Cat breed
The Asian or Asian group, is a cat breed similar to the European Burmese, but comes in a range of different coat colours and patterns. Long-haired Asians of all varieties are called Tiffanies. Asians are grouped in section 5 (Burmese) by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF).
Coat And Colours: The short-haired coat of the Asian should lie close to the body and is fine, satiny and glossy, and can be multiple colours and patterns. Asian Shorthairs are classified in four different varieties: the Asian Self/Tortie (including the Bombay, which is a black Asian Self), the Asian Tabby, the Asian Smoke, and the Burmilla (which is a shaded Asian).
Health: Ancestral breeds of the Asian have been known to carry Polycystic Kidney Disease and Progressive retinal atrophy, however, only Burmese Hypokalaemia has been identified in the Asian.
Many Asian breeders and their cats were involved in the research into the disease, and as of 2018 all registered breeders with the Asian Cat Association are required to test for hypokalaemia for all Asian group cats intended for use in breeding.
Origin: The breed was accidentally developed in the United Kingdom, starting with a litter of 4 kittens resulting from a mismating of a chinchilla Persian stud, Jamari Sanquist, and a lilac European Burmese queen, Bambino Lilac Faberge, bred in 1981 by Baroness Miranda von Kirchberg.
