Asian

The breeding of the race began by accident in England in 1981 when, without the knowledge of their owner Baroness Miranda von Kirchberg, a European Burmese and a Chinchilla Persian had a litter of kittens with the appearance of the Burmese but Chinchilla colored. The beauty of the kittens prompted the Baroness to launch a breeding program for silver Burmese and created the Burmilla breed. From this breeding program were born many kittens whose color was not Chinchilla or whose coat had long hair, which respectively gave rise to the Asian and Tiffanie breeds.

Character traits remain perfectly individual and depend on the history of each cat; however, Asians are considered by Dr. Bruce Fogle to be 'more relaxed than the Burmese and more sociable than the Persian', they would also like company. The LOOF, on the other hand, finds that Asians have a character identical to the Burmese.

The Asian is recognized by the following federations: GCCF, LOOF and WCF. The LOOF judges the Asian, the Burmilla and the Tiffany on the same standard, these breeds being different only in color or coat length. The WCF standard, on the other hand, adds the remark that the Asian is of Burmese type. The Asian is a medium-sized semi-foreign type cat, muscular but elegant. The legs are fine and proportionate to the body with the rear slightly taller than the front. At the end, the feet are oval. The tail is medium length with rounded tip. The head is medium-sized but quite tall, between the chin and the top of the skull. From the front, it forms a short triangle that tapers toward the rounded muzzle. The top of the skull is wide, convex and the forehead rounded. The nose is marked by a stop and ends straight. The ears, medium-sized, are well-spaced on the skull. They are wide at the base and round at the extremity. In profile, they point forward. The eyes are large, expressive and well-spaced from each other. The bottom of the eye is rounded, while the top is straight and tilts slightly toward the nose. Colors between yellow and green are accepted. The LOOF specifies that gold-colored eyes are preferred in solid-colored cats and green eyes for silver-coated cats. The coat is short, almost without undercoat. It should also be fine, shiny and well laid down on the body. All traditional patterns are accepted, as are tabby markings. All colors are accepted for the WCF, but the LOOF does not recognize the solid white color. The solid black Asian is called 'Bombay' by the GCCF and should not be confused with the Bombay breed. Asian Chinchilla and Smoke are considered Burmillas. Marriages are allowed with the English Burmese and the Burmilla.