Adventures in Thailand

By Renee Weinberger and J.D. Blythin

Dr. Leslie Lyons delivered a warning at the 2008 CFA Burmese breed council meeting about genetic diversity. She stated that the Burmese breed had the lowest diversity of all CFA breeds, and that we should look for solutions to this looming problem. One of her suggestions was to go to Thailand and import native bred cats. In February 2010, we made the journey halfway around the world to do just that.

Before we got on the plane, we did a lot of legwork back home to line up contacts and plan our trip. We connected with Martin Clutterbuck, the authority on native Thailand cat breeds today. After a complicated interlibrary loan process, we received and read his book, Siamese Cats: Legends and Reality, many times! Martin's friend, Aree Yoobamrung, owner of Areerat Cattery, had a female kitten we might be interested in. Additionally we contacted Dr. Ed Rose, of Chiang Mai cattery, who had previously worked with western breeders of Korats, Siamese, Khao Manees, and European Burmese. Dr. Rose had an intact male he was willing to place with us. So, it looked like some great possibilities before we even left: an unrelated pair of Suphalaks! However, by December, we had learned that the male in Chiang Mai had passed away. Nevertheless, we packed along a second Sturdibag, optimistic we would find another native bred Thai Suphalak. Nancy Reeves offered to receive a cat shipped from Thailand and work to get it healthy for us. Unfortunately, we were not able to take her up on her offer, as we did not find any other eligible Suphalaks from Thailand other than that female kitten from Areerat cattery.

First a little background on the cats of Thailand. It is widely believed that the Burmese we know in the west came not from Burma originally, but rather came to Burma from Thailand. There are a series of ancient folding books in Thailand that were believed to have been originally written somewhere in the 14th-18th centuries. The books depict several ancient breeds of Thai cats: Thong Daeng, Ninlarat, Dork Lao, Maew Kaew, and other black and white cats.

The Suphalak is also known in Thailand as a Thong Daeng which in English means "copper" cat. This copper cat depicted in the manuscripts has become known to the west as the Burmese, although the Thais do not distinguish between sable solid and sable mink - both colors are "Suphalaks." (Siamese Cats: Legends and Reality, 2004). Cats have been imported and incorporated into the Burmese gene pool from Southeast Asia several times in the in the past. These cats were:

COPPER IMPORTS:

Wong Mau - Hybrid Female from Burma (likely a Sable Mink Suphalak)
Tangyi of Forbidden City - Burmese Female from Burma
Ananda of Forbidden City - Burmese Female from Burma - did not reproduce!
Casa Gatos Biladi - Copper Male from Thailand
Chira Tan Tockseng - Hybrid Female from Singapore
Mahajaya Toffee of Bowbell - Copper Male from Thailand
Mahajaya Sai Thong of Pandit - Copper Female from Thailand
Mahajaya Nong Chai of Bowbell - Copper Male from Thailand
Lop Buri - Copper Male from Thailand

SIAMESE OUTCROSSES:

Minga of Yana - Seal Point Siamese Female
Ricki Tic - Seal Point Siamese Male
Resea Lee - Siamese Female
She Shan Mau - Siamese Female
Tai Mau - Siamese Male imported
Tai-Tai of Tang Wong - Siamese
Minkee of Chindwin - Seal Pt. Siamese Female
Mon Luan - Siamese Male
Chula Mia - Siamese Female
Bing Tse Ling of Ching Ming Tai - Seal Point Siamese Female

Before leaving for Thailand, we wanted to gather as much information as possible about how to find local breeders and how to safely and legally export cats from Thailand. We contacted Dr. Cristy Bird of Sarsenstone cattery in California, making her acquaintance through Nancy Reeves of Burma Pearl cattery. Nancy and Cristy had gotten to know each other through local TICA shows, and Cristy had edited Martin's book and written the last chapter! Dr. Bird was an invaluable contact, giving us all the nitty gritty information and a how-to guide on importing cats from Thailand, as she had done this task many times herself. It was from her that we knew where to go to get the export permits, how to get to the veterinarian's office, and a meeting with her good friend in Bangkok who literally helped lead us by the hand. She also prevented us from making some serious mistakes!

Our initial motivation to go the distance came from Erika Graf-Webster, who had originally invited Dr. Lyons to the breed council meeting. We stayed in contact with Erika after the meeting as she endorsed Dr. Lyons' suggestions and encouraged us to make the trip. She also helped with the initial legwork by contacting Dr. Rose and Martin Clutterbuck. Later we contacted the new breed council secretary, Art Graafmans, and presented our idea to him as well; he also fully endorsed Dr. Lyons' findings and supported our plans.

After a year and 8 months of discussing and thinking about such a trip, we made the voyage on February 9, 2010. At the time we traveled, there was only one nonstop flight from the U.S. to Bangkok - leaving from Los Angeles. Instead, we flew out of Chicago on Asiana, a South Korean airline, and connected through Seoul to Bangkok. The 747 left O'Hare airport shortly after 1:00 AM and, following the curvature of the Earth, flew for fourteen hours over northern Canada, Alaska, the International Date Line, and Russia to Seoul.

Air Transport World named Asiana its "Airline of the Year" in 2009. Those used to the lack of service on domestic flights nowadays would be blown away by the comfort and level of service in the economy class cabin. Within a few hours of taking off, the flight attendants served Bibimbap, a Korean specialty served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with beef, seasoned vegetables and chili pepper paste. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating and were better than any airline food I have ever had (back when U.S. airlines served food). Anyone who finds it difficult to sleep in flight will be pleased to find hours of movies, games and short videos built into the video panel on every seat. Asiana went out of its way to make the long-haul flight as enjoyable as possible.

We landed in Seoul around 6:00 AM local time. Of course, to us it felt like 6:00 PM the previous day! Thankfully, we found one of several Dunkin' Donuts stands and successfully fooled our bodies into believing it was morning, at least for the rest of the day. As our flight from Seoul Incheon airport to Bangkok did not leave for twelve hours, Asiana airlines provided a free bus tour of Seoul (for those who did not want to do a tour or who wanted to sleep, the airline offered a free stay at the airport hotel instead). The tour hit a few of the highlights of Seoul, including the Presidential residence (known as the "Blue House" for its blue-tiled roof), a museum of Korean history, and a wonderful, traditional Korean meal at a downtown restaurant. After the six-hour tour, it was back to the airport for the flight to Bangkok.

The flight from Seoul to Bangkok was almost six hours of bumpy air. Due to the prevailing winds, we took off toward the north ... and quickly made a very hard left over the ocean to avoid entering North Korean airspace. The two Koreas are technically still at war with each other even though there are few direct skirmishes. The flight skirted around China over water (which added considerably to the length of the flight) and passed over Taiwan, then the narrow strips of Vietnam, Cambodia and finally, Thailand. Around 10:00 PM, we landed at Bangkok's brand-new Suvarnabhumi (pronounced "Su-wanna-poom") International Airport. In all, including the layover in Seoul and the lost time from crossing the Date Line, we arrived almost 48 hours after we left Chicago.

Bangkok during the day is a booming, sprawling metropolis of over 10 million people. It sits on the eastern shore of the Chao Phraya River, although its suburbs, of course, extend to the west as well as the 30 miles east to the new airport. The river, along with many canals extending throughout the city, was Bangkok's original "road," and the genesis for the city's nickname "Venice of the East." In modern times, many of the canals have been paved over, but still exist underground. The climate is definitely tropical. Although we visited in the "cool season," daytime temperatures were in the mid-90s with high humidity. To protect one's skin from the brutal sun, and because the culture insists on a level of public modesty, wearing shorts and small tops such as tank tops are no-nos. In public, men should wear lightweight long pants and shirts that at least cover the shoulders. Women should wear long skirts and shirts that cover the shoulders and torso completely.

Each day, the streets are filled (and we mean filled) with people, cars, trucks, taxicabs, tuktuks (three-wheeled auto rickshaws that are mainly tourist traps), motorcycles, mopeds and bicycles. If you find yourself in Bangkok, you would be well advised to stay off the roads during the morning and afternoon rush hours, as the local saying goes, "the cars are stuck." Motorcycles and mopeds dart in and out of traffic and crazily squeeze between traffic, making life dangerous for drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike. Other than public transportation, metered taxis are generally the best way to get around, so long as you either insist that the driver use the meter or negotiate a flat price at the beginning of the trip. Thankfully, public transportation options are expanding rapidly.

The original public transportation source was riverboats. Just like any city street, travelers can choose between large riverboat "buses" that make several stops along both sides of the river and smaller “water taxis” that are low to the ground. In the last decade or so, Bangkok has added both the BTS Sky Train, which is an elevated line serving Bangkok's most popular business and shopping areas, and a subway line that runs between Bangkok's two main train stations. A long-delayed elevated rail link between the new airport and the central city is also nearing completion. Public transportation, especially the Sky Train, will get you almost anywhere you want to go in Bangkok, but does not yet serve many of the residential areas.

Culturally, and to avoid prison, it is very important to remember that speaking against the King of Thailand or damaging or insulting his image (which is on all Thai money) is a crime for which you can be imprisoned. Most Thais revere the King and will not look kindly upon those insulting him. There has also been recent civil unrest and a corresponding military crackdown in Bangkok and throughout Thailand, which climaxed in the burning of several buildings on May 19, 2010 and about 85 killed and over 1300 wounded. The violence appears to have ceased for now, but the underlying issues have not been addressed. Even so, the U.S. State Department has issued no travel warnings or alerts for travel to Thailand.

After spending the night near the airport, we took one of Bangkok's ubiquitous and inexpensive taxicabs downtown to our hotel. Jean Robinson, a Korat breeder who had imported several cats from Thailand, recommended the Asia Hotel to us, and it was an excellent choice. Think four-star hotel with several restaurants, interesting shops, a cabaret show, a concierge, two pools, including a rooftop pool with an awesome skyline view, and an included, full buffet breakfast for $18 per night. Not to mention that it also has a direct footbridge to the Ratchathewi Sky Train station. The rooms are not the swankiest, but were considerably nicer than most budget hotels in the U.S.
After getting settled, we went out on foot for a brief shopping trip - mainly for essentials and to get a feeling for the city. Central Bangkok, particularly Siam Square, has a number of western-style shopping malls, and the majority of the sellers spoke English well enough to conduct business. We picked up a used cellular phone and a SIM card for the phone that allowed us to make domestic and international calls. The cards are marketed to international visitors; calls to the U.S. were actually less expensive than calls within Thailand. Not that the cost mattered - virtually everything in Thailand, from food to products, was significantly less expensive than its equivalent in the U.S. We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the rooftop pool at the hotel.

In the evening, Bangkok's streets change dramatically. Shops selling all manner of goods and food carts selling grilled meats and seafood, soups and other traditional Thai fare spring up along the sidewalks and in the Sois (small streets between the main ones) and alleys. Many of the food vendors cater to the locals. The ones we tried were fantastic. The restaurants we tried in Bangkok were also world class. As expected, the Thai food was spectacular, but we also visited an excellent French crepe restaurant and several first-rate restaurants. At one of the food carts, we ate grilled shrimp and saw an interesting street cat - he was definitely expressing the Burmese gene, although he was a silver spotted seal mink tabby with a bobtail! He came over to our table, presumably for food, but was amenable to being petted. He showed us that the Burmese gene and friendliness exists in the general cat population in Bangkok, even if it is covered by more dominant colors and patterns.

We spent Friday, February 12th sightseeing. We took the riverboat bus up the river to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. The Grand Palace is a breathtaking, huge compound of buildings, temples and sculptures. Feeling overwhelmed from the start, we spent 500 baht to hire a private tour guide. It was the best $15.00 we spent on the trip. Mr. Tui explained where to look and what to look for. His expertise allowed us to see and understand the palace itself and its significance in Thai culture, and to tell whether the statue you are looking at is a good demon (wears a ring), evil demon (does not wear a ring), or monkey (does not wear shoes). We also visited nearby Wat Pho, home of the 400-foot long Reclining Buddha statue and a certain brown mackerel tabby.

On Saturday morning we met Martin at our hotel. With Martin, we visited Areerat Cattery, which is also known as "The Siamese Cat Conservation Center." Mostly, Areerat cattery concentrates on Siamese cats, but they maintain a few representatives of the other Thai cat breeds mentioned in the text and the Khao Manee. There were two Suphalaks in the cattery, Thong Daeng, an eponymous male, and Kim Kim, a female. These were the parents of the kitten that we had been offered. Among the cats (mostly Siamese in color) roaming the house was this tiny little kitten named Mod Daeng. "Mod Daeng" literally translates as "Red Ant." It is also the name of a superhero in a local comic book for whom she is named. We also received as much pedigree information they had on her, which was only three generations on the sire's side and one on the dam's. While Mod Daeng was clearly a mink Suphalak with a long nose and some color faults (ghost stripes, but no lockets), her round head and eyes, straight tail, and impressive size for a girl of her age made her too promising to pass up. After we returned home, the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at UC-Davis confirmed that Mod Daeng is sable, mink, and does not carry champagne or blue.

Martin explained that the Suphalak cats are waning currently in the local cat scene in Bangkok. Thai breeds wax and wane in popularity, and local breeders may have individuals from various breeds, depending on their situation, at any given time. Currently the Korat and the Siamese are the most popular Thai cat breeds, however the breed of cat for which they are best known worldwide is the Siamese. Another breed in Thailand is the Khao Manee, an all-white, sometimes odd-eyed shorthair cat. For a short while, there was a Khao Manee craze fueled by western breeders coming to Thailand looking for imports to start out a new breed in the western cat fancies. In fact, we learned from Martin, and later Ed, that a few western (mostly European) cat breeders had come to Thailand in recent years and exported Korats, Khao Manees, and Siamese. It was this group of western breeders, who were unequipped to deal with cultural differences and cat fancy differences, that soured many of the local breeders to dealing with westerners. And, in fact, many refuse to do so after bad experiences and poor treatment. Some of these cultural differences revolve around the fact that most western cat fanciers offer all sorts of guarantees on breeding cats. But, this is not common practice in Thailand among the cat fancy. Rather, we noticed that "caveat emptor" seemed to be the rallying cry of commercial sales throughout Thailand. Many times cats exported had diseases that proved fatal or never reproduced. Indeed, we were made fully aware that the cat we were purchasing was being sold "as is" with no guarantees or claims about her future health or fertility. This is the most important advice we have for anyone attempting to import cats from Thailand. Your actions and treatment of the people with which you deal will not only help or harm your ability to establish a working relationship; they will help or hinder others' ability to acquire outcross cats from Thailand as well. Please, learn about the culture before you go.

Later that day, we met up for lunch with Martin and Cristy's friend, who is heavily involved in the local rescue scene and is a journalist with one of Bangkok's English language newspapers, The Nation. We learned a lot about these cultural differences and some of the mistakes made in the past. We also learned that we should avoid seeking cats at the Chatuchak weekend market, where people can buy many types of animals including exotic and endangered species. Martin and Cristy's friend warned us that the animals are brought to the market by people who are far less than scrupulous and do not take care of their animals. We were told stories of westerners who had purchased Thai cats from the market, and discovered that they carried diseases like feline leukemia or FIV. Unfortunately, the western breeders felt that the local veterinarians should euthanize these animals, but in general Thai veterinarians do not perform euthanasia, as they do not agree with it on religious grounds. As a result, many unwanted cats are dumped on the local rescue groups, temples, and on the streets. Fortunately, we did not go to the market. On the very weekend we would have visited, a local dog breeder died from rabies at the market!

After lunch, Martin's friend accompanied Mod Daeng and us to Dr. Summalee's clinic, the same clinic where Roger Horenstein had vetted his exports in 1997. The clinic is at the foot of the Phrom Phong Sky Train station on Sukhumvit Road, one of Bangkok's main thoroughfares.Unfortunately, Dr. Summalee is not practicing much these days, and her partner runs the clinic. There, we had Mod Daeng tested for FIV and feline leukemia (both negative) and treated her with Revolution. She also received a rabies vaccination and a distemper, herpes, and calici vaccine. While these vaccinations are not legally required for cats entering the United States, rabies vax is required for exporting animals out of Thailand by the Thai government! The clinic also boarded Mod Daeng while we set out for Chiang Mai to visit with Dr. Rose.

We maintained our plans to visit Chiang Mai cattery in spite of the fact that the prospective male breeder had passed away. On Valentine's Day (which, quirkily, is celebrated extensively in Bangkok), we boarded a train for the daylong ride to Chiang Mai. At the station, we met another interesting street cat - a red mackerel tabby van. While fascinating and at first, the train ride eventually became somewhat tedious. It did provide a brief snapshot of Thailand outside Bangkok. After arriving in Chiang Mai late in the evening, we rode a songthaw, which is a pickup truck converted to carry passengers to our hotel. In the morning, we met Ed Rose, who drove us to his house and cattery. Ed and his wife Malee (who Ed says deserves much of the credit for his cats and success in general) have an impressive outdoor, enclosed cattery setup.

Unfortunately, the Roses have retired from breeding and only had two elderly sable female Suphalaks remaining. These days, Ed works at a hospital in Chiang Mai and is also involved with a project to benefit one of the local libraries. We went out to lunch with Ed at a beautiful country club at which Ed is a member. After returning to the cattery and spending the afternoon talking about Burmese cats and trains with Ed and Malee, we returned to the hotel. The next morning, after a mad scramble, we made it onto a return flight to Bangkok.

Upon our return to Bangkok, we contacted Martin and his friend again. As we had no further leads and were exhausted, we spend the remaining few days of our trip relaxing, shopping, and exploring Bangkok. We also recovered Mod Daeng from the vet clinic and clandestinely put her up at the swanky, five-star plus hotel (also much less expensive than an equivalent in Chicago) at which we were staying. Two days before our flight, Martin's friend connected us with a taxi driver who had experience driving cat exporters to the animal export office at the airport. As required by Thai law, we brought Mod Daeng and the paperwork provided by the vet to the export office. We filled out additional paperwork, and the government veterinarian examined Mod Daeng and issued the export license. While the license process is relatively simple, taking no more than an hour, the process is an unfortunate barrier to exporting cats. The Thai breeders generally will not obtain export licenses for purchasers. They expect the purchasers to do it themselves or to hire a shipping agent, which can be difficult and expensive.

Two days later we boarded our flight from Bangkok back to Seoul. After another long layover, although not as long as expected due to delays, we were on our way back to Chicago. Mod Daeng rode with us in the cabin, under the seat the entire way - no one even knew she was there. Upon arrival at O'Hare, two hours before we had left Seoul, Mod Daeng saw snow for the first time.

While we had a wonderful adventure in Thailand and have obtained a nice girl who will hopefully provide a positive benefit to the overall health of our chosen breed, we do not believe that imports from Thailand will, by themselves, solve our problems with genetic diversity. Even with all the generous help we received, we could easily have come home empty handed. Dr. Lyons also suggests that we would need to bring back at least one cat for several years in a row. If we want to create, improve and maintain working relationships with Thai breeders to create a constant stream of available cats, we will have to keep going back, and we will have to take turns absorbing the time and financial costs involved. This is not something that we, the authors, can do alone. We need to make a long-term commitment to the process or choose another source of outcross cats.

About Renee and J.D.:

“We discovered Burmese in 2002, when J.D. decided he really wanted a Burmese kitten. After doing lots of research online and in books, we finally got in contact with a breeder up in Minnesota, and made the first of several trips north to visit her cattery with the intention of buying a kitten. As pet buyers, everything looked great and we bought a kitten from Annie Slawik, Ansata Cattery. That kitten was Ansata Mousse.

“Renee attended a local show, and saw Annie at the show, and thought, gee this looks fun. So, with her guidance, we entered Mousse in her first show as a kitten in autumn of 2002. We had no expectations of success, and Mouse surprised us by getting a few best of breed ribbons over her competition, a lovely sable girl bred by Toni Woolard and owned by Michael England. We continued showing Mousse at local shows until she granded in premiership

“About two years later, Annie offered us a top show quality cat to show, and we thought that sounds like a fun idea, and that led to us getting Sarmicel’s Lucky for Me, a sable neuter. “Luke” loved to show and loved people. So showing him was easy! At that time, it became apparent to us that many of the Burmese breeders in our area were retiring, or just getting rather up there in age, and some prominent Burmese breeders had passed away. We realized that we had become the only exhibitors of a Burmese at shows in our area. This was not how it had looked at the beginning, to us. Losing breeders means you can lose the breed. We thought maybe it might be time to raise some kittens.

“We got started breeding, but our motivation was always helping the breed continue long into the future. Shortly after we started breeding we joined several cat clubs, and soon moved into putting on shows. Renee has served as a show entry clerk, show manager, and show secretary for multiple shows. J.D. has served as a show secretary and show entry clerk. Renee has been the Webmaster for the NABB web page since 2004, so for 6 years she has helped keep it updated, and in some cases it’s a daily task keeping on top of those rescues. Last year, we took on the task of editing the NABB newsletter. Renee served 2 years as NABB secretary and is embarking on 2 more. Both of us also work full-time. So, you can see that we are both people who step up and get the job done.”

Renee Weinberger and J.D. Blythin
Catizen Burmese


Videos of Renee and J.D’s trip can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/curiamagna