According to the available records, the history of this wonderful breed is hardly less romantic. It is said that at the beginning of the 20th Century the monks of Lao Tsun gave Mayor Gordon Russell (British Army) a pair of Birmans as a present in gratitude for his protection. Unfortunately, the male died on the trip but the female, “Sita”, in sweet expectancy, arrived in France in 1919 and her babies are the founders of the breed in Occident.

Another similar version says that an American millionaire, Mr. Vanderbilt, got these cats during a cruise through the Mid Orient- from an immoral servant who stole them from the temple Lao-Tsun. This pair of cats was later on given to Madame Tadde Hadisch. Unfortunately, the male died at the shop while the female, also called “Sita”, survived and delivered her babies in France in 1920, among them a female called Poupée de Madalpour.

The Birman breed was recognized in 1925 in France, in 1966 in England, and in 1967 in USA.

Whatever the real history of the Birmans, his origins still remain surrounded by a veil of magical mystery.