Siberian cat

Siberian
Other names	Siberian Forest Cat Moscow Semi-longhair Neva Masquerade (colourpoint variant)
Origin	Russia
Breed standards
CFA	standard
FIFe	standard
TICA	standard
WCF	standard
FFE	standard
AACE	standard
ACF	standard
ACFA/CAA	standard
Domestic cat (Felis catus)

The Siberian is a landrace variety of domestic cat, present in Russia for centuries, and more recently developed as a formal breed, with standards promulgated since the late 1980s.

They vary from medium to medium-large in size. A longer name of the formal breed is Siberian Forest Cat, but it is usually referred to as the Siberian or the Siberian cat. Another name for the formal breed is the Moscow Semi-Longhair. The cat is an ancient breed that is now believed to be ancestral to all modern long-haired cats. The cat has similarities with the Norwegian Forest Cat, to which it is likely closely related. It is a natural breed of Siberia and the national cat of Russia. While it began as a landrace, it is selectively bred and pedigreed today in at least seven major cat fancier and breeder organisations. The colorpoint variant of the breed is called the Neva Masquerade by some registries, including Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé).

There are claims that it is hypoallergenic and produces less Fel d1 than other cat breeds.

The cat was first mentioned in a book by Harrison Wier, which included information of the earliest cat shows in England in 1871. Siberians first arrived in the United States in 1990. Although gaining in popularity, the expense of importing the cats from Russia keeps the breed relatively rare outside of Europe.

In the Russian cat fancy, each cat club devises its own cat standards. This fact led to much confusion in the US and other countries when the first Siberians were arriving and many appeared quite different from each other, depending on what area of Russia they originated from. One of the earliest written Siberian standards was publicized by the Kotofei Cat Club in St. Petersburg in 1987.

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Wikipedia