 The Khao Manee is not to be confused with the Siamese, or any Siamese relative including the "Foreign White" Siamese, which was bred from purebred Siamese with one white-coated British Shorthair ancestor.Though both white cats have a common background, the Siamese cat and the Khao Manee have different genetic structures, bloodlines and breeding policies, thus Khao Manee are considered a completely different breed in the West, as well as in its native home of Thailand.Although the breed is well known in its native land, it has only recently been adopted by Western cat breeders, gaining "registration only" status from TICA in May 2009.