Korat — questions to ask before paying a deposit
A responsible breeder will have these readily available. Deflection is a red flag.
GM2 gangliosidosiscan shorten life or cause chronic painVery rare in this breed
A mutation in the HEXB gene causes a fatal build-up of gangliosides in nerve cells. Onset is early — fine head tremors from about 4 weeks old, rapidly followed by loss of coordination — with death before 8 months of age. Two copies of the mutation are needed to cause disease, and there is no treatment. It has been described in a single pedigree of Korats in the United States in the 1980s, and a 2022 screen of over 11,000 cats found the mutation in none of 51 Korats.
Ask to see: Korat GM2 gangliosidosis DNA test on both parents
UC Davis VGL — Korat GM2 Gangliosidosis (https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/korat-gm2) · Neuwelt et al. 1985, Journal of Clinical Investigation (https://doi.org/10.1172/jci111997) · Muldoon et al. 1994, American Journal of Pathology (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8178934/) · OMIA — Gangliosidosis, GM2, type II (Sandhoff or variant 0) (cat) (https://omia.org/OMIA001462/9685/)
GM1 gangliosidosiscan shorten life or cause chronic painVery rare in this breed
A separate mutation, in the GLB1 gene, causes a related but distinct fatal storage disease. In the cats in which it has been studied, onset is around 3 months of age, reaching a terminal stage — including blindness and seizures — by 9 to 10 months; progression is slower than GM2 but equally fatal. The same GLB1 variant is found in Siamese cats, but the Korat is a separate, natural Thai breed, not one founded on the Siamese. In the Korat the disease has been described in a single cat, which fell ill at seven months, worsened slowly and was put to sleep at 21 months; that cat was never DNA-tested, and a 2022 screen of over 11,000 cats found the variant in none of 51 Korats.
Ask to see: Korat GM1 gangliosidosis DNA test on both parents
UC Davis VGL — Korat GM1 Gangliosidosis (https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/korat-gm1) · De Maria et al. 1998, Acta Neuropathologica (https://doi.org/10.1007/s004010050899) · OMIA — Gangliosidosis, GM1 (cat) (https://omia.org/OMIA000402/9685/)