I love all pedigree and non-pedigree cats but one breed is closest to my heart …the Siberian.
Below is a photo of Prekrasne Primal Enchantment, aka Bogie who is a brown spotted tabby Siberian. Siberians are a natural breed that evolved in the Russian outdoors over the last few centuries and while they are being bred now they remain one of the newer recognized breeds in the cat fancy. Siberians gained championship status August 1992 in the International Cat Association (TICA), February 2006 in the Cat Fancier’s Association (CFA), and March 2007 in the Canadian Cat Association (CCA).
The Siberian has features that are rounded and can be thought of as made up of circles, unlike the rectangular appearance of the Maine Coon, or triangular appearance of the Norwegian Forest Cat.
Siberians exist in two varieties ~ the traditional tabby or solid colors, and at some point the outdoor Russian longhair cat that we now know as the Siberian interbred with a Thai cat, most likely in Saint Petersburg, resulting in a cat with both breed characteristics that was given the name Neva Masquerade. Neva’s are a pointed, blue-eyed cat similar in markings to the Ragdoll and Siamese. Because Siberians developed naturally into hardy forest type cats in Russia’s challenging climate, I prefer the more traditional, natural and wild looking tabby variety.
The Siberian is a handsome and hardy cat, calm natured and friendly with a stocky, muscled build and medium length coat. They endured extremes in temperature from the frigid cold to the hot summers. This is most likely what caused the development of their unusual coat. This coat is voluminous during the cold of winter and in the summer it becomes shorter and smoother.
The Siberian has a triple coat that consists of guard hairs (an outer coat) that are longer than the rest of the coat; awn hair (intermediate coat) that is textured in appearance, firm to the touch, and glossy with water repellent tendencies; and down hair (undercoat) that is softer, dense, and woolly.
Coat texture may vary due to coat colour. Brown tabbies seem to have the most typical coat texture. With the traditional colours such as blue, silver, and red or a combination thereof, and even more so with the Neva Masquerade, there seems to be a tendency towards a less coarse intermediate coat, but the coat should be dense in all colors regardless of season.
From the perspective of a pet owner, Siberians are a wonderful addition to any home. They mature slowly and it is a pleasure watching them grow and change throughout their various stages. Overall they are confident and social, getting along well with other pets and fitting seamlessly into the household routine.
Siberians are also unique in that they are the only domestic cat breed that produces much less Fel-D1 allergen protein which allows many allergy sufferers to live comfortably with a Siberian. This varies from one bloodline to the next and breeders who sell to allergy sufferers will be able to guide you in the best choice of kitten. Bogie was bred by Sue Case at Prekrasne Siberians Bogie's photo was taken by Lynn Jette at Blue Sky Photography
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