Burmilla Cat Facts
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The Burmilla, often referred to as an Asian Shaded, originated in the UK in 1981 as the result of an ‘accidental’ mating between a Persian Chinchilla and a Burmese. Although this is a breed in its own right in that it breeds ‘true’ (i.e. Burmilla x Burmilla will produce only Burmilla offspring), it is also the founder breed of the overall group of cats known by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) as the Asian Group, which is used for cats of Burmese shape and coat texture, but with non-Burmese coat colour, pattern or length. This closely-linked group of cats, which derive from Burmese crossed with other pedigree breeds, also includes the Asian Self, Asian Smoke, Asian Tabby, Bombay (a black Asian Self) and the Tiffanie (a longhaired Asian variety). The offspring of cross-mating Burmese and Chinchilla parents always produces these shorthair, silver offspring carrying two recessive genes – the ‘self’ gene inherited from the Burmese and the ‘longhair’ gene inherited from the Chinchilla. Interestingly, the Asian Group were the first pedigree cats breeds in Britain to include a good temperament as part of their Standard of Points.