Introduction

The English Burmese, formerly called European Burmese, is a very ancient breed from South-East Asia. Its distinctive feature is its unique colour, the sepia pattern (cb cb) that modifies the ground colour by slightly lightening the body compared to the points.
The Asian shorthair is a variety of the English Burmese whose body is fully coloured.
The Burmilla is a tipped variety of the Asian shorthair and English Burmese.
The Asian longhair is a semi-longhair variety of the Asian shorthair, English Burmese and Burmilla. It is also referred to as Tiffany.

Head:

the head is medium, forming a short triangle, with broad cheek bones when viewed in front, and a blunt muzzle. The broad skull is slightly rounded, like the forehead. The nose is straight with a well-defined stop.

Muzzle:

the end of the nose and chin are on the same vertical line. Chin and lower jaw are firm. A slight pinch is allowed in kittens.

Eyes:

he eyes are large and set wide apart. The upper line is curved and slightly slanted to the nose. The lower line is rounded. Colour is particularly intense and luminous.
The English Burmese can display all tones from gold to amber, with gold preferred.
For the Asian shorthair and the Burmilla, all shades of gold to green are accepted, gold preferred in solid cats and green in silvers.
Concerning the Asian longhair, eye colour is in relationship with coat colour.
Eyes shape and set are more important than colour.
Eye colour is very sensitive to the variations of light intensity and tones. If possible, judgment should be done under natural light.
Remark: allowances should be given to eye colour in kittens.

Ears:

medium sized, the ears are set wide apart on a slightly rounded skull and ideally following the triangle of the head. Wide at base, they are rounded at tip. From the side, they are slightly tilting forward. Ears may appear proportionally larger in kittens than in adults and smaller in adult males with well-developed jowls.

Neck:

medium, the neck is muscled.

Body:

semi-foreign in type, the body is medium in length and size, firm and muscled to the touch, and heavier than it looks. The chest is strong and rounded when viewed from the side. The back is level.

Legs:

rather slender, the legs are in proportion to the body. Hind legs are slightly higher than forelegs.

Feet:

oval and well defined.

Tail:

medium thick at base, the tail is tapering to a rounded tip. Medium in length, it reaches the shoulders when along the body.

Coat:

Asian shorthair, English Burmese and Burmilla: almost without undercoat, the coat is short, fine as silk to the touch and close lying.
Asian longhair: semi long, the coat is silky and fine with little undercoat. It is glossy and longer at ruff, britches, underside and tail.

Colour:

In sepia cats, coat colour gets more intense at legs points, tail, mask and ears which are darker. Allowances are accepted concerning coat colour and texture in kittens and youngsters.

Allowances

Ghost tabby markings in non agouti kittens and young adults. Tabby markings on the head, legs and tail in non agouti cats from the red series.

Penalize

Flat skull.
Pinch in adult cats.
Bumped nose.
Nose leather falling downwards.
Round or oriental-shaped eyes or eyes set too close.
Protruding eyes or chin.
Ghost tabby markings in non agouti adult cats (except those from the red series).

Withhold all awards

White lockets or buttons.
Oriental or cobby type.
Green eyes in English Burmese.
Small-sized, skinny or fine-boned adults.
General show penalties and withholdings.