 An
ancient long-haired breed now popular in the United States is far
from new to the Asian continent and Europe. This breed was
thought to be a combination of all modern long-haired cats including
both the Angora and the Persian. The Siberian Forest Cat is
sometimes referred to as simply the "Siberian Cat" or the
"Siberia". In Germany it is known as the "Sibirische
Katze". Siberians were common cats roaming the Russian
markets and the countryside of their homeland of Siberia.
Russian immigrants were said to have carried this breed with them as
they journeyed to cold Moscow and St. Petersburg leaving the cold
inhospitable climate of the North. The breed continued to
survive the harsh winters and climate and developed a thick fur and
waterproof, oily coat. During this time no one bothered to
develop the Siberian into a pedigreed cat. Russia did not
allow citizens to own any kind of household pet, pedigreed or
otherwise, because of the food shortage.
My
first introduction to this magnificent cat was via Russian judge
Yanina Melnikova who was visiting our country in July 2001. Whilst
sharing a meal with her she showed us some photographs depicting how
shows were done in her country and amongst her photos she proceeded
to show me several photos of the most beautiful Siberian’s, and
that was it I was hooked the more I looked at them the more I
was impressed, I don’t think I had ever seen anything so pretty.
We discussed the breed for quite a while and I have to admit I was
so impressed to learn that this was a strong healthy breed that
appears to have no known genetic problems that we see in some of the
other breeds.
So
off I went to the web to find out where I could get a Siberian, but
to my dismay we were not even allowed to import from the originating
country of Russia. Australia does not allow any imports from Russia,
we have no provision to import from there to date.
So I then turned to the
United States and Europe I was so impressed with the cats I saw on
different sites in the U.S. that I decided that this was where I
would go. To import to here from the U.S. the procedure is long 150
days quarantine in the country of birth, and then another 30 days
once they arrive here. My closest port in the country is
Sydney over 1000 kilometers away, I will be able to visit and
get to see them once they arrive and then will fly to
collect them when they are due to come home.
Along the
way to trying to find my new cats I came across several breeders who
were of great assistance to me and ended up with accepting an
offer of a beautiful black silver tabby male who we have named
Sibano Czar of the Rings.
The
next Siberian breeder I happened to meet was Judy Chappetta, who
happened to be here judging at a show in our country. I
arranged to meet with her when we went to the U.S. in July this
year. When we were there we found a tortie/tabby Van Cooncreole
Veronika and this was to be my first mate for Sibano Czar of the
Ring.
Being
a new breed into our country I realised that I needed a gene pool as
quickly as possible and so once again Jonathan and Kris came to my
rescue. They have so kindly entrusted to me, Katusha of Sibano (Tink),
a young adult girl of theirs that has been a great Mum for them. So
we are hoping she will be carrying the foundation stock with her
when she leaves the country in February 2003. Without the assistance
of Jonathan and Kristine Hirst I would have been quite a way off
being able to get this breed off to the ground here in Australia and
for their assistance and genuine interest in establishing the breed
here in Australia, I am most grateful.
We
can now add to this that both Veronika and Tink are in kitten and
our very first Siberians will be born in this country in the
beginning of April, this will be such an exciting time for us here.
So from 2001 to 2003 we have finally accomplished what I thought was
going to be a simple procedure and they are here to join me in my
dream of owning one of these cat s and instead of one I have three!
triple the fun.
I
hope that 2003 will be an exciting time for us here, and we will
look forward to promoting this wonderful breed as much as we can. To
have the breed recognised here with our cat controls is my next
major step. I hope that within the next year that this will be able
to be done and the Siberian will put its paw print up there with the
rest of the breeds we now see here in our country.
What
Is a Siberian Cat?
The
Siberian is a large, strong cat, which can take up to five years to
mature. The females being smaller than the males as in all breeds.
They are noted for being very agile and can leap great distances.
Their muscles are outstanding and powerful. The back is long and
very slightly curved but appears horizontal in motion. The compact
rounded belly develops with age. The hind-leg of the Siberian is
slightly longer than the front legs, with large and powerful firm
rounded paws. The overall appearance should be a cat of great
strength and size with an excellent physical tone. The facial
expression is alert but sweet. The general impression of the cat is
one of circles and roundness rather than angular as in some of the
other breeds.
The
head of the Siberian is a modified wedge of medium size with rounded
contours broader at the skull and narrowing slightly to a full
rounded muzzle with well-rounded chin. The cheek bones are neither
high set or prominent there should be a good distance between the
ears and the eyes. The forehead being flat and the nose has a slight
curvature before the tip the neck is medium in length and round and
well muscled.
The
tail of the Siberian is medium in length wide at the base with a
blunt tip and the end which is evenly and thickly covered with fur
from the base of the tail to the tip of the tail.
The
ears on the Siberian are medium to large wide and set as much on the
sides of the head as on the top the tips are rounded and the ear
tilts forward.
The
eyes of the Siberian are large almost round eyes set wide apart with
the outer corner slightly angled toward the base of the ear. There
is no relationship of eye colour to coat colour however the typical
colour seen is yellow- green.
The
coat is the Siberians crowning glory, this is a moderately to long
haired coat with the fur on the lower chest and shoulder blades
being slightly shorter. There should be an abundant ruff around the
neck setting off the large impressive head. There is a tight
undercoat, which becomes thicker in colder weather. The coat gives
the impression of lacquer and oil when un-groomed. The hair may
thicken and curl on the belly and britches, but this is not a
feature of the cat. The skin may also appear to have a bluish cast.
Clear strong colours and patterns are desirable but are secondary to
type.
Colour
varieties of the Siberian vary and all colours are genetically
possible, such as tabby, solid colours tortoiseshell colours and
colour point varieties.
There
is some depute as to the origins of the colour points in the breed
but as long as records have been kept in Russia colour points have
been noted to have been produced. The Russian believe that the feral
pointed cats mated with the other colours along the Neva River
region in Leningrad (which is now named St Petersburg) in the
1960’s.Soon Russian breeders were including this pattern into
their breeding programs and created the nick name for them
“Neva-Masquerade”. Neva for the river, and masquerade, for the
mask. These are not a separate class of the Siberian but another
colour. Some countries still do not accept the colour pointed
version in the breed acceptance standard. No outcrosses are
permitted for this breed.
Personality
Plus. The Siberian has a very dog like temperament and are very
affectionate. They come out to great the visitors in the house and
are not shy. They are very intelligent and very quick learners. They
also have a triple purr and unlike other breeds have a chirping
sound they use when they come to greet you. When they are around
water they appear to be fascinated with it and will drop toys into
it and play in sinks with water left in. The Siberian makes the
ideal lap cat and will live quite happily indoors with you.
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