The Khao Manee was said to be kept and bred initially by Siam royals, as was the case with other rare colored cats such as the Siamese. Breeders in Thailand are promoting and breeding the Khao Manee in the effort of preserving its lineage and breed standard. The first Khao Manee cat imported to the United States arrived in 1999 when Colleen Freymuth imported 12 Khao Manees. In 2004, she was joined by Frédéric Lachaud-Goedert in France who began another breeding program. With the help of Janet Poulsen, an edifying contributor to the establishment of the breed, they worked to have the breed recognized in all the world's cat registries. Breeders in the West are still working to promote and establish foundation lines for the Khao Manee.

The Khao Manee is an ancient cat breed comparable to the Siamese, Korat and other Thailand cat breeds. The Khao Manee is mentioned in the Tamra Maew, or Cat Book Poems, that also mention the Siamese cat breed and other coat colored cats endemic to the country Thailand, or Siam, as it was previously known. Khao Manee cats are pure white with a short, smooth, close-lying coat.

he Ayutthaya Kingdom

In the Ayutthaya Kingdom (AD 1351-1767) there are many books about ancient Siam cats recording cats such as the Siamese cat, Korat cat, Suphalak cat, Konja cat, etc.. There are 23 species in Ayutthaya. 17 species were fed at the Ayutthaya royal palace, but there are no records about the Khao Manee. There are a few records about white cats, but no specific records about the Khao Manee. Only 23 species have been recorded.

Thonburi kingdom

After the Ayutthaya Kingdom collapsed during the Burmese-Siamese War (AD 1765-67), the Siamese people emigrated to the Thonburi kingdom (AD 1768-1782). One of the most important temples in Bangkok is in the Wat Arun. A Buddhist temple had existed at the site of Wat Arun since the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. When King Taksin established his new capital of Thonburi near the temple after the fall of Ayutthaya, the Khao Manee's historical records were found there.

In the reign of King Nangklao (AD 1824-1851), the Khao Manee is more frequently mentioned. Khao Manee cats are famed and there have been paintings found of them at temples. The white cat was originally known as the ‘Khao Plort’, then became known as the Khao Manee in the reign of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910 AD).

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. On 3 September 2011, the breed was promoted to "Preliminary New Breed", effective from 1 May 2012 and on 30 August 2013 the breed was promoted to "Advanced New Breed", effective immediately.