The coat is very short, is tight lying on the body, sleek and shining like satin. The hairs are very thin and fine with almost no undercoat.

It is said that Burmese have been known for centuries living in Burma, Thailand and Malaysia in the temples, and have been imported together with the Siamese. The Cat Book of Poems about 1350, preserved in the University of Bangkok Art Department Museum shows a little brown cat with golden eyes. Today they can be found in the natural state in some temples.
Burmese were called the temple guards because of their distinctive eyebrows. They appeared in England in the late 18th century, known as chocolate Siamese, but they were never favored and gradually the breed died out in England and in Europe. The first Burmese was brought 1930 to the US and given to Dr. Joseph G. Thompson, who lived in San Francisco. He was a retired ship's doctor of the US Navy, with a great interest in the East. Dr. Thompson named her Wong Mau, and he considered her a new variety of Malayan-typed cat. She was a hybrid - a Burmese/Siamese mix.
Dr. Thompson joined with two prominent breeders, Virginia Cobb (Newton cattery) and Billie Gerst (Gerstdale cattery) and Dr. Clyde E. Keeler. Those four breeders established an experimental breeding program. Since Siamese were considered the closest in appearance, they were used in the breeding program. After two generations, this program resulted in kittens with three distinct colorations: some looked like Siamese, some looked like Wong Mau (with medium brown body color and darker points) and some had a solid dark-chocolate brown color. The later were bred and a breeding program was established to focus on the genetic makeup of the phenotype.
Discovering that these dark brown cats could consistently produce dark brown cats, while the medium-brown variety, such as Wong Mau herself, continued to produce kittens in the three variations of coloration, the theory that Wong Mau was the first Tonkinese was proved. The results of the original experimental breeding program were published in the Journal of Heredity, April 1943,  "Genetics of the Burmese Cat", by the breeders cited above. The Burmese was registered in CFA in 1936. Registration was suspended by CFA from 1947 until 1953, because of those outcrosses to Siamese. In 1957 the breed was recognized by CFA for championship.

Playful, energetic, acrobatic and highly intelligent, the Burmese cat is the extrovert in the cat world. Burmese never grow up! They play all of their life. They love people and do know very well the needs of their owners. They will sit on your lap and watch TV with you, plaster themselves next to your head when you are trying to sleep or will insist on climbing under the covers. Once you have known a Burmese you have a lifelong passion for the breed.

The Burmese’s sleek, glossy coat requires little care. Brushing them once a week will keep their coat shiny.