This is a breed indigenous to Thailand, where it is regarded as a bringer of good luck. One was shown in London in 1896 but it was not until 1959, when a pair was taken to the USA, that it attracted the attention of the Cat Fancy, receiving American recognition in 1966 and British in 1975.
Medium sized and semi-cobby, the Karat has a distinctive heart-shaped face, the eyebrow ridges forming the upper curves of the heart and the sides gently curving down to a strong and well-developed chin. The forehead is large and flat.
There is only one color variety, with a blue to silver blue coat tipped with silver. The roots of the hair are usually lighter, the color intensifying to be deepest just before the silver tip. An ancient Thai poet described it as having 'roots like clouds and tips like silver' and said that the cat's eyes 'shine like dewdrops in a lotus leaf. The luminous green eyes are wide open and large in proportion to the face. Kittens have yellow to greenish-amber eyes and do not gain adult color until two or more years old. The kitten's coat does not exhibit the typical strong tipping which devil-ops gradually as the cat matures
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Medium size, semi-cobby,neither compact nor svelte, broad cheated and muscular, the back carried in a curve; height from base of tail tog round equal to distance from nape to base of tail, frontlets shorter than back, paws oval; tail medium long, heavier at base, tapering to a rounded tip.
Heart-shaped from front, broad between and across the eyes, curves gently to a well-developed but neither over-square nor sharp-pointed chin; short nose with slight stop; large ears, high set, flaring at the base and round tipped.
Large and prominent, round when fully open but with an oriental slant when partly closed, color a brilliant green.
Short (short to medium in theca standard), single, glossy, fine and close-lying. Over the spine it tends to part as the cat moves.
Any shade of blue inch standard, silver blue in CFA, always tipped with silver. Shorter coats intensify the silver sheen
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