Seal
SBI n
The darkest classic point color: warm to very dark brown.
A Birman is a Siamese mask: the face, ears, legs, tail and genital area are darker than the body. The chin is part of the mask and should therefore be point-colored – not stand out white like a bib.
The color comes with timeKittens are born very light. Points gradually become more distinct and contrast continues to develop.
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The six primary colors
Compare adult cat and kitten in each mask color. The images are AI-generated illustrations, not photographs of color-coded cats. Kittens are typically very light while the color is developing.
Blue
SBI a
The diluted version of seal with a cooler blue-gray tone.
Chocolate
SBI b
Lighter and warmer brown than seal, often with a softer expression.
Lilac
SBI c
Diluted chocolate – light, cool and discreet in tone.
Red
SBI d
Red/orange point color, often with a distinctly warm expression.
Cream
SBI e
Diluted red – softer and lighter in color.
Tabby and tortie – what does it mean?
Tabby points · 21
Tabby gives stripes in the mask and rings/patterns in points. The EMS code gets 21 by the color code, e.g. SBI n 21.
Tortie · f, g, h, j
Tortie mixes the base color with red or cream. In Burma, f, g, h, and j are used for seal, blue, chocolate, and lilac tortie, respectively.
The six tabby masked colors
The tabby pattern is particularly visible on the face, legs and tail. In kittens, the pattern is often only faintly visible.
Bruntabbymasket
SBI n 21
Blåtabbymasket
SBI a 21
Chokoladetabbymasket
SBI b 21
Lillatabbymasket
SBI c 21
Rødtabbymasket
SBI d 21
Cremetabbymasket
SBI e 21
The four tortie-mesh colors
In torties, both the base color and red or cream-colored areas are visible in the mask. The distribution varies from cat to cat.
Brown tortie
SBI f
Blue tortie
SBI g
Chocolate tortie
SBI h
Purple tortie
SBI j
Tortie-tabby: both stripes and tortie
The two patterns can be combined. For example, you get seal tortie tabby point: SBI f 21. This is why one cat can have both stripes and tortie areas in the mask.
Bruntortietabbymasket
SBI f 21
Blåtortietabbymasket
SBI g 21
Chokoladetortietabbymasket
SBI h 21
Lillatortietabbymasket
SBI j 21
About smoke and silver
The FIFe official 2026 list also includes smoke and silver tabby varieties. They are not included in the Birmakredsen's picture guide here, so the visual overview focuses on the classic point, tabby and tortie varieties.
Kitten or adult?
A newborn Birman is almost white. The color develops on the cooler parts of the body, and an adult cat can be much darker than it was when young. Therefore, you cannot judge the finished body color from an early kitten photo.
The illustrations show the principles of color development. Individual cats can vary considerably.
Source: FIFe Sacred Birman (SBI), recognized color variants as of 01.01.2026.