The earliest known picture of a Korat, or 'Si-Sawat', cat is to be found in the ancient book of paintings and verses, known as THE CAT-BOOK POEMS, in Bangkok's National Library. It is believed by the Fine Arts Dept., a Division of Thailand's Ministry of Education, to have been produced some time during the Ayudhya Period of Siamese History (1350-1767). Identity of the artist is lost. Cat, as well as dog and bird books, represent a cultural tradition in Siam (which became Thailand on June 24, 1939). Of the fifteen or so ancient MSS, in the National Library, nine contain pictures of cats.

A high-ranking monk, Somdej Phra Buddhacharn Buddhasarmahathera, was commissioned by King Rama V (1869-1910) to copy THE CAT BOOK POEMS on special Khoi paper. Known as the SMUD KHOI OF CATS, it hangs in a high glass case in the Minor Arts Room of Bangkok's National Museum. Books were folded, not bound as is a more recent version, known as THE BOOK OF THE CAT, also in the National Library, apparently a twentieth century version of the cats and their accompanying verses. This shows seventeen cats whose ownership brings good fortune and six with boding of the very reverse. Among the Good Luck cats is the KORAT.

A translation of the verses by Khun Prasit Sahkorn says: "The cat 'Maled' has a body colour like 'Doklao'. The hairs are smooth, with roots like clouds and tips like silver. The eyes shine like dewdrops on a lotus leaf". 'Maled' means seed. 'Dok' means flower, and 'lao' can be translated as 'lemon-grass', 'pampas grass', or 'reed blossom'. All of these are silvery and silky smooth, so are applicable to the Korat coat.

King Rama V is said to have named the breed when he remarked: 'what a pretty cat - where is it from?' and was told "KORAT". A Mr. Robins, of New York City, attested to their existence in that Province in 1906. It is said that their coloring protected them, among the granite areas of Pimai District, from extinction in the constrant wars that raged between Siam and her neighbors.

Nowadays in Thailand, the Korats are generally referred to as the "SI-SAWAT" cats (see-sah-waht) and, of course, they are found in other provinces. 'SI' means color. SAWAT has several meanings, including good fortune or prosperity. Si-Sawat is also a compound Thai work meaning a mingled color of grey and light green. The seed (Maled) of the Look Sawat, a non-edible fruit that grows wild in Thailand is this mingled color, with a smooth, glossy shell. There's no changing the color of the breed. It can only ever be 'Si-Sawat'. Korats are silver-blu from birth until death; a cat of any other color is not a Korat.

KORATS REACHED USA

"....When I first caught sight of the enormous, luminous green eyes of a Korat, I stood riveted to the spot. The eyes that captivated me peered out from the silvery blue, heart-shaped face of a little Korat female named Cedar Glen's Kami. She stood gazing down the aisle, an oval paw resting on the cage wire, her body quivering excitedly in the effort to concentration. Shortly after that California show in 1964, I received my first Korat as a gift and established a registered cattery under the name "Si Sawat". I soon made contact with breeders in the United States and Thailand and obtained my first Korat breeding pair. My life with Korats had begun...."

The first American cattery to breed Korats was Cedar Glen, owned and operated by Jean L. Johnson. In 1959, Jean received two imported Korats, Nara and Darra, from a friend in Bangkok. The cats originally had been obtained from the celebrated Mahajaya cattery of Khunying Abhibal Rajamaitri, an illustrous breeder in Thai cat circles. Nara and Darra are the first Korats known to have been imported from Thailand for breeding purposes. Korats began attracting the attention of cat fanciers in the 1960's. Their numbers were few and they had no championship status in the shows.

By 1962, a female named Mahajaya Kok Rak of Gala, also bred by Rajamaitri, and a sturdy male from Cholburi, Nai Sri Sawat Miow of Gala, had been imported from Thailand by Gail Lankenau Wood-ward. Gertrude Gecking Sellars imported a single female, Me-Luk of Tru-Lu, bred by Chompoo Arthachinda. These became the foundation cats of the Korat breed in the United States.

In May 1965 the KORAT CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION, an unaffiliated breed society, was founded. A proposed standard was compiled from descriptions of their Korats sent in by the members. This standard was submitted to the U.S. and Canadian cat associations in October, 1995, for their consideration and acceptance. In few months, the Korat was recognized and the standard adopted by most of these bodies.The first time the Korat competed for honors in Championship classes was June 1966, an American Cat Fanciers Association show, in King of Prussia, PA. We attribute this extraordinarily rapid acceptance of the Korats to their intrinsic beauty and the united effort of a dedicated group boundtogether by a shared love of a highly prozed native cat, whose characteristics and traditions we all pledged ourselves to maintain.

The first Korat grand champions were imported cats or offspring of imported cats. They were the first of a long list of Korats to make show history. A group of dedicated breeders, including Rosemarie Voelker, Rose Meldrum, Norma O'Neill and Helen Basford, keeps the history of the Korat up to date by maintaining lists of each cat's lineage. Each year, the group mails special "census forms" to owners and breeders. Because of the group's effort, we can trace the lines of our cats back to their beginnings. Paperwork about the Korat doesn't stop there. Imported Korats have more paperwork to prove their country of origin than most human travelers do!

Breeders insist on such documentation because if a cat cannot trace its lineage to Thailand, it is not a Korat. Recentrly the Thai government officially recognized the Korat as a national treasure, making importation of the cat difficult but not impossible. Our most recent arrival is a handsome male from the Chiangmai cattery of Professor and Mrs. Mali Rose. His owner here, Nancy Wanwong, had to overcome many obstacles to get Chiangmai Chup home to Florida!

From "The good luck cat of Siam" and
from "The Korat Story" written by Daphne Negus