Silver Birmans Sweden

 

Kittah Mun-Ha Antigone. A very rare Sealsilvertabby
A photo tells more then a thousand word...so first a few photos and then a brief info about the genetics for silverbirmans. 2 Foundation silverbirmans were used to start the breeding of Silvers in Sweden. Catzago Shades of Silver & Fancypawz Sarachelle. Now I have come one step further in my Silverbreeding and have bred my own Kittah Mun-Ha Silverbimans.
Note! The silverbirmans have full birman pedigree, they are not in experimental status......They have at least 7 generations with pure birmans behind them...
 
They are registered as pure Birmans, because that is what they are! But.. as some organisations in Europe hesitate to recognice them, there is a discussion going on, about to register them, as a whole new Birman sister breed. This could be done under a new name, just like the birmans has a shorthaired sisterbreed, and like the Persians has there Exotic........All birmans could be bred to the "Snow birmans" and be part of the genepoole for this "new" breed. But like all sisterbreeds...offspring from this combination can not go back into the Birman genepool.Whatever name they are registered under...They are truly Top of the line cats!
SacredBirmans?
Snow Birmans?
Himalayan Silvers?
Sacred Silvers?
 
Info på Svenska/Info about Silverbirmans in Swedish?
 

 
Champion Catzago Shades of Silver
Sealsilvertabby male

 

Fancypawz Sarachelle
Sealsmoke , 2 CAC

 

--------------------------
A wonderful Sealsilvertabby girl
Kittah Mun-Ha Amelia
------------------------------

 

--------------------------
A wonderful Bluesilvertabby girl
Kittah Mun-Ha Frosty Babe
-----------------------------
 
-----------------------------
A wonderful Bluesilvertabby boy
Kittah Mun-Ha Moonshadow
-----------------------------
Owner: K.Helmold USA
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
A few more wonderful Kittah Mun-Ha Silveroffspring
Champion Kittah Mun-Ha Ice bear
Sealsilvertabby
 
Grand Champion Kittah Mun-Ha Quickstick
Sealsilvertabby babyboy
Owner Juan Jose Alvarez Fernandez, Spain
-----------------------------------------------------------

 

Two sealsilvertabby girls

 

Here you can note the difference!
Sealtabby & Sealsilvertabby babies

 

 
  
Mother & son... Sealsmoke

 

Father & son... Sealsilvertabby
 
Kittah Mun-Ha Gunsmoke
Sealsmoke boy, 4 months old
 
 
 
Below you can find much information about silvergenetics..
But first a short introduction......
 
1, Silver is not a recessive gene. You only need one of the parents to be a silvercat, to get silverbabies in a litter, so the gene is dominant.
 
2, Cats that are silvertabbies or smokes...are either Heterozygot or Homozygot silver carriers....
 
3, The silver can be highgrade or lowgrade but also the variation of present of colour, decides if the cat will bee good looking silver or not. One must focus breeding on the highgrade silvers.
 
 
Non silver
Heterozygous silver
Homozygous  silver
Non silver
100 % No silver
50 % No silver
50 % Heterozygous silver
100 %  Heterozygoussilver
Heterozygous silver
50 % No silver
50 %Heterozygous silver
25 % No silver
50 %  Heterozygous silver
25 % Homozygous  silver
50 %  Heterozygous silver
50 % Homozygous silver
Homozygous  silver
100 % Heterozygous silver
50 %  Heterozygous silver
50 % Homozygous  silver
100 % Homozygous silver
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Now comes a excellent text from Fancypawz
Please.. respect the Copyright
© Copyright Fancypawz ©
About the Silver Inhibitor and Agouti Gene.
Genes are responsible for the features of what your cat will inherit: colour, coat texture, temperament. Eye colour etc. They come in pairs and the letters representing them are as below.
 
Dominant Genes are: A = Agouti, B = Black , C = Full colour, D = Density of Pigment, L = Shorthair, O = Red, S = White Spotting Gene, W = full white colour and I = Inhibitor
 
Recessive Genes are: a = Non Agouti, b = brown, c = Himalayan pattern, d = Dilute, l = Longhair, o = non red, s = no white spotting, and w = non white.
 
Alleles = are different mutations of the same gene
 
Homozygous = the cat has the same two identical genes, BB = Seal/black
 
Heterozygous = the cat has two dissimilar genes, Bb = Seal/black carrying chocolate
 
Phenotype = The external look of the cat.
 
Genotype = The internal look of the cat, or what the cat may inherit and carry on through the offspring. A seal silver tabby carrying chocolate and blue = Aa Bb cc Dd ll II oo Ss
 
Dominant = Show the effect of the phenotype in the cat, one dominant gene must be present to see this, Bb = Black/Seal carrying brown/chocolate
Recessive = When the effect of the phenotype can not be seen in the cat. When only one gene is present, this same gene must be there twice to show the effect of the phenotype, bb = brown/chocolate.
 
The "I" (Inhibitor) and "A" (Agouti) are dominant in all colours. The recessive genes can be carried through numerous generations.
Both "A" and "I" are single and dominant. (what you see is what you get) 
Keeping in mind that colour is separate from pattern.
 
All cats have an agouti pattern "A", visible or not. The "A" brings the bands to the fore, and the yellow, fawn, brown under lying colour. It is the most natural occuring gene going back to nature.
The "A" Agouti gene shows cats in patterns, as Tipped (Abyssinian), Classic (blotched, bulls eye patterns), and Mackerel, (fine tiger bands) and even spots. Introducing a solid colour to agouti can create solids and agouti. Agouti to agouti can also create solids and agouti.
Introducing the Inhibitor gene "I" with the "A" gene will turn the yellow underlaying colour to white/silver, and the shafts of the hair upwards white/silver, hence the banding comes to the fore giving you the silver tabby. The "I" gene with the cat that is not agouti "A" will be a Smoke.
The inhibitor gene, "I", simply 'inhibits' the production of colour on the hair shaft. As a result part of the lower end of the shaft is devoid of colour and appears white or 'silver'.
How you will see the silver is determined by the polygenic activity. Polygenes control the depth of tipping on the hair, varying from 1/4" to 1/2" down the hair shaft, the length of the hair and density.
Due to selective breeding the polygenes can be governed and the results will be foreseen. Polygenes therefore determine how dense the colour appears to the human eye. The more silver, the less tipping of colour present in the hair shaft, the lighter the remaining colour will seem.
 Continually breeding silvers to silvers and keeping the gene pool closed in, an already small gene pool, can be considered undesirable and would not help to improve the type. It is imperative to introduce solids with silvers, to prevent inbreeding, and to improve type. 
 
Tarnishing is incomplete clearing of the yellow pigment of the hair shaft. Resulting in a dirty or tarnished silver which is a fault in a silver cat. Shading can occur in all the colours of the Birmans for many different reasons and is completetly different from tarnishing.
Some silver kittens born, with more tipping (pigment) on the hair, can be mistaken for solid colours, even though they are "low grade silvers". Unless they are used for the silver breeding programme, they should be sold as pets. As a result of silver to silver matings and non silver to silver, in our breeding programme, we have silver and non silver from both.
To be a breeder of silvers you have to be clear in your decisions and have no doubts of what the colours are, and registering them as such. To be able to accept advice from other breeders that have/have had silver breeding programmes, and to have a open mind. To focus on the high grade silver, and the type as per the standard, is a very exciting and different challenge.
The dual registration for the silver breeding programmes, ie: Blue Silver Tabby = 52 s/FA, Blue Tabby pt = 52 FA(s) is recommended to prevent any argument for breeders not wanting silver in their lines in the future.
In my opinion nothing could be more beautiful than a Silver Birman that sparkles inside and out.
 
Sandy Steward, Noelene Dally, Pauline van der Hoorn.
Fancypawz Birmans
Look at great websites with genetics for cats...
this link.
Or this one......
© Kittah Mun-Ha