranging from eight to twelve pounds, females seven to nine pounds).

Birmans have a medium length coat that requires very little grooming. The coats are usually a light color on the face and darker over the rest of the coat, with golden shades being the most popular. Their eyes are always blue and their paws are white. Birman coats are long but not very dense, so they are not prone to matting. As the third most popular longhaired cat, Birmans are good pets. They tend to enjoy the company of their human families.

Birmans are described as 'soft spoken,' but social and friendly. Birmans are considered sweet and because of this, they are able to adapt well to changes and adore their family. They tend to be a healthy breed; Birmans are generally free from any medical concerns, but some are sensitive to anesthetics. Birmans also require relatively little training and will learn to use the litter box on their own.

There is a website that has great information on Birmans and most other breeds of cats. It has details that pertain to a cat breeds health, grooming, living conditions, best food choices and more, the website is called: Dog And Cat Facts, and can be found at this url:

http://www.dogandcatfacts.com
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