Guest Post by Denis Jansen
from Barbara George
Tellington Ttouch Behaviourist
In July 2015 Denis had this to say about the Burmese Cat:
The Burmese cat breed is the most inbred pedigree cat breed in the world according to Professor Leslie Lyons, head of the genetic department at UC Davis in California. The reason for this is all Burmese cats worldwide originate from a single cat Mau Tau imported into America from Thailand by a retired sailor in 1932.
As such there are numerous health issues relating to the breed. Fertility is affected, the general immune system is extremely badly affected, and, to quote Prof Leslie Lyons ” Were the breed a wild breed it would be extinct by now”.
Denis was privileged to receive a Burmese cat from Thailand that tested negative for the 4 known genetic diseases and was confirmed a true-to-type Burmese by international judges. Nam Dtan is the first Burmese from Thailand known to be in the Southern Hemisphere.
Denis continues the story a year later:
Nam, the foundation Burmese imported from the Thailand Temple, has now sired a number of litters. It is amazing how strong these kittens are; I haven’t lost a single kitten from any of his litters. The kittens are born with body weights at least 25% heavier than the local pure Burmese lines. They grow faster, and seem to tolerate vaccination with the least amount of reaction. This hybrid outcross is definitely healthier, and the kittens are true to type.
Professor Leslie Lyons, now Head Feline Geneticist at University of Missouri, has extended her testing to Europe, the United Kingdom and South Africa. It has become evident that the European Burmese, which we have in South Africa, has an inbreeding coefficients of 41%, while the USA Burmese are slightly lower at 39%. The number of genetic diseases now confirmed have increased from 4 in 2012 to10 in 2016. The crisis is worsening. There are insufficient breeders doing the outcrossing programme. Professor Lyons’ latest report of 27 June 2016 can be obtained from myself, see contact details below.
The results are very exciting so far. CASA (Cat Association of Southern Africa) and Dr Johan Lambrecht have been amazing in accepting this programme. All kittens are registered under the experimental programme, and appear on the World Cat Federation Data Base.
There are two databases, Burmezen and Pawpeds, where breeders can calculate the in-breeding co-efficient of test matings. However they only look at the last 10 generations and can give the false impression that the genetic crisis is not so serious. Professor Lyons’ model calculates the inbreeding coefficients right back to the original Burmese cat that started the breed, Wong Mau.
I have further managed to acquire two third-generation Thai born cross Burmese kittens, Archie and Angel. These will be used to further improve the genetic diversity and hybrid vigour in the South African Burmese breed.
There is still a long way to go, before we as breeders can actually say the breed has strengthened immunity, improved reproduction and is safe from genetic issues. If you are interested in being part of the programme to increase genetic diversity in the South African Burmese breed, please contact me.
Mapantsula Burmese/ Burmilla/Burmese outcross to Thai cats