Propping up a dodgy memory

I've made a few vague attempts to research the history of the Birman cat over the last decade (Pumpkin will be 11 in March). Most modern Birmans are descended through a handful of cats brought to England via France and Burma/Thailand after WWII ish. Before that you get the standard vaguely ancient legend involving a dead monk and the eyes of a goddess yada yada (here's a relatively short version, and here's more of the same, at length). This standard story turns up often enough to cloud further attempts at research; it's really quite frustrating for the amateur, but there's not much information beyond that.

( But there is another hint )