The Siberian is a centuries-old landrace (natural variety) of domestic cat in Russia, and recently developed as a formal breed with standards promulgated the world over since the late-1980s. Since 2006, the breed is recognised for registry and championship status with all major cat registries.
The formal name of the breed is Siberian Forest Cat, but it is typically referred to as the Siberian or Siberian cat. Formerly, sometimes the names Moscow Semi-Longhair and Russian Longhair were also used. The colourpoint variant or sister breed, called the Neva Masquerade, is categorised as a separate cat breed by some registries, including FIFe, WCF, and ACF.
The breed developed from an ancient, natural landrace from Siberia, and is the national cat of Russia. While it began as a landrace, Siberians are selectively-bred and pedigreed in all major cat fancier and breeder organisations. This means that all Siberian cats are purebred cats with a formally registered ancestry. It is a medium- to large-sized, muscular breed with a bushy tail.
The Siberian is often called hypoallergenic because it produces less Fel d 1 than other cat breeds. A research study of Siberian cats native to the area of Russia from which the breed stock originated confirmed the subjects produced less (the strongest among the eight known allergens produced in cat saliva, which is deposited on their fur when they groom themselves) than non-Siberian cats.
History
Siberian landrace cats are Russia's native forest cats and are known to have existed for a long time in the dense forests of Siberia, appearing in records of Slavic folktales, rural lore, and artwork dating back to the 10th century. It was long speculated by cat experts that the ancient breed was the distant ancestor of all modern-day long-haired breeds. However, phylogenetic studies showed that for example Maine Coon cats are descendants of British cats brought to New England by Puritan settlers. It is not relatedness that makes them look similar to the Siberian, but convergent evolution. These breeds all formed in harsh climates in which natural selection pressures for similar qualities. However, Siberians are genetically closely related to Norwegian Forest cats and the random-bred Northern European cat populations.
First introduction to the world Outside of Russia, the Siberian cat was first mentioned in the 1864 edition of the German book Brehms Tierleben, where Brehm describes a long-haired cat breed as "a red Tobolsk cat from Siberia" ().
Later in 1889 and 1892, the Siberian cat was again mentioned in the two editions of a book by Harrison Weir, who organised and wrote about some of the earliest cat shows in England in 1871. The Siberian cat is described in the book under its former name, the "Russian Long-haired Cat". However, in the preface of the 1892 edition, Weir also mentions a cat he refers to as a "Siberian Cat":
During this first introduction of the Siberian to the West, the cat was often still known as the "Russian Longhair". These cats were crossed with other popular long-haired breeds, and the separate identity was soon lost.
Second introduction to the world
Due to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a second wave of Siberian cats were introduced to the rest of the world and an officially acknowledged cat breed was developed. In 1987, a young male and female were taken from St. Petersburg to Berlin by a cat enthusiast, who started a serious breeding program with registration under the name 'Siberian Forest Cat' or 'Siberian Cat'. Since that success, there has been an increase in interest in the Siberian breed within Russia itself.
In the Russian cat fancy, each cat club devises its own cat standards. This fact led to much confusion in 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 breed standards was published by the Kotofei Cat Club in St. Petersburg in 1987 under the name Siberian cat (Russian: , or ).
Officially registered Siberians first arrived in the USA in 1990, and in the UK in 2002. During the early 1990s, it was expensive and difficult to locate and import Siberians from Eastern Europe. Therefore, inbreeding in registered purebred Siberians became common in certain regions after the breed's introduction. Because the breed is relatively new to registration and breed books are open, breeders are able to add foundation stock from Russia to the breed. This reduces the level of relatedness within the breed, and increases vigour in the breed. Although gaining in popularity since the 2020s, the expense of importing the cats from Eastern Europe, and the common breeder's practice of early neutering pedigree kittens, keeps the breed still relatively rare outside of Eastern Europe.
Breed registration
Registry Nowadays, all Siberian and Neva Masquerade cats are selectively bred and pedigreed in all major cat registries under the category 'Siberian (Forest) Cat', or in several registries under 'Neva Masquerade' for the colourpoint sister breed. Similar to other officially recognised cat breeds, the term "Siberian" is only meant to be used for cats from this specific breed, which are by definition all purebred cats with a known and formally registered ancestry, also known as the cat's pedigree "paperwork". The purpose of the registry of Siberian cats is to develop and maintain a healthy cat breed by controlling inbreeding and the spread of hereditary diseases, and regulating the well-being of the cats. Unregistered cats with a similar appearance as the Siberian cat are referred to as domestic long-haired cats.
Each of the (inter)national cat registries applies breed standards, which cover a description of the ideal characteristics specific to the Siberian breed. In general, Siberian kittens will grow up to be a representative of this ideal breed standard in both looks and character. Consequently, these breed standards represent the phenotype of the Siberian breed and may include criteria of physical and morphological appearance, genetics, and of athletic or productive performance. In cat shows, Siberian cats will be compared with and judged after these breed standards based on a point system. Faults or disqualifications are given to show cats with medical disorders, uncharacteristic traits, or cats that lack in well-being and proper care from their owners.
Recognition After its introduction worldwide in the late-1980s, it took nearly two decades for the breed to be accepted for registry and championship status with all major international cat registries in 2006. In 1991, the WCF was the first international registry to admit a breed standard of the Siberian, based on the Russian standard. TICA accepted the breed into their 'New Breed program' in 1992, and in 1996 granted them championship status. In 1997, the breed was recognised by FIFe, and since 2011 the Neva Masquerade officially split off as a separate breed. The Siberian was accepted for registration (under 'Miscellaneous') by CFA in 2000, and advanced to championship status in 2006. The GCCF has recognised the breed for registry since 2004.
Popularity Even though the Siberian was introduced outside Russia in the late-1980s, it wasn't until the mid-2010s that the Siberian breed started to gain in popularity. Especially at the beginning of the 2020s, the popularity of the Siberian rapidly increased worldwide. As a result, the Siberian cat has secured a place among the top 10 most popular breeds in various cat registries, now representing approximately 0–5% of all pedigree cats worldwide, and is particularly popular in Europe.
Description
Appearance
Body Known to be an exceptionally agile jumper, the Siberian is a strong and powerfully-built cat, with strong hindquarters and large, well-rounded paws. Although heavy boned, the legs are relatively short. Their bushy tail is medium in length and slightly shorter than the torso length. Their body lengths varies in size from medium to large. Siberians have firm, barrel-shaped torsos, and stockier builds than other cats. The general impression of the body is one of circles and roundness. The posture can be compared with the characteristic wide and sturdy stance of a bulldog.
Siberians have a slight arch to their back, because their hind legs are slightly longer than the front legs. This shape and the power in their hind legs contribute to their incredible agility and enable them to jump exceptionally high.
Siberians develop rather slowly, reaching their fully matured body at about five years of age. Female Siberians are considerably smaller than males. Full-grown adults weigh on average between 4,5–9kg.
Face The characteristic round shapes are also clearly visible in the facial features of the Siberian. Their round face consists of a broad forehead at the top of their skull and narrows slightly to a full-rounded, short muzzle. The eyes are large and round, and give an overall sweet expression to their face. The outer corners are slightly angled towards the base of their ears. Their medium-sized ears are broad at the base and rounded at the tip. They are slightly tilted forwards and should be set as much on the sides of the head as on top, preferably one to one and one half ear width apart. Lynx ear tipping is allowed.
Coat Siberians express the three natural types of feline fur: guard hair, awn hair, and down hair. These three layers form a semi-long to long, well-developed, very dense triple-coat, of which the guard hairs are water-repellent. This unique dense triple-coat protects the cat from the Russian weather extremes. The thick fur is textured but glossy, and needs frequent grooming to prevent matting. The summer coat is distinctly shorter than the winter coat. Because the Siberians are a slow-maturing breed, it can take several years for the coat of young Siberians to fully develop.
Siberian cats moult twice a year. They will shed their heavy winter coat during spring. This winter moult is instigated not by a change in temperature but by a change in day length. Many Siberians will experience a less intense "mini-moult" at the end of the summer season to prepare for their thick winter coat, unlike other cats, which will experience a "heavy moult" more than twice a year. However, they will still lose fur year-round and require grooming multiple times a week in order to prevent their dense triple-coat from matting.
Colouration
All Western coat colours and patterns are genetically possible in the breed, such as tabby, solid, tortoiseshell, and bicolour. However, the most common colour in the Siberian cat breed is black (brown) mackerel tabby. The Western coat colours are white, black, blue, red, and cream. All major registries do not permit the Eastern colour varieties of chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, and fawn in the Siberian breed. The allowance for the dilution modified caramel and apricot depends on the registry.
All colourations are allowed with any amount of white spotting. Furthermore, all colourations can be combined with the golden and silver (incl. smoke) factors, which are allowed in 'tabby', 'tipped,' and 'shaded' banding. In Siberians the golden colouration is caused by the CORIN-gene. This golden colour is called 'sunshine', and the silver-golden variety is called 'bimetallic' or 'silver sunshine'. The gene is located on the wide band locus, and the responsible allele is only found in the Siberian breed. The two other identified alleles on this wide band locus are responsible for the golden coats in golden tigers and British Shorthairs.
The Eastern colourpoint pattern is found in the Neva Masquerade, and is non-permitted in registries where the breed is separately registered. In the combined registries, the Neva Masquerade cats are judged separately in the colourpoint-category.
Solid-white