The Burmese cat is a breed known for its medium-sized, muscular, and strong body that may appear heavier than it actually is. There are two standards within the breed, distinguished primarily by differences in head and body shape. The British Burmese, or traditional ideal, is characterized by a slender, long-bodied build, wedge-shaped head, large pointed ears, long tapering muzzle, and moderately almond-shaped eyes. Additionally, the legs are long with neat oval paws, and the tail tapers to a medium length. On the other hand, the American (also referred to as 'contemporary') Burmese is noticeably stockier, with a broader head, round eyes, and a distinctively shorter, flattened muzzle. Its ears are wider at the base, and the legs and tail are proportionate to the body and of medium length, with rounded paws.
In both standards, the coat of a Burmese cat should be very short, fine, and glossy, with a satin-like finish. The color should be solid and uniform over the body, gradually shading to lighter underparts, with faint colorpoint markings possibly visible. The eyes of a Burmese cat can be green or yellow, depending on the coat color. The original standard color for the breed is a rich dark chocolate (genetically black), known as sable in the USA, brown in the UK and Australia, or seal in New Zealand. However, the breed is now recognized in ten generally accepted colors: seal, blue, chocolate, lilac, red, cream, blue tortie, chocolate tortoiseshell, lilac tortoiseshell, and seal tortoiseshell.
