About the breed
A bit of history
Siberian cat is a national treasure of Russia – and with good reason!
It’s hard to say just how long Siberian cats have existed in Russia, but based on Russian fairy tales and children’s books, they have likely been around for hundreds of years and maybe as long as 1,000 years.
Siberians are cuddly, affectionate and perfect in every way. Their dog-like temperament means they’ll always want to be with you and ‘help out’ whenever they can. Be prepared to have a chirping shadow following you around the house if you decide to get a Sib. They will supervise you while you make dinner or take a shower. They love to cuddle and remain playful for their whole lives.
Quick overview
- Weight: 4 to 8 kilograms
- Length: 17 to 25 inches
- Coat: Moderately long to longhaired triple coat with a full collar ruff. Top coat should be quite coarse with soft undercoat
- Coat colour: Any colour combination or pattern you can think of. There is also a separate strain of Siberians called Neva Masquerade (recognised as a separate breed by Fife, though can be bred with traditional Siberians; TICA on the other hand still sees Nevas as Siberian cats) which are colour point.
- Eye colour: Yellow, green and, occasionally, even blue
- Life Expectancy: 10 to 18 years
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Health: Siberians are one of the primitive breeds, which means that their development was not much influenced by people. They are very active and athletic, and generally very healthy so you don’t have to expect problems.
There are two conditions that do affect the breed though:- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency
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Hypoallergenic?
By definition hypo in scientific terms mean ‘less than’. By this definition Siberians are hypoallergenic. Most allergies humans experience when in the presence of cats are due to a Glycoprotein known as FEL D1 found in cat dander. This protein is present in all cats, however, it is found at substantially lower levels in Siberian cats. At Silva Carus we are happy for anyone wanting to check if they’re allergic to visit and spend some time with the cats. We can also send you fur samples which provide a good indication whether a Siberian could be for you.
