Nebelung
| Nebelung | |
|---|---|
Nebelung male
|
|
| Other names | Longhaired Russian Blue |
| Origin | United States |
| Breed standards | |
| TICA | standard |
| ACFA/CAA | standard |
| Other | WCF |
| Domestic cat (Felis catus) | |
The Nebelung is a rare breed of domestic cat. It means "creature of the mist" in German. Nebelungs have long bodies, wide-set green eyes, long and dense fur, and mild dispositions. The name Nebelung — apparently a portmanteau of the German word Nebel ('mist' or 'fog'), and the name of a medieval Germanic saga, Nibelungenlied — is perhaps derived from the cat's distinctive silky blue-grey coat and from the breed's , who were named after the two major figures in the Nibelungenlied, the German warrior Siegfried and the Icelandic queen Brunhilde.
The American foundation of this cat breed was laid by the cats Siegfried (1984) and Brunhilde (1985). Cora Cobb, the owner of Siegfried and Brunhilde, was very impressed by the beauty of her blue-grey cats. Siegfried and Brunhilde looked like a Russian Blue but with a semi-long coat. To find out if it was possible to start a new breed with these cats, Cora got in touch with the geneticist of the American Cat Association. This geneticist, Solveig Pfleuger, said that the breed was best defined as semi-long haired Russian Blue. Supported by Pfleuger, Cobb wrote the breeding standard according to the blue Russian, but with a difference: its coat length.
Russian Blue breeders from The International Cat Association (TICA), however, objected to this, and the breed standard was thus revised to describe a unique breed, resembling blue-grey cats that had been imported from Russia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
TICA was the first association to recognize the Nebelung and provides the breed standard. The goal of the Nebelung breeding program is to produce a blue cat with the same type as those early Russian imports and to combine this type with a thick shimmering coat of medium length. The body and tail are long, the ears large in proportion to the head, and the eyes range in color from yellowish green to green. Size is medium and the body well-muscled. The coat is medium long on the body and longer on the tail, with lighter colored guard hairs. The overall appearance is long, sturdy and well muscled.
The Nebelung is a rather new breed, with breeders in America, Canada, Russia, and Europe. In addition to TICA, the Nebelung is recognized by the American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA), the World Cat Federation (WCF), Livre Officiel des Origines Félines (LOOF), and independent cat associations in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. The breed's availability is still rather limited.
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Wikipedia