Size: Medium.
Coat Length(s): Short hair.
Body Type: Semi-cobby.
Grooming Requirement: Little grooming needed.
Talkativeness: Average.
Activity Level: High.
Affection: Very affectionate.
Usually Good With: Adults, seniors, and children (6+).
Time Alone: 4 to 8 hours per day.
Attention: Needs lots of attention.
Handling: Can be a handful.

Although the Korat (pronounced koh-RAHT) didn’t grace North American homes until 1959, this breed is an ancient one, as intriguing and mysterious as the land of its birth. The Korat comes from Siam (now Thailand), the same land that gave us the Siamese. Called Si-Sawat (see-sah-waht) in their native country, for centuries Korats have been associated with good luck.

Evidence of the Korat’s ancient lineage in Thailand can be found in The Cat-Book Poems, a manuscript of verses and paintings originally written in the city of Ayudhya, Siam, some time between 1350 when the city was founded and 1767 when the city was razed by invaders. Most likely the oldest document about cats in existence, the manuscript illustrates and describes in verse 17 kinds of lucky cats, including the Siamese, Burmese, and Korat (called Maled in the document):

"The cat Maled has a body color like Dok Lao
The hairs are smooth, with roots like clouds and tips like silver
The eyes shine like dewdrops on the lotus leaf."

Dok Lao means the silver-tipped flowers of an herb similar to lemongrass. Maled means seed and refers to the silver-blue seeds of the ornamental Sawat fruit.

The Cat-Book Poems is hard to date accurately because the original manuscripts, painstakingly written and decorated with illustrations and gold leaf, were typically made of palm leaf. When a document became too old to be usable, a new manuscript was made. All the work was done by hand, and the new scribe would often bring his own personality and interpretation to the work, which also explains the various versions of certain verses. This makes it difficult to trace when the original documents were created. At any rate, whether the document was written in the 1300s or the 1700s, it’s still extremely old, and indicates that the Korat is a very old breed. From the illustrations and descriptions, it appears that the Korat has changed little over the centuries.

The breed was apparently named after the Khorat Plateau region, a highland in northeastern Thailand, although the cat was likely common in other provinces as well. According to the story, the breed was named by King Chulalongkorn (1853-1910, the oldest son of King Mongkut who was portrayed in the musical The King and I). Upon seeing one of these beautiful blue felines, the king said, "What a pretty cat—where is it from?" He was told, "Khorat, your majesty." King Chulalongkorn commissioned a beautiful copy of The Cat-Book Poems on special khoi paper (made from durable fibers of the Streblus asper tree). This accordion-style document, known as the Smud Khoi of Cats, still hangs in a locked and well-guarded glass case in Bangkok’s National Museum.

Breeder Jean Johnson of Gresham, Oregon is credited with importing the first Korats into America. Johnson lived for six years in Bangkok, where she tried unsuccessfully to buy a pair of Korats; even in their native country Korats are rare and greatly prized. In 1959, however, she was presented with a pair of Korats as a gift when she and her husband returned to the United States. The brother and sister, Nara and Darra, were from the famed Mahajaya Cattery in Bangkok. To prevent the cats from becoming inbred, Johnson outcrossed Nara and Darra to blue point Siamese she had also brought back from Thailand.

Other fanciers became interested in the breed, and during the 1960s more Korats were imported from Thailand. Getting the cats from Thailand wasn’t easy, so only a few more found their way to America. In 1965, the unaffiliated Korat Cat Fanciers Association was founded to protect and promote the breed. Only cats who could be proven to come from Thailand were allowed into the breeding program. Fanciers worked hard to bring the Korat official recognition and, in 1966, CFA accepted the Korat for championship.

In 1968, breeder Daphne Negus of Arizona traveled to Bangkok and managed to acquire nine Korats to bring back to America, which was an immense help to the limited gene pool.

Today, all North American cat associations recognize the breed. Since those early days, the Korat population has grown slowly, because breeders are more concerned with quality and health than quantity. Still, the good luck cat of Thailand has gained acclaim and dedicated fanciers.

The Korat captivates with its affectionate, action-packed personality and has even been known to convert cat loathers into cat lovers. Devotion clothed in silver-tipped blue, Korats form very strong bonds of loyalty and love with their favorite humans and will pine if left alone for too long. Korats are constant companions. They give their unwavering loyalty and love without reserve. They are also keen observers of human nature and have extremely sharp minds, the better to wrap you around their little blue paws.

Korats are a bit like Jekyll and Hyde, except in this case, both personalities are good! This breed is either dashing around the house at warp speed or stuck to your side as if attached by Velcro®. Particularly inquisitive when in Velcro mode, Korats insist on helping you work the computer, wash the dishes, sort your socks—basically, anything you’re trying to accomplish. That you’d have an easier time accomplishing it without a small, bright-eyed furball attached to your leg or perched on your shoulder never occurs to this inquisitive breed. To make sure curiosity doesn’t kill the Korat, this breed must be kept indoors.

Warp speed mode ensues when you bring out the cat toys. The Korat’s strong hunting instincts make play time extra exciting, and sometimes hazardous to the health of anything that foolishly gets between kitty and toy. Korats race right over the tops of tables, counters, sleeping dogs and fellow felines to capture their prey. This "winner takes all" approach to play makes Korats great fun to watch.

In between warp speed and Velcro modes, the Korat does find plenty of time for sleeping and eating—two additional favorite activities. All that curiosity, devotion, and playfulness takes a lot of energy.

Korats are generally not as vocal as their Siamese country mates, but they do find ways of getting their feelings across. Fanciers say Korats are extremely expressive and have refined their facial expressions so that one glance can convey any message to their human companions. If you don’t get the message, or pretend not to, your Korat will speak his mind.

Korats are healthy cats and only two inherited diseases are known to exist in some lines: gangliosidosis GM1 and GM2, both of which are fatal. Both diseases are governed by recessive genetic mutations, so a cat must inherit the faulty gene from both parents to develop either disease. However, cats who possess one copy become carriers, previously undetectable and so usually not removed from the breeding program. Fortunately, genetic analysis tests for carriers of both diseases have been developed by the Scott-Ritchey Research Center at Auburn University, Auburn, AL (www.vetmed.auburn.edu). Testing and culling breeding cats who are carriers has done much to eliminate the diseases. Still, it’s wise to buy from a breeder who tests for these diseases and provides a written health guarantee.

Korats are late bloomers and take up to five years to fully mature, although some mature younger. Their coat’s beautiful silver tipping becomes more noticeable as they age. The vivid green eye color also takes time to develop. When they are very young, they often go through an ugly-duckling stage, so you may not be impressed by your first glimpse of a young Korat. The phase doesn’t last long, however, and soon Korats turn back into furry blue swans as they attain their full natural beauty.

The Korat’s close-lying single coat lies flat and lacks the downy undercoat that causes matting, so little grooming is required. However, Korats usually enjoy the extra attention they get while being groomed, so consider grooming your Korat more often for his health and well-being.

The Korat is a rare breed and you’ll usually need to get on a waiting list to buy one. Find a breeder you trust—cat shows are great places to meet quality breeders—and get on her list. Be patient; Korats are worth the wait.

The good luck cat of Thailand is strikingly beautiful, with brilliant green eyes that glow like jewels in an exquisitely soft setting of silver-tipped blue fur. Distinctly different from the blue British Shorthair, Chartreux, Russian Blue and Nebelung (the other accepted blue breeds), the Korat is medium-sized with a firm, semi-cobby body type. Neither compact nor svelte, this breed is muscular and supple with a feeling of hard, coiled spring power and unexpected weight. The chest is broad with good spacing between the front legs. The back is carried in a curve. The legs are well-proportioned to the body with the front legs lightly shorter than the back; the distance along the back from the nape of the neck to the base of the tail appears to be equal to the distance from the base of the tail to the floor. The tail is medium in length, heavy at the base and tapers to a rounded tip. A kink in the tail is permitted only if it is not visible; a visible kink is cause for disqualification in the show ring. Males weigh 8 to 10 pounds; females weigh 6 to 8 pounds. No outcrosses are allowed.

When viewed from the front or looking down from just in back of the head, the Korat’s head is heart-shaped with breadth between and across the eyes. The eyebrow ridges form the upper curves of the heart and the sides of the face gently curve down to the chin to complete the shape. The profile is well-defined, with a slight stop between the forehead and the nose, which has a lion-like downward curve just above the nose leather. Both the chin and jaw are strong and well-developed, neither overly square nor sharply pointed. The ears are large and flared at the base. They are set high on the head, giving the cat an alert expression, and have rounded tips. The ears are sparsely furnished inside; the hairs on the outside are extremely short and close.

The eyes are large, luminous and particularly prominent, with an extraordinary depth and brilliance. They are well-rounded when fully open and oversized for the face. When closed or partially closed, they have an Asian slant. The preferred color is luminous green, but an amber cast is acceptable. Kittens and adolescents can have yellow or amber to amber-green eyes; the full luminous green color often is not achieved until the cat is mature, usually at two to four years of age.

The Korat’s coat is short, single, glossy, fine and close-lying. It is accepted in one color and pattern only; solid blue tipped with silver. The silver should be sufficient to produce a silver halo effect. The hair is usually lighter at the roots; the blue gradually deepens until just before the silver tips. Adults are without shading or tabby markings, but ghost markings can be seen in kittens.