What
Makes That Cat A Russian Blue?
“That
looks just like my cat Smoky! He must be a Russian Blue too!”
Russian
Blue breeders all over the country have surely heard this at almost
any show that they go to, just as Siamese (and Colorpoint Shorthair
and Birman, and Himilayan) breeders hear it in reference to point
restricted cats, and other breeders about their breeds.
People
have a natural tendency to want to categorize things, to be able
to name the group to which something belongs. And so it is with
cats. We all want to be able to place a breed name on our favorite
companion. But the truth is that the vast majority of cats in
the United States are random-bred (often referred to as domestic)
cats belonging to no breed whatsoever. This does not mean that
is it a lesser cat, but that it simply is not a member of a defined
breed.
To
the untrained eye, a blue cat might appear to look the same as
a Russian Blue with an 8-generation pedigree behind it. How then
to determine what distinguishes a Russian Blue from Another Blue
Cat. These differences fall into two main areas: Appearance and
Genetic Background.
Appearance
The
Russian Blue has a very distinct appearance and several unique
identifiers. The easier identifiers are:
·
Green eyes (not yellow, blue, or orange but a dark bottle green)
·
Solid blue all over with just the tips of the guard hairs being
silver and producing a shimmering effect. Domestic blue cats will
lack this tipping and be a flat blue. There are no white or other
color markings whatsoever, except for the occasional white locket
on the throat (considered a disqualifiable fault)
·
A thick double coat. The first coat consists of the longer
guard hairs. The second is the undercoat, which is very soft and
gives the Russian Blue coat its unique feel. Looked at closely,
these fine hairs appear wavy
·
Mauve footpads. Most domestic blue cats have slate gray
pads
For
more additional characteristics such as body structure, profile,
ear placement, please see the Russian Blue breed standards at:
The
Cat Fanciers' Association Russian Blue Breed Standard
RussianBlue.net's
Description of the Russian Blue
Genetic
Background
The
breed that we know as the Russian Blue did not spring into existence
from the pairing of a couple of other-colored cats. It is a natural
breed, which other breeders then took and selectively refined
and defined its distinguishing traits. But they did this using
known Russian Blues only (excepting the brief instance after World
War II when blue-point Siamese were used as outcrosses to increase
the then decimated genetic ranks). By this selectiveness the breed
as a whole has a consistent look to it. The mating of two Russian
Blues will always produce another blue genetic copy of themselves.
The exception to this is the occasional “pointed’
Russian Blue which is the result of a recessive gene going back
to that brief Siamese outcross over 50 years ago.
Domestic
blues cannot reproduce themselves with this genetic accuracy.
It is entirely possible (and indeed, probable) that that same
random bred blue had littermates and parents who were not solid
blue and will not produce solely blue kittens when mated with
another blue cat.
“So
how can I determine if my cat is a Russian Blue?” one would
ask. The only sure method is via its pedigree – that piece
of paper that documents the cat’s heritage back several
generations and shows that all her forebears were also Russian
Blues. There are the occasional occurrences where the undocumented
cat is indeed a Russian Blue, but these “findings”
are usually the result of a pedigreed pet ending up in a pet store
without its papers or a pedigreed pet becoming separated from
her original owner (either given away or she got out and got lost).
An experienced eye might be able to declare it a Russian in that
case. But most blue cats simply found on the street are not Russian
Blues.
Does
this mean that they are any less valuable a companion than a purebred
Russian Blue? Of course not. It simply means that she does not
have the documentation certifying her origins back for generations.
She still has her place on your lap and in your heart.
Originally
written by Teresa Keiger and Ingeborg Urcia
for The
Russian Blue Support Site
What's so bad about calling that blue cat a "Russian Blue rescue mix?" Read this article on a common myth.
