The Burmese is a breed of domesticated cats split into two subgroups: the American Burmese and the British Burmese (and are not to be confused with Sacred Cat of Burma in respect of which see Birman). Most modern Burmese are descendants of one female cat called Wong Mau which was brought from Burma to America in 1930. Most cat registries do not recognise a split between the two groups but those that do formally refer to the type developed by British cat breeders as the European Burmese.