The Siberian, also known as Siberian forest cat or Moscow longhair, is from the very cold region of Siberia, Russia, where their thick, triple-coated coat definitely comes in handy. Despite their triple-coated coat, Siberians are hypoallergenic, because they have less Fel D1 in their saliva (which is a protein that causes allergic reactions,) and they shed less than other longhaired cat breeds.
Some believe that they traveled to the UK with Russian immigrants. They didn’t arrive in the US until the 1990s.
They mature very slowly, taking as long as five years (which is quite a long time for a feline.)
The breed is strong, agile, and gentle, which is how they got their nickname, “Gentle giants.”
Siberians’ hind legs are a little longer than their front legs, allowing them to jump higher than other domestic cats.
They have beautiful round eyes. The two most common colors are gold and green Some have two different colored eyes. Only the Neva Masquerade style Siberian can have blue eyes as adults. The Neva Masquerade is bred between a Siamese and a Siberian. The Neva Masquerade wasn’t recognized as an official breed, until 2011, by FIFe (Fédération Internatioale Féline.)
Males weigh from about 15-20 pounds, with females weighing only sightly less than males.
Siberians are very intelligent and are considered one of the easiest cat breeds to teach tricks.
The breed is fairly vocal, but not as much so as the Siamese, which is likely to be the most talkative domestic cat.
If a Siberian is introduced to water at a young age, seeing how they have water-resistant fur, they will enjoy baths and swimming.
Siberians are good with children, other cats, and dogs.
The most common solid colors for the breed are black, white, blue, orange and gray. They can be tabby, tortoiseshell, and colorpoint.
Thank you for reading! Have a great Thanksgiving!
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