Emo, the Korat cat from the frat

In 2009 we adopted a cat. 
I have always loved them and greatly missed having one.  At that point we were already planning our Grand Adventure, so we made arrangements with Jack’s parents to care for our cat while were were away at some future time.  Jack likes cats too, but I was the one really longing for one so to get him more engaged in the process, I asked him what color cat he thought we should get.  He said “gray” and it was an excellent call.

We wanted a cat with a good, social temperament who was not a kitten so that we could leave it alone during the day without feeling compelled to get a companion cat in our small apartment.  Craigslist was the simplest solution to this.  We found an adult, gray cat in need of a new home and we adopted her over labor day weekend of 2009.
She was one of two cats living in the MIT Sigma Nu fraternity house on the Fenway.  Needless to say, she was very social, and not afraid of men.  Our little apartment was a step down for her, coming from the historic frat house, which is home to this beautiful staircase.

While we were on our Grand Adventure, Jack’s dad and stepmom took good care of her and also figured out that she is of a specific breed, called a Korat.
These are Korats…

… and this is our cat, Emo.

These are some highly applicable phrases from a description of the breed:
Korats form an exceptionally strong bond of affection with their owners and respond warmly to cuddling, sitting as close as possible…They have been cherished for centuries in their native Thailand and they naturally expect this tradition to be maintained wherever they go… Korats are active in their play, but are very gentle …
She matches the physical description of the breed well, as far as my untrained eyes can tell.  Her fur is silvery gray and it is exceptionally soft because it is a single coat.  She does have some “imperfections” such as a small patch of white fur on her stomach.  Although the frat adopted her when she was quite young, she appears to have had kittens before that.  Because korats are not very common, I suspect she might have been bred and put aside for her flaws.  However, from her friendly demeanor she was never mistreated.
In the last few years I’ve made a note of friends with gray cats, and I’ve asked about their temperament.  Currently my anecdotal study is at four out of four gray cats belonging to friends being highly affectionate and social.
When I think of cats in ancient history, Egypt comes to mind, but from what I’ve read, Thailand was the place where cats were most adored for the last several hundred years.  Korats come from from Northern Thailand where there is a Korat City (or Khorat, โคราช, Nakhon Ratchasima) and a Korat Plateau.  They are one of the oldest natural and stable cat breeds (after Siamese, of course).  Evidentially, they are one of the 23 types of cats described in the Tamra Maew, a book in the National Library of Thailand that is referred to in English as the Cat Book of Poems which was written in the large window of time between 1350 and 1767.
The internet, in its wisdom, claims that Korats are considered to be good luck cats who are still highly valued in Thailand today.  Until recently, they were given as gifts (often to brides) and were never sold.
Emo has certainly been a good luck cat for us.
 

Sources:

http://www.cfa.org/client/breedKorat.aspx

http://www.cfa.org/documents/standards/korat.pdf