I used to have a Birman. I LOVE the breed and really would like to get another one someday, but I am hesitant. I bought my cat, Whopper, in 1999. (It was "the year of the W" and she had been very big for a female kitten. I had shown up to buy her sister, Whistlepop, but had left with Whopper - my very own fluffy little malted milk ball. =) When Whopper was about three years old, she developed Lymphocytic-Plasmacytic Gingivitis Stomatitis (LPGS). My poor, sweet girl had such problems with her mouth. It was horrible. I didn't find online at the time that Birmans were susceptible to this, but Persians were, and I’d found a couple different websites where the authors stated that some people believed the Birman breed had a strong influx of Persian in their development. There is no cure for LPGS. During my research, I also found that Birmans had an increased susceptibility to develop FIP. Whopper never got FIP though. She died in 2006 right before her 7th birthday of kidney disease. I didn’t realize there was a problem until it showed up in her pre-surgical bloodwork when she went in to get her teeth cleaned. By then, she was pretty far along in the progression of the disease. I was heartbroken. It’s unusual for a 6-year-old cat to get kidney disease. When I researched the disease in the Birman breed after she was diagnosed, I found that Persians had a high risk of developing kidney disease, and Birmans had a moderate risk. I cried for over a year after she died. It was four years before I could think about her without tears coming to my eyes. We had been very tightly bonded. I close with some advice for you: No matter WHAT breed you choose, there WILL be health problems associated with that breed. Spend lots of time researching the breed and also choosing from the most reputable breeders you can find who test their cats for problems before breeding and breed ONLY for the betterment of the breed. Be willing to spend more for your kitten. Testing costs money. Do your very best to get the best odds for yourself in obtaining the healthiest kitten possible. I’m sure this is an old question and the person who originally asked it has long since found a kitten for themselves, but I would like to help others who read this in the future. Save yourself some heartache and do your homework!