What You Don't Know About Khao Manee

This All-White Gem is a Thai Treasure

- Candilee Jackson

Introducing the Khao Manee 

The Khao Manee is a small, cuddly cat that has lived on the streets of Thailand for centuries. As a domestic house cat, the Khao Manee is often in trouble because getting into things and questioning everything in their environment is their first love of life, right up there with their love and loyalty to their owners.

With its name translating to “White Gem,” “the Khao Manee was rumored to be highly coveted by Thai royalty and is thought to bring good luck to those fortunate enough to have one.” These beautiful cats go by other names as well, including Khao Plort and Diamond Eye. It’s no surprise that the first thing to capture an observer’s gaze is this cat’s eye color; its eyes can be an intense blue, mercury silver, dense green, or odd-eyed. The odd-eyed Khao Manee is the rarest of its breed.

While the Khao Manee is a solid white cat, the dominant white gene that produces its color does so by masking an underlying color. So, all white Khao Manees are actually some other color “underneath.” This other color may show up on the top of a kitten’s head, where it is called a “kitten cap,” or as a spot on the body. Furthermore, since the underlying colors are recessive, it is not unusual for an occasional nonwhite Khao Manee kitten to occur in a litter. These cats cannot be shown as Khao Manees, but they can be used in a breeding program if the genetics are correct. By the time kittens are two years old, the spots should have faded, leaving a pristine, snow-white glistening coat.