Breed Description

Korat comes to the U.S.

The Korat’s coat and body is silver-tipped blue.  It shimmers with an ethereal quality and shedding is kept to a minimum.  Korats are a single coat cat, which is to say that they do not have a thick undercoat.  Excessive hair associated with other breeds is not a problem with Korat cats. 

Remember: Korats are silver-tipped blue their entire life; a cat of any other color is NOT a Korat.

Korat cats have a lean body type which makes them deceptively hearty and strong.

The Eyes.  A Korat cat’s eyes are oversized and their rich character gives their stare a very human quality.  One must see a Korat in person to fully appreciate this fine breed.  Upon birth, like any other kitten, a Korat’s eyes are blue.  Their eyes become amber in color and change in adulthood to green. 

Korat cats are a naturally occurring breed.  This means that they are virtually the same cats as when they were wild cats living in caves on the Korat Plateau in ancient Thiland.  Because they are a naturally occurring breed, the have the unique ability to bond deeply and are far more intelligent than other breeds.  Many people describe Korats as being dog-like because of their loyalty and need for affection.  Korats also require specialized care.  Their nails need to be clipped regularly, preferably weekly, to ensure that they remain polite and loving.

Excerpts from; Discovering THE "KORAT" written by Mrs. Jean L. Johnson and published in Cat Magazine - May, 1961

"...they said, these cats were so highly prized by their owners that I could never hope to buy one. At this point I would always feel that the conversation, somehow, had gone astray, and that they were telling me about some member of the wildcat family in which I was not interested. During our stay in Siam, whose name had meanwhile changed to Thailand, I saw only five or six specimens of the gray Korat cat. All of them were owned either by members of the Thai government, the Thai nobility, or high ranking representatives of foreign governments. The conditions of their ownership were such, that they were not for sale. They had been given or received under terms of highest honor, esteem, or respect, and endowed by the giver with the attribute of bringing good health and fortune to the recipient. When I left Thailand in 1954 to accompany my husband on a new assignment in Indochina, I had given up hope of ever owning a Korat cat. But I told a Siamese friend that if she were ever able to obtain a pair of Korats to send them to me."

Jean Johnson was the first Korat breeder in the U.S. Her history making Cedar Glen Cattery in Oregon, began what would later become North America's Korat community.

The earliest recorded image of a Korat can be found in a manuscript called THE CAT-BOOK POEMS.

IIt is believed to have been completed sometime during the Ayudhya period of Siamese history (1350-1767)