Khao Manee
Thai, pure white, and often odd eyed with one blue and one gold. It was a palace cat in Siam and was not exported until the 1990s.
Photo by Ritadesbois, CC BY-SA 3.0
Overview
The Khao Manee is a pure white Thai cat, documented in Thai manuscripts for centuries and once kept in the royal household. The name means white gem, and the most prized form has odd eyes, one blue and one gold.
That is also the breed's health question. White coat and blue eyes together are strongly linked to congenital deafness in cats, and in an odd eyed cat deafness commonly affects the ear on the blue eyed side.
Temperament
Active, vocal and extremely people oriented. Khao Manee are confident cats that greet visitors and involve themselves in everything.
They are athletic and intelligent, and they are noticeably chatty. They bond closely and do not enjoy being alone, and they get on well with children and other animals.
Care and grooming
A weekly brush for the short close coat, and nothing else demanding.
Hearing is the thing to check rather than assume. A reputable breeder will have BAER tested kittens or will tell you plainly what is known, and a deaf cat can live a full life indoors with some adjustments. A white cat also sunburns on the ears and nose.
Living and exercise
Indoors is safest, particularly for a deaf or partly deaf cat, and they need height and interaction to make that work.
The breed is rare outside Thailand and the gene pool is narrow. Ten to twelve years is the figure usually quoted, and buying from someone who tests hearing matters more here than almost anything else on this shelf.
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