Russian Blue Cat

Whatever else is red in Russia, Russian cats are blue! The outstanding feature of the Russian Blue is its quiet sweetness. It is shy and gentle, and makes a loving, agreeable companion. It will become very attached to its owner, is willing to please, and seems to take easily to living in an apartment, in fact preferring an indoor life. Its blue plush coat is different from that of any other breed and somewhat seal like in texture. The guard hairs are tipped with silver, which gives a silver sheen to the coat, enhancing the look of this lovely, docile cat. The only disadvantage of this breed is that its voice is often so quiet that breeders may find it difficult to tell when a queen is calling but because this cat is not prone to roam away from home, it is less likely to mismate with the local tom cats than many other breeds. If it is shut in somewhere this quietness may prevent the cat from being rescued.

Grooming
The Russian Blue is easy to groom, as the fur is very short and plush. It needs only an occasional brushing and a combing with a fine toothed comb, and a polish with a chamois leather or an ungreasy hand. A show cat may be given a bran bath before the show to absorb any excess grease from the coat.

Origin and history
It is rumoured that the original cats came from Archangel in the USSR, brought to England by British sailors visiting the port. Before 1900, they were known as Archangel Blues, but also as Maltese and Spanish cats, and there seems to have been some confusion as to what was or was not a Russian Blue, although the fact that there are many of these cats in Scandinavia is supportive evidence of a Russian origin. They were shown in the United Kingdom at the end of the nineteenth century, but as there were so few cats to mate them with, they were outcrossed to British Blues and Bluepoint Siamese. This was nearly the death of the breed and had very undesirable results, particularly in the loss of the distinctive coat. After the Second World War every effort was made in the United Kingdom to reinstate this breed and now much better specimens are appearing.

Breeding
Russian Blues usually have one or two litters a year, with an average of four or five kittens to each. Finding appropriate breeding stock is still a problem, especially in the United States, where there a re very few. Unfortunately it seems to be very difficult to breed a cat with both good type and a good coat.

Kittens
Russian Blue kittens are born with fluffy coats and may have faint tabby markings until the adult coat develops.