Handsome, gentle and sweet natured, the Russian Blue is in every way a classic. Its elegant lines, astonishingly rich coat and striking green eyes always turn head, and, added to all that, it is healthy and easy to look after. Did you know that the Russian emperor Czar Nicholas II doted on his pet Russian Blue called Vashka.
History
The breed seems to have originated in the most northerly regions of Russia and Scandinavia and went by a variety of names, including Archangel cats, Foreign blues, Spanish cats and maltese cats, the reasons for which long been forgotten. The Maltese cat label persisted in the United States until early this century. A Russian blue competed in Britain in 1875 in a class for all blue cats of all types, but it was not until 1912 that the breed was separated into a class of its own. Little work was done with the Russian Blue until after World War II, when American breeders combines the British bloodlines, with their plush, silvery coats, with Scandinavian strains, with their emerald green eyes and flat profiles. The flat profiles came from crosses of a blue cat from Finland with a blue point Siamese.
Description
The lithe, slender and graceful Russian blue has a fine boned body that is firm, muscular and long, but not tubular. The head is a medium wedge, neither long and tapering not short and massive. The muzzle is blunt and part of the total wedge. The top of the skull is long and flat in profile, gently descending to slightly above the eyes and continuing at a slight downward angle in a straight line to the top of the nose. The nose leather is slate gray in the united states and blue in the Britain. There is no nose break or stop, but the thick fur of some animals make it seem that there is a slight dip in the nose when light is reflected off the silver tipping. The face is broad. The wide set eyes are rounded and vivid green and the wide set ears are rather large and broad at the base, with tips more pointed than rounded, and with a slight flare.
The fine bones legs are long and the paws small and slightly rounded with pads of lavender pink or mauve in the United States and blue in Britain. The tapered tail is long and in proportion to the body. The double coat is short, dense, fine and plush, like seal fur. No other cat has a coat quite like it. It stands out from the body and has a distinctive soft and silky feel. The ideal coat will hold the imprint of your fingers as you run them through it. Grooming entails regular hand grooming and an occasional combing or a rub with a damp chamois to bring up the luster.
Varieties
The Russian blue is shown only in blue. Lighter shades are preferred and the color should be even and bright throughout and free from tabby markings. The guard hairs are distinctly tipped with silver, giving the cat a lustrous, silvery shine.
Temperament
Docile and affectionate, the Russian Blue quickly becomes devoted to its loved ones. It is gentle, playful and a good companion. Although somewhat shy, it gets along well with children and other pets. It is very intelligent and likes to fetch and open doors. It has a quiet, almost musical little voice.
As befits a cat that is said to originate from the fringe of the Arctic Circle (and have a possible Norwegian connection, too),
the most distinctive feature of today’s Russian Blue is its double overcoat.
A Russian Blue gives an impression of making a complaint, but in fact its voice is so quiet that it is sometimes not even obvious when the queens are calling.
From the very start of the fancy, two types of Blue cat came into competition with each other at shows all over the world. The domestic British Shorthair was one, the other was known as the Blue foreign. The names suggest a distinct difference in type between the two varieties. Blue cats were reputed to have reached the West via merchant ships travelling from the port of Archangel in northern Rusia, and became known as Archangel cats. Another import was a blue tabby from Norway. There were probably several other blues from other parts of the world that may have helped the truw blue breeding program. The type is also known as the Maltese Blue and the Spanish Blue. By the late 1800s, there were enough Blues bred to be shows at the early cat shows. Unlike the cats of today, though, these early Blues had orange eyes.
Top quality coat texture is the single most important point that judges look for in a Russian Blue. It should be dense beneath and fine and short on top.
Later breeding programs included the Korat and British Blue shorthairs. Just before and after World War II, a bid to save the Blue from extinction led to the includion of a Blue Point Siamese in one breeding program, and until dairly recently the occasional Siamese pattern was subsequently found in litters of Russian Blues. Siamese characteristics are now regarded as unacceptable in the breed.
Imports of Blues were brought in from Scandinavia, and many good Russians went to the United States where the standard color is a little lighter than that required in Europe. There must be no hint of white or tabby markings on the perfect Russian Blue, but there is a silver sheen to its coat, as the slate blue hairs often have transparent tips. A medium sized cat, it combines sturdiness with grace. A gentle expression reflects its reputation as a quiet spoken, affectionate animal.
The Russian Blue has pronouced whisker pads, wide set, pointed ears and a face more rounded than that of other foreign shorthairs. These combine to give the cat a gentle expresion that reflects its nature.
An English breeder of Russian Blue maintained that the Russian type referred to a particular shape rather than the color. Using a shite, double coated female found near the London docks, she began to develop Russian cats in other colors. The project appears to have dies out in Britain, but there is a thriving colony of colored cats in the Netherlands.
Russian Blue breed information
Coat – plush, heavy, double, brush like from the body
Eyes – almond shaped, green
Other features – silver sheen to coat as hairs often have transparent tips
Grooming – easy, gentle, regular brushing so as not to damage the double coat texture
Temperament – quiet, gentle, affectionate
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I have a siamese cat that is very mean. He has a bond with my husband but everyone else he attacks. We want to get another cat but we are afraid that it will make bella meaner or it will make the two tag team us. We have tried everything to make him nicer and nothing works. Can anyone help with ideas on how to make him nicer or if its a bad decision to get another cat.
Please see the post at URL below for pur answer.
http://catbreedsexpert.com/629/training-your-siamese-cat-for-good-behavior/
Hope it helps.
Thank you.