| Overview |
These gentle, friendly, loyal cats from northern Russia are good with kids and adjust well to other pets. They love to climb, so provide ample opportunity for them to explore high places.
Some purr magnificently, endearing themselves to their owners.
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| Appearance |
Siberians are large cats that give the appearance of strength and power. A rounded body shape differentiates the breed from the boxier Norwegian Forest Cat and the Maine Coon. The yellow-green eyes are large, round, and wide-set, the ears large and wide with rounded tips.
Siberians have a short, dense undercoat and a moderately long outercoat enhanced by a neck ruff. They exhibit many coat colors and patterns; brown tabbies are the most popular.
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| Origins |
Siberians lived unobtrusively in their northern homeland for centuries; Russian cat fanciers have only recently dedicated themselves to this gentle breed.
These cats have not been unknown to Westerners, however; Siberians competed in early-19th-century cat shows in England, but they could not vie with the ever-popular Persians, and promotion of the breed subsided.
Following the renewed interest of European cat associations in the 1980s, breeders in Russia began to focus attention on their neglected native cat, and a registry for Siberian cats was formed in St. Petersburg. In 1990, the first Siberians were imported to the United States, where they have since become a small but growing presence.
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