Are Burmilla Cats as Hypoallergenic as They Are Rare?

For many of us reading this article, the 90s was the benchmark of coolness. The same is true for the Burmilla cat… You’re wondering how this could possibly apply to a cat, right? It’s simple. Burmillas are kind of new-ish. Like many of us, they originated in 1981, which is not so long ago… Anyway, the reason the 90s means so much to this breed is that this is the decade it gained championship status.

Find out more about this cool cat below.

Mum and dad had other plans…

You’d never guess it, but the Burmilla was a chance encounter between two different cat breeds that weren’t meant to be in the same room.

Perhaps it was love at first smell, but somehow a boy Chinchilla Persian and a girl Burmese cat managed to start a new breed quite ‘accidentally’. It was meant to be…

Are Burmilla cats hypoallergenic?

Are Burmilla cats hypoallergenic? Not really, no. No cat is truly hypoallergenic, but the term gets bandied around like it’s set in concrete. Then again, it does have some substance… Cats (all of them) produce a protein that can cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to it.

Felines known as ‘hypoallergenic cat breeds‘ produce lower quantities of the allergen. If you can manage lower levels of this sniffle-producing stuff and you really want a cat, it might be possible to build resistance. Just don’t dive in. Try to spend some time with kittens and cats over a long, slow period before your top pick comes home furever.

That said, Burmilla cats aren’t considered hypoallergenic, even by these standards. But they do experience only minimal shedding, which helps.

Many cat allergy sufferers do make it over the finish line and become proud cats and mums that completely overcome their allergies. You! Can! Do! IT! Read more about how to cleverly manage dog and cat allergies here.

Burmilla cat personality

The Burmilla cat is easygoing and gentle. She gets on well with any combination of housemates, from grown-ups and kids to other pets. On the feline spectrum of neediness, she’s pretty independent and less likely to experience separation anxiety than, say, the Siamese cat.

That said, read our NZ article on leaving your cat home alone to find out how long is too long for your Burmilla cat, or any cat for that matter, if you’re heading out for a while.

Besides being sociable, a Burmilla has mad skills when it comes to intelligence and problem-solving. Want to know more? Watch this video of one opening a door:

Burmilla colours and shading

Burmilla cat coats can be either short or long. Like every good fashionista’s closet they come in a range of colours, including chocolate, brown, black, lilac and blue.

There are other colours too, like calico, red and cream, but these aren’t officially recognised by the Co-ordinating Cat Council of Australia. Guess that makes them even rarer…

This feline’s fur has another catwalk quality. It’s a shaded coat pattern. Basically, this means the undercoat is pure white and only the tips of the outer coat carry any of the colours we mentioned. Cool, huh?

Shading comes in three styles, from chinchilla and smoke to shaded. Here’s how they operate:

• Chinchilla – Colour is only on the very edge of the tip of each strand of fur
• Shaded – Up to a quarter of the outer length of each strand has colour
• Smoke – Half the outer guard hair carries the colour

Now that’s some fancy fashion!

Burmilla cat breeders in NZ

Perhaps it’s because they’re so new but the Burmilla cat is a rare breed. It could also be because the breed isn’t recognised in some countries yet. Like for example, the US, which means they’re still an experimental breed.

Given how rare this Burmilla cat phenomenon is you’ll want to know you’re not buying from a fraudulent NZ breeder or someone who breeds purely for money and doesn’t follow best practice. If you’re hoping to become a Burmilla cat mum or dad, find yourself an ethical breeder via New Zealand Cat Fancy. Looking for a pup instead? Then read how to find ethical dog breeders in New Zealand.

In fact, read the latter article with buying purebred cats in mind because the same rules apply.

Soft landings with award winning pet insurance

The average life span of a Burmilla cat is somewhere around 10-15 years. The breed’s known as fairly healthy but can be prone to kidney problems and allergies.

Get yourself a pet insurance plan when you get your kitten, and you’ll have the widest cover over their lifetime. If your pet develops a covered condition after you buy your policy, it helps pay a wide range of bills. But if you only get your plan after they’re past being young, spritely and at their healthiest, it won’t cover ‘pre-existing conditions’ that have already started.

Buy a PD Insurance plan online and you get one or more months of FREE cat insurance. Click below to start today.