The Korat

AUTHORDennis Ganoe, 4/26/94[dennis@korats.com]

Copyright © 1994, 1995, 1996 Dennis Ganoe, All Rights Reserved.

DESCRIPTION

The Korat (Koh-Raht) is a medium to small, shorthair cat with thefemales weighing between 6 and 8 pounds and the males from 8 to 10 pounds. The Korat is a very compact cat with a low percentage of the weightas body fat. This means the Korat may appear to be a small cat, but in reality they are much heavier and more solid than they look. They have broad chests with well developed muscles, even the females. They have a single close lying coat that is always silver-blue. Single coat means they do not have a downy undercoat and the coat lies flat. The head is heart shaped. The heart is outlined by drawing imaginary lines from the rounded tip of the chin up to the top of the ears and then back to the top of the head. The eyes are oversized for the face but arenot protruding or "bug eyed." The eyes are round when fully open butappear slanted when closed or partially closed. They are peridot green(in the mature cat) and translucent in all stages of development. Koratsare slow maturing cats. They can often take up to 5 years to reach theirfull potential. The coat will always be silver-blue, but the silver tipping will become more pronounced as they mature. The eye color, a vivid peridot green, also appears as cat matures. The Korat is a cat that gets better and better as it ages.

HISTORY

The Korat is an ancient cat from Siam (now Thailand) that iswritten of in the "The Cat-Book Poems." This book was writtenbetween 1350 and 1767 AD. The Korat is known as the Si-Sawat catin its native country and the Korat name was originated when KingRama V of Siam was presented with the cat. He asked what kind ofcat it was and was told it came from Korat, a high plateau innortheast Thailand. It is known as the good-luck cat of Thailandand a pair of Korats are often given to brides on their wedding dayto ensure a happy marriage. Korats are rarely sold in Thailand,but given to people held in high esteem.

The first Korat to be exhibited was probably in England in the late19th century. It was entered as a Siamese because that is wherethe owner obtained it. It was listed as a solid blue anddescriptions of that judging still exist today. The first modernKorats were introduced to the U.S. by Mrs Jean Johnson in 1959. Her husband retired from the foreign service in Thailand and theywere presented with a pair of Korats as gifts when they returned tothe United States. Since that introduction, many additional Koratshave been imported and every Korat can trace its ancestry back toKorats living or have lived in Thailand. This why the Korat issometimes referred to as the Silver-blue cat with the Thaipassport.

Shortly after the Korat arrived in the United States the Korat CatFanciers Association was formed. It is a non-affiliatedinternational club dedicated to the protection and development ofthe Korat. This club was instrumental in getting the Koratrecognized in all associations and helps ensure that the standardsfor the Korat remain virtually the same in all associations.

CHARACTERISTICS AND TEMPERAMENT

The Korat is an active cat with strong likes and dislikes. Theyare quite territorial and consider their "human" part of their territory. For this reason they make outstanding companions, always nearby andfaithful. Korats are very intelligent and take well to most training. Korats have been trained to play games such as fetch and can be trained to walk on a leash. Korats "bond" with their owner either as kittens or as adults. The bonding usually takes place in the first few weeks a Korat is in its new home. After the bonding, the Korat will want to be with their "person," whatever that person is doing and will follow their chosen person from room to room to be nearby. This behavior has been known to annoy some people. Bonding with a Korat is not limited to humans. Korats will bond to what ever entity they like best. This can be an adult, a child, another cat, or a dog. Bonding with a Korat doesn't mean it will reject offers of affection from others. It simply means they have a chosen preference in companionship. Korats have thrived in every environment this author has known. They do tend to elevate themselves to the Number 1 position in a group of cats and other cat breeds have been known to resent this.

Korats in the show ring show all of the above mentioned traits. Korats arenot generally fearful cats, so most of their show behavior is learned. Theymay learn that aggressive behavior gets them taken home. They may also learnthat certain behaviors get them special attention from their chosen person.Showing a Korat takes time and firm control. It takes time to train a Korat to show. The exhibitor must ensure the Korat learns the show routine andwhat is expected of the show cat. An exhibitor of Korats must have firm control of themselves, because any "pay-off" of unacceptable behavior bythe Korat, teaches the Korat to repeat the behavior in order to getwhat he wants most, attention from his "person."

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is that a Russian Blue? (What is the difference between a Koratand a Russian Blue?)Is the Korat prone to any particular illnesses?How are Korats in single cat households?Are Korats quiet? What are their voices like?Are they outdoor cats?How much does a Korat cost?How long do Korats live?

RECOGNITION

The Korat is recognized for championship status in the followingassociations:

CARE AND TRAINING

Korats are easy cats to take care of because they will usually tellyou what they need. They are not finicky eaters, but it isrecommended that owners feed only high quality dry food and/or canned food. Although Korats like people food, it is notformulated for them and should be minimized.

Korats have a low body fat percentage, but they can becomeoverweight. If fed too much, a Korat will develop "fat pads" alongtheir underside. These can be mistaken for mammary tumors as theyhave the same look and feel. If any doubt exists, have the catexamined by a veterinarian.

When having your Korat spayed/neutered or when have any operationthat requires anesthesia, it should be remembered that Korats havelittle body fat to absorb the anesthesia. Non fat-soluble varietiesshould be used when operating on Korats. This is the same as other "lowfat" animals like Greyhounds, Whippets or Siamese.

Korats reach sexual maturity relatively early, 6-8 months in mostcases. Neutering a male cat at this age is appropriate, as isspaying the female. A male cat will begin spraying, or marking histerritory upon reaching sexual maturity. Korat females, when theycome into season, will call for available males, and will also marktheir territory with urine. Spaying and neutering can alleviatethe desire to spray.

Training a Korat is relatively easy. Fetch the toy is a game thatmost Korats readily adapt to. Training a Korat can be done withboth negative and positive reinforcement. Negative incentives should be limited to a loud "NO", a clap of the hands, snap of thefingers, or a squirt bottle of plain water. Because of the Koratsgregariousness, the ultimate in discipline is to quietly place thecat in a separate room for a short time (15 min) and then just asquietly let it out. Be sure no toys or other amusements areavailable in the "time out" room. Positive reinforcements are theusual games and treats and a simple petting session for somethingwell done.

BREED STANDARDS

The standards for Korats is almost identical for every association.The differences are in CFA and TICA a non-visible tail kink isallowable whereas in the other associations it is disqualifiable. In Thailand, a kink in the tail of a Korat is considered a sign ofextra "good-luck." When Korats are judged, CFA judges tend toignore a non-visible tail kink. TICA judges who notice the kinkwill usually not final a Korat.

The Korat is a medium sized, semi-cobby shorthair cat. The body iswell-muscled with a broad chest and good development. The Korathas a single close-lying blue coat with each hair tipped withsilver. The more silver tipping, the better. The head is heartshaped with large luminescent green eyes. The heart is outlined bytracing from the strong chin up the cheek bones to top of the earsand then returning to the top of the head. A second heart can betraced from the chin to the eyebrows and back to the bridge of thenose. The profile has a slight stop (not a break) with a gentlelion-like downward curve just above the nose leather. The eyes appear over-large for the face, but are not protruding. The eyesare round when fully open but have a slant when closed or partiallyclosed. The ears are large and set high on the head. The tail ismoderate in length, wide at the base and tapering to a rounded tip.

A non-visible tail kink is allowed. The front legs are slightlyshorter than the rear legs with oval feet. There are 5 toes on thefront feet and 4 toes on the rear feet. Nose leather is blue andpaw pads are lavender-pink or mauve.

Disqualify: Any other color than Silver-Blue, white spots orlockets, wrong number of toes on the feet.

Point Distribution (CFA):

	HEAD                          25	     Broad                    5	     Profile                  4	     Breadth Between Eyes     4	     Ear set/placement        4	     Heart Shape              5	     Chin and Jaw             3	EYES                          15	     Size                     5	     Shape                    5	     Placement                5	BODY                          25	     Body                     15	     Legs/Feet                5	     Tail                     5	COAT                          10	     Short                    4	     Texture                  3	     Close-Lying              3	COLOR                         25	     Body                     20	     Eye                      5

REFERENCES

Breed Clubs:

BREEDERS

Disclaimer: These breeders have been recommended in good faith bythe author of this article. However, you are still responsible forverifying that a particular breeder meets your needs and to yoursatisfaction. Additional breeder listings can be found in "CatFancy" and "Cats Magazine" in the US and Canada, and in "Cat World"in the UK.