The extremely rounded, short-faced 'contemporary' Burmese head comes from a gene that is lethal in double dose — kittens born with two copies have severe skull and facial malformations incompatible with life and are euthanized shortly after birth.
14.42years, life expectancy at birth
2.7 years above the all-cat life expectancy at birth of 11.74.
Measured, not estimated: worked out from 7,936 UK cats that died in 2019 under veterinary care. Based on 45 deaths of this breed. 95% confidence interval 12.91 to 15.93 years. Life expectancy at birth is the average a kitten of this breed could expect; a cat that is already an adult has a longer expected total, because it has got past the risky early years. UK cats, so treat it as the best available figure rather than a promise about yours.
Teng et al. 2024, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 26(5) — open access · figures cited with attributionHealth tests to ask the breeder for
There is no CHIC program for cats. These are the DNA and screening tests that the testing laboratories and cat health bodies name for the Burmese. A breeder who tests will show the certificates; a DNA result of "clear" for one variant is not a guarantee against the disease.
- Burmese Hypokalaemia (WNK4) DNA test (UC Davis VGL / Langford Vets) screens for episodic low-potassium muscle weakness
- Burmese GM2 Gangliosidosis (HEXB) DNA test (UC Davis VGL / Langford Vets) screens for fatal neurological storage disease
- Burmese Head Defect DNA test (UC Davis VGL / Langford Vets) screens for lethal craniofacial malformation
When to spay or neuter: by five months, whatever the breed. That is the one answer the AVMA, the feline practitioners and AAHA all give, and the spay and neuter page has why, and the two weeks after.
Sources: vgl.ucdavis.edu · vgl.ucdavis.edu · vgl.ucdavis.edu · langfordvets.co.uk. Checked September 2026. Check a breeder has the questions.
Adopt a Burmese near you
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Living with a Burmese
Burmese are intensely people-focused — they follow you room to room, sleep pressed against you, and don't do well left alone for long stretches. Grooming is minimal thanks to the short coat, but the tradeoff is a cat that will vocalize for attention and expects to be included in whatever you're doing.
Health you should know about
- Burmese head defect (frontonasal dysplasia) — a deletion in the ALX1 gene; one copy produces the rounded, short-faced look breeders favor, but kittens that inherit two copies are born with severe skull and facial malformations and must be euthanized soon after birth; found in roughly 1 in 2,500 tested cats.
- Diabetes mellitus — Burmese cats in Australia, the UK and Europe are documented to be about four times more likely to develop diabetes than cats of other breeds, though this elevated risk has not been found in genetically distinct North American Burmese lines.
- Historic susceptibility to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) — largely reduced through selective breeding but part of the breed's documented health history.
Read the full Cat Care Guide first — costs, daily time, and everything a cat needs before you choose a breed.
Naming a Burmese? Thai cat names, 79 of them, with what they mean.
Sources — 5 references
Last reviewed October 2026. 5 sources listed below. Written and maintained by Petdeals.io. General care information, not veterinary advice — for a sick animal, call a vet.