What is a Birman?

Birmans are loyal, human loving long hair cats which require very little maintenance. Birmans should be aggressively friendly, seeking out attention (sometimes a real pest about it too). They are great companions and their silky hair does not require regular brushing (which they love) as their coat does not mat! The ideal Birman is a large, long stocky cat. It has long  silky hair, not as thick as that of the Persian, and is of a texture that doesn't mat. (One of the reasons for this is the lack of the thick undercoat that causes most of the problems in other breeds) The color of the coat is light, preferably with a golden cast, as if misted with gold. The "points" -  face, legs and tail - are darker, similar to the Siamese and color-pointed  Persian color patterns of seal point, blue point, chocolate point and lilac point. The almost round eyes are blue (darker blue is more desired), set in a strong face with heavy jaws, full chin and Roman nose (bends down in the middle often has a bump to it at that point) with nostrils set low. The very distinctive white feet are ideally symmetrical. The gloves on the front feet, if perfect, go across in an even line, and on the back feet end in a point up the back of the leg, called laces.  It is very difficult to breed a cat with four perfect white gloves.*