Suphalak Cat Breed Description

Active: Suphalak cats are a moderately active cat breed. They are not highly demanding when it comes to play and activity but they certainly enjoy challenging games and playing with toys and with their humans.

Size: Suphalak cats are medium in size.

Characteristics: Suphalak cats have a muscular, medium-sized body and their physique is that of a typical oriental cat. Their modified-wedge heads have brown whiskers and one of their most striking features are their piercing yellow eyes.

Temperament: The Suphalak cat is an outgoing, people-oriented cat breed. The enjoy socializing, bond quickly with their new humans, are loyal and enjoy showing affection. They are sure to follow their human around the house and want to be a part of everything they do. It has been said that they have a "dog-like" personality because they enjoy a good game of fetch, going for walks and rides in the car. They enjoy active play and do not do well when left alone for long periods of time.

Care: Suphalak cats are simple to care for. All they need is weekly combing or brushing to keep their coat looking nice as well as routine nail trimming and ear cleaning to keep them not only looking their best but feeling their best as well.

Coat: Suphalak cats have a short coat and the preferred color is a rich, chocolate brown color that has a hint of red and that color should be consistent across the entire body.

Origin: The Suphalak cat breed is a very rare cat breed that is not well-known in Western society. It is incredibly similar to the Thai Burmese and is sometimes referred to as the Thong Daeng cat breed. The Suphalak cat breed is a naturally occurring breed that has been around for over 300 years. These intriguing cats were referenced in Thai manuscripts called "Tamra Maew" that were written by Buddhist monks sometime between 1351 to 1767 AD. This ancient description of the Suphalak breed describes it as having a brown coat with a "tinge" of reddish color over the entire body. While we have a general description of what they should look like, they are so rare that it was not until 2013 when a female cat named Thonga was recognized as a Suphalak cat because she met the criteria and description.

Thonga was then shown in various car shows that same year and it was the first time that a copper Suphalak had ever been shown in a formal cat show. Thonga was officially recorded as a Suphalak in Thailand and was then imported to the United States by Lisa Young in 2013. In 2015, Thonga was registered with the American Cat Assocation (ACA), she was the first Suphalak ever registered with the ACA. To grow the breed it is accepted that Suphalaks can be mated with any cat of Thai genetic origin, and Thonga was mated with a Longhair Siamese cat. Thonga then had two chocolate kittens, one of which had disqualifying characteristics but one female kitten had the desired chocolate copper coat, making her the first Suphalak cat ever born outside of Thailand. Today, both Thonga and her offsprings are in a breeding program to grow the Suphalak breed but it remains an incredibly rare breed.