Suphalak Cats 101 : Fun Facts & Myths
Channel: Kitten Life
Date: 07/01/2021

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In today's video, we are going to talk about some interesting facts and myths about the Suphalak Cat.


The Suphalak Cat is an extremely rare breed of cats with a typical solid brown to copper-colored coat that found its origin in Thailand almost 3 centuries ago. Often confused with the Havana Brown and the ebony-colored Burmese cats, these cats are a natural breed of pure Thai origin, and the breed standards do not allow out-crosses with other non-Thai cats. When they are in the sun, their coat typically emits an almost reddish cast. Though in normal light, they look more towards the darker chocolate side. The color of their whiskers is also brown, and the nose leather is of rosy-brown color. The paw pads are light brown, having a pink tone, while their eyes are a bright yellow to golden in color.


Here are some of the interesting facts about the Suphalak Cat, which will give you some further insight into its characteristics and temperament.


1. Suphalak Cat's History.

The Suphalak cats were mentioned in pictorial and written descriptions for the first time in the ‘Tamra Maew’, which is supposed to have originated in the Ayutthaya Kingdom. These books discuss different breeds of the heritage cats from Thailand like the Suphalak, the Korat, and the blue-eyed, seal point Siamese cat named Wichienmaat. Among these the most well-known being the Korat that has established its popularity around the world, and also bred in Thailand for the purpose of preservation. Translated as ‘The Cat-Book Poems’, these are a collection of ancient manuscripts a dozen of which are preserved in Thailand’s National Library, while the rest are in the British Library and National Library of Australia.

In all these manuscripts, the name Suphalak has appeared time and again referring to the ‘magnificent’ characteristics of the feline. So is the name ‘Thong Daeng’ in the older Tamra Maew manuscripts, describing it as “copper-colored”. One of these poems compares the rarity of these cats with that of gold. The cat has been described to have been having a solid-colored coat, while elsewhere in the scripts, their complexion has been depicted to be like ‘ripe copper’, which, most probably refers to heated copper that takes more to the reddish side. However, the English translation of these poems has not been completely clear. While still in other parts of these texts, the color of their coat has been defined as simply solid red, with the color of their eyes being like ‘thuptim’, which translates to ruby or pomegranate that ‘sparks’ and ‘shines’ like rays. Though a cat with crimson eyes is not very common, however, the translation can be more accurate upon studying the pomegranates that are found locally in Thailand are studied. These fruits have a skin that is flavescent to golden yellow.  This might offer a clearer alternative interpretation of the color of the eyes that are found in the suphalaks today.

On 7th April, 17 67, with the end of the Burmese Siamese war, the Siamese front lost the battle and all the royal treasures were stolen, along with the Buddha images made of gold. Their members of the royal household, along with the noblemen, were taken captive. When the king of Burma read about a brown cat named Suphalak in the Tamra Maew, he could learn that, these cats are ‘rare as gold’ and anyone who would possess these lucky cats would become rich. He ordered his men to bring all these cats to Burma. Till date, this legend takes round amidst the Thai people as a humorous explanation of the reason as to why the process of development of the Suphalaks has been so slow, and they are still so uncommon.


2. Suphalak Cat's Appearance.

The Suphalak's coat color should be a rich and even shade of warm brown throughout the body. The coat color is ideally more of a red-brown rather than a black-brown and does not show tabby markings. The Tamra Maew refers to this color as "thong daeng", or the color of copper. Breeders in Thailand today often compare the coat color to the pulp of the tamarind fruit pod, a common ingredient used in Thai cuisine.

The overall body and head type should be consistent with the native population of domestic cats found in Thailand. The body is medium-sized, muscular, and semi-foreign in type. The head type is described as a modified wedge, medium width, and moderate length. Neither the body nor head type should be extreme in any way.

The whiskers should be brown, complementing the coat color while the nose leather is a rosy-brown color. The paw pads should be light brown with a pink tone.