The Korat Cat: A Confusing Cat

Why confusing? Because the Korat cat is similar enough to many other cats to cause confusion.

With its grey or silver coat and green eyes (except in the UK where some natural lilac colours have occurred), you might get it mixed up with a Chartreux, although the Chartreux is thick-coated, with golden eyes and more thickset than the Korat cat.

It also looks like Russian Blues, who tend to be more timid but do have green eyes. Or even British Blues, Blue Burmese, and Blue Oriental Shorthairs.

Yet this cat has characteristics all its own.

It is traditionally a good luck cat, possibly from the region of Korat in Northeastern Thailand, where they certainly existed. In Thailand it is called Si-Sawat, and like the Siamese, they are one of the many cat stars in the 'cat poems.' The cat poems? Several old manuscripts have been preserved that picture cats. The Tamra Maew and the Smud Khoi both have illustrations of these beautiful grey cats. So you see the modern cat breed had a long and varied past long before breeders took a hand in its development.

They aren't completely related to the Siamese cat but because they come from same country, you would expect mingling of the genes. They do have a similar character to the Siamese - they are clever, and people-oriented, and dare I say, a little bossy

They are not generally as talkative as Siamese but they can certainly raise their voices to get what they want.

This cat is not really destructive, nor is it boring. It is the sort of cat that likes to be around people - ALL the time.

It is also strong-willed. That's right: this breed usually likes to be Top Cat, which might cause problems if you have other cats, especially cats who might also want to be Top Cat.

Bottom line, this cat is gentle with people so if you're seeking a friendly and engaging cat, this may be the one. And other cats that are happy to let them have the top spot!

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