Birman Colours

Birman cats are prized not only for their companionable nature and the great beauty of their easy care semi-long haired coat and lovely blue eyes but also for their stunning coat colour.

Birmans have silky white or ivory coloured hair that develops a slightly darker shading or misting as they age. The shading is usually in keeping with the colour of the hair on the legs, tail, face and ears – called “points” – which can be considerably darker than that on the body.

Characteristic of the breed are the feet which are gloved in sparkling white. These gloved feet are often the only reason that a cat may be designated as pet quality – having too little or too much white for show exhibition, particularly as the white is meant to be evenly distributed. On the hind legs white gauntlets extend up the back of the hock and ideally end in a point like the shape of an inverted “V”. All kittens are born white and it can be quite difficult for the breeder to recognise whether the kittens carry correct markings or not for some time. (See diagram below)

Birman cats can be found in several different point colours. The most common and to some people the most attractive being the Seal point and Blue point which are considered to be the original colours, Next in line are the dense chocolate points and the dilute lilac points - which have become well established in recent years. Numerous other colour combinations also now exist – often referred too as the new colours and these primarily come in Tabby point, Tortoiseshell point, Cream points and Red points.

Birman cats change colour as they age and in this section it is intended to show you how some coat colours develop.

White baby kittens

The kittens depicted are four days old and as yet it is not possible to tell their colours.

All Birmans are born white and the point colour comes in progressively as they grow. With some of the newer colours such as chocolate, lilac and cream it may be months before white feet markings can be seen clearly.

Seal Points

This tiny 5 week old baby is just starting to show colour on points indicating it will be seal point	At 10 weeks the point colour is very clear
Note the depth of mask colour on this 4 year old male.

Blue Points

Blue point kitten at 5 weeks starting to show point colour	Blue point kitten 8 weeks point colour well defined
The same blue point female 1 year old showing depth of mask colour

Chocolate Points

Kitten at 5 weeks very tiny mask	Kitten at 12 weeks pale coat and barely visible mask colour
Chocolate point adult –1 year - clear coat

Lilac Points

Lilac point kitten 10 days old	Lilac kitten 5 months old
Lilac adult – 3 years old showing pale body coat which does not shade with age

Lilac points, Chocolate points and some dilutes such as Creams have somewhat pale point colour and this can take a lot longer to colour up – sometimes years. Their body coats however stays quite pale all their lives. Seals points, Blue points and variations on these colours such as Tabby points will have their body coat gradually reflect their point colour more and more as they get older and can become quite dark.

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