The Russian Blue is a type or breed of cat that has a silver-blue coat. These cats are known to be highly intelligent and playful but tend to be timid around strangers. They also develop close bonds with their human companions and are highly sought after due to their personalities and unique coat. The Cat Fanciers Association, Inc. ... The Fédération Internationale Féline (or FIFe) is a federation of cat registries. ... The International Cat Association More commonly known as TICA is the worlds second-largest cat registry in North America. ... A cat breed is an infrasubspecific rank for the classification of domestic cats. ... Binomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis lybica invalid junior synonym The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ...

Origin

The Russian Blue is a naturally occurring breed^{[citation needed]} which is believed to have originated in the port of Arkhangelsk, Russia, although the evidence for this is purely anecdotal. They are also sometimes called Archangel Blues.^[1] It is believed that the first Russian Blues were first brought from the Archangel Isles to England and Northern Europe in the 1860s by sailors. The first recorded showing of the breed was in 1875 at the Crystal Palace in England as the Archangel Cat. The Russian Blue competed in a class including all other blue cats, until 1912, when it was given its own class. Arkhangelsk (Russian: ), formerly called Archangel in English, is a city in and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. ... An anecdote is a short tale told about an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident. ...

The breed was developed mainly in England and Scandinavia until after World War II. During and following World War II, due to a lack of numbers of Russian Blues, some people started cross breeding it with the Siamese. Although the breed was in America before the war, it was not until after World War II that American Breeders created what is known as the modern Russian Blue that is seen in the US today. This was done by combining the bloodlines of both the Scandinavian and English Russian Blues. The Siamese traits have now been largely bred out. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This article is about a biological term. ... The Siamese is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Oriental cat. ...

Although they have been used on a limited basis to create other breeds (such as the Havana Brown) or add type to a breed in creation (the Nebelung), Russian Blues themselves are short-haired, blue-grey cats. The Havana Brown is a breed of cat, resulted from persistent efforts to develop a completely brown cat breed. ... The Nebelung cat is a long-haired cat breed, bred to resemble the Russian Blue with a long coat. ...

During the early 1970s, a solid white Russian Blue (called the Russian White) was created by the Australian breeder, Mavis Jones, through the crossing of a Russian Blue with a domestic white cat.^[2] By the late 1970s, the Russian White and Russian Black colors were accepted by cat fanciers in Australia as Russian cats (in different classes). However, in North America, the Cat Fanciers Association, does not recognize either variations of the Russian Blue; only The International Cat Association recognize the Russian Whites and Russian Blacks but in the provisional classes. Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cat Fanciers Association is the worlds largest registry of pedigreed cats. ... The International Cat Association More commonly known as TICA is the worlds second-largest cat registry in North America. ...

Physical characteristics

The Russian Blue has a lean medium-sized body and a short, plush, blue-grey coat. The color is a bluish-grey that is the dilute expression of the black gene. The coat is known as a "double coat," with the undercoat being soft, downy, and and equal in length to the guard hairs, which are an even blue with silver tips. Only Russian Blues and the French Chartreux have this type of coat, which is described as thick and wonderfully soft to the touch. The silver tips give the coat a shimmering appearance. Its eyes are almost always a dark and vivid green. Any white patches or yellow eyes in adulthood are seen as faults in show cats. Coat, or the nature and quality of a show mammals pelage, is an important conformation point in the hobby of animal fancy. ... Down hairs, also called the undercoat or ground hairs, are the very fine, fluffy hairs closest to the skin on some mammals. ... Guard hairs are the longest, thickest hairs in a mammals coat, forming the topcoat (or outer coat). ...

Russian Blues should not be confused with British Blues (which are not a distinct breed but rather a British Shorthair with a blue coat), nor the Chartreux or Korat which are two other naturally occurring breeds of blue cats, although they have similar traits. The British Shorthair is a domesticated cat that is said to resemble a teddy bear. ... The Chartreux is an internationally recognized breed of domestic cat from France. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Behavioral characteristics

The Russian Blue is known for being very intelligent and active animals. They have been known to open doors/windows, play fetch, and are sensitive to basic human emotions. They enjoy playing with a variety of toys and develop extremely loyal bonds to their loved ones. The Russian Blue is also known for getting along very well with other pets and children in a household. They are known also for being quiet and clean animals that are normally shy around strangers, unless they are brought up in a very active household. The males are known to be more active and outgoing than the females according to many breeders.

Hypoallergenic?

Anecdotally, the Russian Blue has been said, by breeders and others, to be hypoallergenic.^[3][4] However, no cat is absolutely or completely nonallergenic.^[5] The hypoallergenic qualities of the Russian Blue are ascribed to its very fine undercoat and relatively light shedding.^{[citation needed]} Anecdotal evidence is an informal account of evidence in the form of an anecdote, or hearsay. ... Look up hypoallergenic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also: Cat_allergy#Hypoallergenic_cats

Cat allergy in humans is an allergic reaction to cat glycoprotein Fel d 1 secreted by the cats sebaceous glands. ...

References and Sources

This article or section, while providing some complete reference citations, includes a list of references or external links, and its verifiability remains partly unclear because it has insufficient in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

• CFA Breed Profile
• FAQ's about the Breed

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Dorling Kindersley (DK) is an international publishing company specialising in reference books for adults and children. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 333rd day of the year (334th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 334th day of the year (335th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 334th day of the year (335th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

Russian White, Black and Tabby

External links

• Breed profile at Cat Fanciers' Association
  • Breed article by Peg Johnson