The Burmese cats, although descendants of the Wong Mau from Burma, are not the sacred cats of Burma and should not be confused with them. These are domesticated cats, often found in two major breeds, the American and the English Burmese, depending on where they were bred. Both the breeds have different appearances because of their differences in breeding.

American Burmese cats are Wong Mau cats bred with the Tai Mau cats from Thailand and the litter so birthed was recognized as American Burmese cats. It is interesting to note that in the later days, these Burmese cats were cross bred with Siamese cats, leading to several half bred cats, which the American registry refused to consider as purebred Burmese. In England, these cats originally came from America and were then bred with cats of Burmese or Chinese origin from Singapore along with those from Canada. This breeding led to different coat colors being created for these Burmese cats.

In terms of appearance, the American Burmese has a round and stocky head, body, eyes and feet while the British ones are more triangular in shape, especially in the face. The eyes of the Burmese are gold or yellow and are wide set, round and large. They have medium sized ears, which are wide on the base and a short round muzzle. Their straight tail is of medium length. Their coat is glossy and has a satin like feel. Initially, coat colors of the Burmese were sable or brown but with several cross breeding between the different breeds, Burmese these days come in a wide variety of coat colors. Common coat colors include blue, chocolate or champagne, red, cream, lilac, platinum, brown, chocolate tortoiseshell, blue tortoiseshell, and lilac tortoiseshell. Their coats do not require much in terms of grooming. Simple and regular brushing is all that the owner needs to do.

As far as temperament is concerned, these cats are extremely active, smart and absolutely friendly. They are extremely friendly with children and dogs, often loving the company of both. They love human activity, given their Oriental origin, and usually move towards places where humans are present. They love attention and often tend to sit on your lap, talk to you with the slightest encouragement and love being fussed over. Given their attachment to humans, it is important to note that these cats cannot be left alone for long hours. It is also important to note that whilst they are not really aggressive, they still manage to take care of themselves against other aggressive cats.

In comparison with the Siamese cats, this breed of Burmese is equally vocal but has a softer voice, making the meows sweeter and softer. While trying to do something beyond their ability, there is a certain clumsiness to this breed, which some people may find to be endearing. Their wide eyes are extremely expressive, which makes it easy for this breed to win you over. Activity level of these cats remains the high, even after transition from kittens to adult cats. Being extremely intelligent, it is easy to train these cats. They are almost like dogs in their ability to learn the fetch and tag game.