The Burmese Bounces Back

Once the favoured pet cat of royalty, the Burmese cat is virtually unknown in its native Myanmar. Interbreeding caused the Burmese to disappear from the country in the middle of the 19th century, with only a few purebred cats taken to Great Britain. Most of today’s Burmese are descended from Wong Mau, who emigrated to the United States in 1930. Burmese hotelier Yin Myo Su took on the challenge of reintroducing the Burmese to Myanmar, establishing a colony at his hotel with the aim of working to preserve Burmese culture as Myanmar shakes off its military dictatorship.