Russian Blue Kitten Breed

The Russian Blue seems to be a breed that has developed naturally, not one created by breeders in search of a particular look. It may even be the Archangel Cat, a type which English sailors are said to have taken home from Russia in the sixteenth century, though in the seventeenth century blue cats were called Maltese, a name by which they were also known in the USA. In Britain, in the early days of the Cat Fancy, cats called Russian, Spanish, Maltese and Archangel were shown alongside the British Blue but in 1912 the Russian (or Foreign as it was then called) gained a separate class. After World War Two the stock in Britain was so low that Siamese blood was intro-diced and for a time the British standard required a Siamese type but on both sides of the Atlantic a Siamese-looking cat would now be undesirable. American and British GCCF standards still require different eye shapes, with blue nose leather and paw pads in Britain, slate grey and lavender pink in the USA, and a lighter shade of coat preferred in the USA too. The double coat with its silver sheen is particular to the breed. In Britain Russian White and Russian Black varieties have been developed to identical standards, except for coat color.

Long and graceful in outline and carriage with long legs and small oval feet; the tailing and tapering, neither blunt ended nor whip-like.

A smooth short wedge with a flat appearance between theirs; forehead and nose are straight in profile, meeting atman angle with the upper edge of the eye with no nose breaker stop; whisker pads are prominent, ears large, pointed, and wide at their base and set vertically and well apart.

Vivid green and set wide apart, almond-shaped under GCCF standards, but the Cask for round eyes.

Double, soft, thick and very fine; it stands up very soft and silky, different in texture fro many other breed.

An even bright blue throughout; a medium shade is preferred by the GCCF, lighter shades by the CM. Silver tipping to the guard hairs gives the special sheen.