Sealcoat Blue SurpriseUntil 1955 all the kittens born in the UK were brown, although a few blue kittens had been seen in America. But when Chinki Golden Gay was mated to her sire, Casa Gatos Darkee, there was one blue kitten in the litter. As Gay was a maiden queen and had produced five kittens, it was decided that two of the kittens, taken at random, would be reared by Mrs Margaret Smith’s Chinki Young Kassa, an experienced queen who had just produced a single kitten. As the kittens grew it was obvious that the female was a totally different colour. There was a lot of speculation as to what this paler kitten was. When the prospective owner of the brown brother, Sealcoat Konyak, purchased him for 7 guineas, she was offered the little female for 12/6d. But in the end Mrs Smith kept the female and named her Sealcoat Blue Surprise.

Mrs Smith mated Blue Surprise to her own stud, Sablesilk Bimbo, descended from Casa Gatos Da Foong, and was disappointed when no blue kittens were produced. A selective breeding programme was embarked upon and it was realised that, of the 6 original cats, only Casa Gatos Darkee carried the blue gene. A brown son of Darkee, Lamont Patrick, was mated to Chinki Golden Gay’s litter sister, Chinki Golden Goddess, and one of the blue kittens produced, Lamont Blue Burmaboy, became the first champion Blue Burmese in 1957.