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Breed guide · Cats
She rides on my shoulder while I cook. I've learnt to stir one-handed.
Last updated 13 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Your lap, your shoulder, your chest, the pillow next to yours. Wherever you sit, they arrive.
What's going onThe Burmese was bred from the Siamese and kept its need for people. Their voice is softer, so they tell you with their whole body instead. A quieter cat is not a more independent one.
At home
You pick them up expecting a small cat and get something much more solid.
What's going onThey are compact and muscular, and they put on weight easily. Diabetes is a risk for the breed from the junior years, so weigh their food and take the treats out of the day's amount.
At home
Still racing the hallway at six, and dropping a toy at your feet to be thrown again.
What's going onBurmese stay playful for years, and many will fetch. A wand toy, then a meal straight after, burns energy and uses up food they would otherwise beg for.
At home
Crying at the door as you go, or a wet patch on your bed when you get home.
What's going onThat is distress, not spite, and it is treatable. It needs your vet's help, not a home fix. Film them for the first half hour after you leave, never punish what you find, and show the film to your vet.
At home
The sofa they always leap onto, and today they stand at the bottom and look up.
What's going onIt looks like sulking, or a sleepy day. In a Burmese it can be Hypokalaemic Polymyopathy (muscle weakness caused by low potassium), a risk for the breed. A stiff walk or a low head counts too. Call your vet that week.
At home
A cat who still wants your shoulder well into their teens.
What's going onBurmese often reach their late teens. The habits you start now, weighing them and looking in their mouth, are the ones that pay off later.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their people
Built for: Bred to be with people.
In Dubai: Still wants to be on you most of the day.
Their food
Built for: A hunter at heart.
In Dubai: Food arrives in a bowl, and they beg well for more.
Their years
Built for: One of the longest-lived pedigree cats.
In Dubai: A long life together, which is why catching diabetes early matters so much.
That is why weight is the thing to watch.
Diabetes is a risk for the breed from the junior years. The ten things below are how you keep them close, busy and lean. If they panic when you go, contact your vet: your vet can help with that.
Your plan is built around what a Burmese is prone to at every age, from their weight and blood sugar to their muscles, and the care that goes with each one.
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Ten things that make their life better.
A predictable day lowers the begging, and they learn that food does not come from asking.
Every age, most of all from 7 months to 2 years
Why
A predictable day lowers the begging, and they learn that food does not come from asking.
What to do
Talk back when they talk to you. Keep the same times each day for play, food and lap time. If they ask for food at 5am, let an automatic feeder serve breakfast rather than giving in.
They stay playful for years, and a finished game burns energy they would otherwise spend begging.
Every age, slower games from 11 years
Why
They stay playful for years, and a finished game burns energy they would otherwise spend begging.
What to do
Move a wand toy like prey, away from them and behind the furniture, for five to ten minutes, two or three times a day. Let them catch it, then give a small meal from their daily amount. If they bring a toy back, throw it.
Diabetes and weight gain are both risks for the breed. Food that takes effort, from a weighed daily amount, helps with both.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Diabetes and weight gain are both risks for the breed. Food that takes effort, from a weighed daily amount, helps with both.
What to do
Weigh their daily food. Put some of it in a puzzle feeder, or hide small portions round the home. Treats for training come out of that amount, never on top of it. Weight-management counselling (help to get their portions right) is in your plan from the day they are neutered.
They were bred for company, and long days alone are hard on them.
Every age, plan holidays early from 11 years
Why
They were bred for company, and long days alone are hard on them.
What to do
Before they come home, work out who will be with them on long days and when you travel. A friend or a cat sitter who visits, plays and talks to them counts. Never leave them for days with only a feeder. Talk to your vet before getting a second cat.
Many cats like them find time alone hard. It is treatable, and a home fix can make it worse.
Every age
Why
Many cats like them find time alone hard. It is treatable, and a home fix can make it worse.
What to do
Film them for the first half hour after you leave. Look for crying, pacing, scratching at the door or peeing on your things. Do not punish anything you find. Show the film to your vet.
Cats fall from balconies and windows far more often than people expect, usually chasing a bird or an insect.
Every age, most of all in the first two years
Why
Cats fall from balconies and windows far more often than people expect, usually chasing a bird or an insect.
What to do
Keep them off any balcony that is not fully enclosed with cat netting, and check the netting for gaps. Fit restrictors or screens on every window that opens. Never leave them alone on a balcony.
Their short, satin coat has little undercoat, and they will find warmth somewhere, usually on you.
Every age, most of all kittens and older cats
Why
Their short, satin coat has little undercoat, and they will find warmth somewhere, usually on you.
What to do
A bed with a blanket out of the flow of the vents, ideally somewhere high where they can see you. Keep the home no colder than you need it. Kittens lose heat fastest, and older cats with sore joints need an easy way up to the warm spot.
Drinking more, peeing more or bigger clumps in the tray can be the first sign of diabetes. Thin or bald patches can be over-grooming from stress, or a skin problem.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Drinking more, peeing more or bigger clumps in the tray can be the first sign of diabetes. Thin or bald patches can be over-grooming from stress, or a skin problem.
What to do
Scoop daily and notice the number and size of the clumps. Once a week, look at their belly and inner legs for thin or bald patches. Tell your vet if the clumps grow. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day. A baseline urinalysis (a urine test) and fasting glucose screening (a blood sugar test) are in your plan from their junior years.
Dental disease is a risk from their junior years, and they may live into their late teens.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Dental disease is a risk from their junior years, and they may live into their late teens.
What to do
Lift their lip and look at their teeth and gums. Start brushing as a kitten with cat toothpaste, a few seconds at a time. Tell your vet if they drop food, chew on one side or go off their dry food. A dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) is in your plan every year from their junior years.
Weight gain, sudden weakness and a cat who stops jumping are the signals to know in a Burmese.
Every age
Why
Weight gain, sudden weakness and a cat who stops jumping are the signals to know in a Burmese.
What to do
Weigh them once a month: step on the scales holding them, then without them, and note the difference. Notice if they stop jumping up, walk stiffly or hold their head low. Call your vet that week. A potassium and muscle-strength evaluation (a blood test and a check of their muscles) is in your plan from their junior years.
Four of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Burmese cats
There are two lines of Burmese, British and American, and the difference is in the shape of the head. Whichever line, they have the same golden eyes, the same heavy, muscular body and the same need for you.
Burmese cat colours
The classic Burmese is a deep sable brown, with a coat like satin. They also come in softer blue, chocolate and lilac, in warm red and cream, and in tortie mixes of brown, blue, chocolate and lilac.
The first six months
Their vaccinations, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. Their kitten visits include a vet listening to their heart, and an evaluation of their muscles, nerves and bones. Start the routine, the carrier and the toothbrush now, while it is all new.
Kitten health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
A warm bed out of the air conditioning, somewhere high where they can see you. Netting on the balcony and restrictors on the windows before they find them. And a plan for who keeps them company on your long days.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Some Burmese lines carry problems that show from kittenhood, such as Flat-Chested Kitten Syndrome (a kitten's chest that grows flattened). Ask the breeder which lines the parents come from, and bring what you learn to the first vet visit.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
She'll still ride on your shoulder. If she stops asking to come up, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
1930
A doctor in San Francisco, Joseph Thompson, brought a small brown cat named Wong Mau from Burma. Wong Mau was mated with Siamese cats, and the brown kittens became the Burmese.
What they still carryA Siamese love of people, in a compact, muscular body.
1936
The Cat Fanciers' Association recognised the Burmese in 1936. Breeders kept them rounder and heavier than the Siamese, with a softer voice.
What they still carryThat surprising weight when you pick them up.
Over the years
As the breed spread, the British and American lines drifted apart in the shape of the head.
What they still carryThe same golden eyes and the same need for company, on either side of the Atlantic.
Today
Well established in the UAE, and happy indoors in a Dubai home, as long as they have company and a warm spot away from the vents.
What they still carryA people-focused cat who eats well, in a home with nothing to hunt.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Burmese suits you, so might these.
SiameseThe same kind of cat: the breed the Burmese came from, just as devoted, with a slimmer build and a louder voice
Oriental ShorthairThe same kind of cat: another people cat from the Siamese family, longer and leaner, in almost any colour
SphynxThe same devotion, chat and play, with no coat at all, so weekly baths and warm beds
Russian BlueA similar size and the same easy short coat for flat life, in a quieter, more reserved cat with a silver-blue coat
