Korat
Thai, silver blue, and heart shaped through the face. It has been given in pairs as a luck gift for centuries and appears in manuscripts hundreds of years old.
Photo by Goele, CC BY-SA 3.0
Overview
The Korat is a silver blue Thai cat with a heart shaped face, and it is one of the oldest documented breeds anywhere: it appears in the Tamra Maew, a Thai book of cat poems dating to the Ayutthaya period.
It has traditionally been given in pairs as a luck gift and never sold, which is why the breed left Thailand slowly and why the Western population comes from a small number of imports.
Temperament
Intense, attached and sensitive. Korats bond hard to a small number of people and are reserved with everyone else, and they dislike sudden noise and disruption.
They have exceptional senses and they are alert to everything. They are affectionate on their own terms, moderately vocal, and they generally prefer being the only cat or one of a settled pair.
Care and grooming
A weekly rub down for the single silver blue coat. There is no undercoat, so shedding is light.
Two lysosomal storage diseases, GM1 and GM2 gangliosidosis, are carried in the breed and both are fatal in affected kittens. Both have DNA tests, and there is no reason to buy a Korat from a breeder who cannot show clear results for both parents.
Living and exercise
A calm household. Korats do not thrive in noise and chaos, and a quiet home with predictable routine suits them.
They are moderately active and they like interactive play with their own person. Ten to fifteen years is usual.
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