The white cat of Thailand , The • • Khao Manee Cat By Chrissy RUSljcll the Burmese, the grace of the j\1utel'ial weulth t:oming ill Thailand into the West. On (Aysilazen Cuts) Secretary Siamese, the hemhhaped face with IlO decrease Tuesday 17 August, US breeder K/woM (J n(ll! OJl Club anu uprigiltilll.f§ of thl! Kom I WilItw elltUl'II/illm}wit/I 1111 Colleen FI'C}1TIonthwelcollwd (I lld the sheer beaUly of the 1hinas in happiness" Iwo Khao Manees froID In the past 100 years or Tonkinese, roll tl1em all together, Thailand into the USA. She so, the Western world adda diamond whiteco(lt, Originally they were believed went on to breed the first r<lwo has embraced three great characteristic high cheekbones to lwve allllad mercury Manee litter in the USA bter ancient natural TIlal and jewels for eyes, and you have coloured eyes, but some time that year. breeds, the Vichien Maat a Khao Manee.lt is as Thai as all later on breeders ex tended to It took a fUliher 10 years (Siame..<Je), the Suphalak of the aforementioned breeds, all eye colour~, the odd eyed for the Khao Mance to reach (Burmese and Tonkinese) vduch are of course closely being considered lucky but the UK shores. Looking back, I can and the Si-$awat (Korat). related, and the Khao Manee is yellow eyed being the most hardly believe it is now almost Until recently, a fourth no exception. popular with Thai breeders. two years since the arrival of ancient Thai brecd had llle name "Khao /I,ranee" mybeantiful odd eyed Khao been overlooked outside History probably began to be used Manee girl, Odyssey ehaWee of ofThailand, and the Khao '111e fit's ! reeorded mention around the 19th centm)'. Ayshazen, from the USA. Bred Manee (pronounced "Cow orlhe Kllao M;mee (white gem), At Thai cat shows, they (llso by Janet Poulsen of Odyssey Manee") is now threatening originally named Khao Plm·t add the name "Khao Plort" to cattery in Minnesota, ehaWee to become an endangered (all white), Vias in the Tamra avoid any confusion, TIley have was the first Khao Maoee to breed in its own land. Maew, the ancient manuscripts also been known as "diamond arrive in the UK, on 9 May of Thai cat poems, circa eyes", however we t/)' to avoid 2009. Since theil, life has been 'What is a Khao Mance? 1350-1767· association with thi~ name, a whirhvind of promotion of OK, so what is so special about because unfortunatel)" it also awareness or tllis slllnning this breed, you ask? I will go 'The sixth felille complctc!.!} refers to a t)ve of glaucoma, breed. Tim Turner of Kinabalu into more detail a liltle later, but white, eyes ofdeal" mercury. unrelated to the breed. c.1ttery and I joined forces in a nutshell, take the spritely This r..:at Ifill any house In 1999, the first Khao and continued to import Khao / " naughtiness and devotion of brings /ollg life and title. M(loecs were exported from Manees from both Thailalld learn that they are also known " A diamond to produce coloured offspring. white coat, It all depends on whether the characteristic high parents are homozygous or cheekbones and heterozygous for the white masking gene ("W"). White is not jewelsfoJ' eyes " a colour. It is "epistatic", and it masks the true colour of the cat. and the USA, and to breed our The homozygous Khao Manee own. Tina produced the first will cany two dominant white UK born Khao Manee litter on genes (WW). Heterozygous will 25 Ma rch 2010. Now, in ea rly carry one gene for epistatic white 2011, we have 11 breeding and one for true colour (Ww). Kh ao Manees, including 2 Therefore if two heterozygous studs. Later this year we will cats are mated, a percentage be joined by 2 more imports, of the kittens born ""rill be a male and a female. Other homozygous recessive (ww) and interested UK breeders have will show their true colour. These now bought Khao Manee coloured cats are important, kittens and we have a waiting and are used in our breeding ." ..." ...... " " ." ".." .." " " " ",," " """ .. "" " ." " " " "" "." .... li st of other breeders. programme, being mated back to Deafness In 2009, the Khao Manee white Khao Manees. Cat Club was formed and is One of the fa ctors involved with white cats now lllnning successfully. UK Price unfortunately is that some are born deaf in either one or both ears. The dominant white It has applied for pre-affiliation Expect to pay around £ 650 for with the GCCF. The club a neutered pet Khao Manee gene can occasionally cause damage to the has finalised a Standard of kitten. Breeding cats start at inner ear. To date, the incidence of deafnc,;s in Khao Manees is anecdotally repOIt ed Points, a Registration Poli cy around £900, depending on and a Breeding Policy and quality and sex. to be fairly rare, perhaps due to selective have applied to the GCCF for breeding by Thai breeders over hundreds recognition of the Khao Manee. of years. The Khao Manee Cat Club has At the time of going to press, produced a breeding and registration policy the breed name has been that takes this into consideration, and only accepted, enabling us to exhibit allows cats with a positive BAER or OAE our cats at GCCF shows, and hearing test certificate to be registered on we are hoping to hear shortly the GCCF active register. Allowing for the that they can be registered on fact that Khao Manee cats are not really the GCCF Reference Register. suited as free-roaming outdoor cats, a deaf On 20 November 2010, history cat should have little problem adapting to an was made again, when three indoor life, and can live happy and enriched Khao Manees belonging to indoor lives. Tina Turner were exhibited at ~~~~~~~~ ....•••••.•••........•.. ......••..•.•••...•.••. the Supreme Cat Show. Kh ao Manees are now exhibited in the UK in both GCCF and TICA. In TICA, the breed is a couple of ye ars further ahead. On 17 May 2 0 09, Khao Manees were granted Registration Only status, and in September 2011, application will be heard for acceptance of the Khao Manee in the Preliminary New Breed section. Genetics Largely speaking, the Khao Manee is phenotypically a dominant white cat. However, many people are surprised to 1 ............ , ..... .. ................................................................................. Head Shape/Size: Whether viewed fro m the base and rounded at the tips. Hair on the ears front or in profile, the head is a wide, heavy is very shOtt, with sparse furnishings. Kitten wedge. There is a definite whisker break. The ears are larger in propOttion to their head. brow, cheek and profile all show clean, strong contours, with high cheekb ones. The muzzle is Eyes: One of the defining attributes of the blunt but not excessively shorl. In profile it is Khao lVI anee. The eyes are large, set fon-va rd, squared. The Jips and skin around the eyes are rounded almond, and luminolls. The top line General pink.ll1e chin and jaw are neither receding of the eye is slanted dovvn towards the nose. nor unduly massive. The female has a more The distance between the eyes is sli ghtly more The Khao Manee is a solid delicate head shape than the male. Kittens than the width of one eye. white, odd eyed, or even eyed, have a more angular head. A slight muzzle medium sized cat of robust pinch should not be penalised in kittens. Eye Colour: The Khao Manee is either type, with medium bone odd-eyed, has each eye of different shades structure, good muscular Prome: In profile there is a slightly convex of the same colour, or has both eyes of the development, possessing a contour to the forehead, from the top of the same colour, or each eye may be bicoloured. solid look along with balance head to just below the eyes, with a vely slight Eye col ours are: Blue, Yellow, Amber, Green, and proportion. The neck, stop. The nose is quite prominent. The tip of Bi-coloured, Odd-eyed (blue and any other legs, body and tail are neither the nose is blunt, slightly rounded in bone colour). The odd eyed cat has each eye of tvvo short nor elongated . They are structure. Nose length is in proportion to different colours, or each eye of two different not extreme in any way. Males the head, and in a straight line with the chin, shades of the same colour. Bi-coloured have will be propOitionately larger which is of medium depth with a level bite. eyes of two colours. True eye colollr develops than females. The skin is pink The nose leather is pink. after 3 to 5 months of age. The skin around in colour. Temperament is the eyes is pink. In its native Thai land, the outgoing, extremely friendly Ears: The ears are medium to slightly large, odd-eyed Khao Ma nee is considered the best and sociable. Although held high on the head with a slight angular and is a good luck cat, although any of these somewhat vocal at times they set, and alert, cupped f(1!ward, broad at the colours is acceptable. are not aggressive. Body and Tail Body: The body is medium in size, SOlidly built, muscular in development, and presenting a well-proportioned, balanced, moderate, solid appearance with good width and bone structure, giving the appearance ' of well-developed athletic shoulders, chest and hind quarters. They are graceful and symmetrical in appearance. The broad back Is level from the shoulders to the base of the tail.