Russian blue

Russian blue
Standards: FiFe: RUS, WCF: RUS, GCCF: 16a, WACC: 44, TICA: RB
Shoulder height	Male: Ø 30–40 cm. Cat: Ø 20–30 cm
Weight	Male: Ø 3.5-6.5 kg. Cat: Ø 2.5-4.5 kg
permitted coat colors	Blue, solid (shimmering gray, monochrome)
permitted coat drawing	none (tabby on the tail is accepted)
allowed eye colors	Green (vivid, emerald)
error	All patterns and white spots, different coat color, different eye color, stop in profile, genetic defects of all kinds, unbalanced physique, disharmony, aggressive temperament
Country of origin	Russia - CIS
Official breed standards (external links)	CFA , ACFA , TICA , CCA , ACF , FIFe , GCCF , WCF
notes	The ACF organization also recognizes other colors.
List of cat breeds

Russian blue cat

Russian blue cats 3 months old, mixed

Russian Blue European (front, female) American (back, male)

7 week old Russian blue male, American type

As a Russian Blue a breed is domestic cat called. The Russian Blue has a gray-blue, short-haired, very dense (double) fur with colorless hair tips that produce a silver shimmer in the light. Large, deep emerald green eyes stand out clearly against the body color. The body is medium in size, medium weight, elegant and muscular. The head is clearly structured and neither too long nor too short. The profile (line forehead to tip of the nose) must be straight. This cat seems balanced in everything.

The Russian Blue is a balanced, cuddly, calm cat with a strong bond with people. The Russian blue cat breed is a natural breed; that is, it was not bred to look like, but so appeared in nature.

origin

Russian sources report the following origins: The first group of breeding specimens of the later Russian Blue breed came from Arkhangelsk . It was probably imported into England as a commodity by British sailors around 1860.

By 1900 the breed was very popular in both England and Tsarist Russia. By crossing the Siamese , British Shorthair and European Shorthair , the breed, which was almost extinct after the Second World War , was preserved. As a result of these cross-breeding, the breed's coat became shorter and thicker, and the color of the eyes turned deep emerald green. From around 1937 the Russian Blue exists as an independent breed; until then it was listed as a variant of the Maltese Blue , Foreign Blue or British Shorthair variant.

In the early 1970s, the Australian Russian blue breeder Mavis Jones mated a white domestic cat with a Russian blue cat. The aim of this combination was to get a new color variant to the blue Russian blue. In the late 1970s, these Russian-blue hybrids were recognized by the umbrella cat breeding organizations in Australia as a color variant of the Russian blue. More recently, there are also efforts in Europe and America to have the white and black variants recognized. All of these color variants are still not recognized by many Russian breeders around the world and by most of the cat breeding umbrella organizations.

Appearance

The Russian Blue is the only cat breed ever to have a double coat. This means that the top hairs are the same length as the undercoat , which causes the fur to stick out. It is silky soft and has colorless hair tips, which is called "tipping" in technical jargon . These colorless ends of the hair break the incident light and make the blue fur of this cat shimmer silver. With light Russian blue it sometimes seems as if the cat is silver / chrome, but a blue or gray must be clearly visible under the tips.

The short, soft, silvery shimmering fur in the color "blue", as professionals call the gray, ideally always protrudes slightly, does not lie close and harmonises perfectly with the emerald green eyes. The graceful posture, the medium-weight body, the slender legs and the large eyes are distinctive features of the Russian Blue. A clear look, an angular, clearly structured head, inside almost bare ears and the breed typical smile contribute to the friendly overall impression.

Three main branches (types) are known in Europe today. These are very different from each other, which is also very easy to understand historically:

1. The English type. He is stronger, medium blue in the color of the coat and has a narrow, vertical ear position. In terms of temperament, the mediocrity of the three breeding branches.
2. The Siberian / Scandinavian type. It is a bit smaller, more elegant and a lot darker in the fur (almost anthracite). with wider set ears (V-shape). This guy is considered very shy of strangers and is therefore not seen often.
3. The American type. She is medium in size and much lighter in color (almost silver in color). With very wide set ears (equilateral triangle shape). This guy is considered to be quite sociable and also very fond of strangers.

There are, especially in Europe, mixtures of these breeding branches, which is absolutely desirable in order to preserve the genetic diversity. The Central European Russian Blue was created from this mixture. Unfortunately, there is still no recognized (adapted) standard for this type.

In the young animals, the eye color is usually not yet pronounced - little Russian blue, like all kittens, are born with blue eyes. The eye color ideally changes from blue to green, but mostly the color changes from blue to yellow / ocher to green. At the age of two, the Russian Blue should definitely show her emerald green eyes. Russian blue children are often born with a drawing (tiger or spotted, blue on blue). By the age of 1 year at the latest, a Russian blue cat should have a single-colored coat without drawings, only the rings on the tail are allowed.

Breed standard

The Russian Blue is recognized by all clubs and their umbrella organizations worldwide. The standards differ e.g. T. very strong. The European (FiFe) standard is explained below:

feature	Expression
body	medium in size, long, muscular
Head in general	Short wedge, long flat skull. In profile, the forehead and nose form a convex angle at the level of the eyebrows. Straight forehead, straight nose, strongly emphasized whisker pads, strong chin
Ears	Large and rather pointed, wide in the approach. The skin of the ears is thin and transparent, the inside hardly covered with hair. Placement Set vertically to the head
eyes	large, set apart, almond-shaped, eye color: vivid green
legs	fine and high (hind legs longer than front legs)
Paws	small, oval, lavender colored
tail	long, tapering to a point
colour	Blue-gray, even and pure, with a clear shimmer of silver. Medium blue-gray with a silver sheen is preferred.
hide	double, short, very fine, soft and silky, protruding from the body
Typical mistakes	Tabby drawing, white spots, wrong eye color, nose stop, wrong standard

character

It is considered to be a calm, moderately active cat. She is very calm, hardly loses any hair and is very suitable for keeping at home. She likes to play well into old age and should not be kept alone. She needs a clearly structured daily routine in order to feel good. They are family oriented and attached to their owners. Many Russian Blues prefer to sleep under blankets or in bed with their human. In principle, Russian Blue always seek the closeness of their human being, although they can be very reserved or shy towards strangers.

The Russian Blue is very intelligent and many can easily open doors and even wardrobes. They are very jumps if they want to, and you can often see jumps from standing on the floor on the door frames during the game. Despite the huge potential for jumping, they are very considerate and rarely knock anything off.

Young Russian Blues are anything but calm and reserved. They are very lively, adventurous, brave and cheeky. At about a year the animals change significantly and it becomes the unmistakable Russian blue.

Only partially suitable for beginners.

Similar races

The Russian Blue is often confused with the Chartreux (but this is stronger, looks more plump and has orange-colored eyes) and - this is where the danger of confusion is most common - with Korat cats . In contrast to this, however, the fur of the Korat lies close to the body, the eyes do not shine in such an intense emerald green and the head of the Korat is more heart-shaped.

Web links

Commons : Russian Blue  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Russian Blue Breeders Association Germany
• Russian blue worldwide
• Russian blue - a sensitive house tiger

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Russian Blue - Information about the breed , Russian Blue Breeders Association , accessed July 3, 2017
2. ↑ Russian Blue - The Sensible from Russia , Deine-Tierwelt.de, accessed July 3, 2017
3. ↑ ^{a b} Russian blue - the noble athlete , RP Online , accessed July 3, 2017
4. ↑ THE NATURE OF THE RUSSIAN BLUE CAT , accessed July 3, 2017
5. ↑ ^{a b c} cat breeds: Russian blue katzenkitten.com
6. ↑ A portrait of the Russian Blue: the silver arrow among cats , Fressnapf.de , accessed July 3, 2017
7. ↑ Russian Blue - the lady among cats , T-Online, accessed July 3, 2017