The Russian Blue in breed portrait

The Russian Blue originated in the far north of Russia, near the Arctic Circle, before arriving in Great Britain via Russian merchant ships at the end of the 19th century. At that time, they were still known as "Russian Short Hair" or "Blue Foreign". They were not only popular as cats at the Russian Tsar's court, they were also allowed to keep the English aristocracy company as fluffy companions. They were recognised as a separate breed in 1937.
After the Second World War, the breed was threatened with extinction, but breeders succeeded in preserving the breed by crossbreeding with European Shorthairs, British Shorthairs and Siamese cats.

The crossbreeding is decisive for the current appearance of the Russian Blue. The wedge-shaped head, the distinctive whisker pad and the emerald green eye colour give the Russian Blue its unique appearance. The silver shimmer created by the colourless hair tips of the topcoat is unique to this breed. The blue-grey coat of these velvet paws feels particularly dense and fluffy. White and black coat colours have not yet been recognised by all breeding associations.

Cats of this breed are divided into three lines:

• The English type is strong, has a medium blue coat colour, a narrow, vertical ear position and a medium temperament.

• The Siberian-Scandinavian type is characterised by its small and elegant body, has a dark coat (almost anthracite), wide-set ears and is considered to be very shy.

• The American type is medium-sized, has a distinctly lighter coat colour, very wide-set ears (equilateral triangle head shape) and is sociable.

The Russian Blue is initially considered to be rather shy and does not cope well with hustle and bustle. However, once a bond has been formed with this cat, it is very close. However, they choose their people very carefully. Russian blues are very cautious and careful when exploring their surroundings. They are also incredibly intelligent and have no problem opening (cupboard) doors. If something is wrong, the otherwise rather quiet Russian Blue will make itself known loudly and draw attention to it. When she wants something, she can be very clingy until she gets her way.

Keeping a Russian Blue as an outdoor cat is a rarity. Their calm and sensitive disposition makes them an ideal cat to keep indoors: these velvet paws are happy to live in a flat with plenty of climbing and retreat options and perhaps a secure balcony. Nevertheless, as a pet cat it wants to be challenged and experience a challenge in play. Adequate activity with intelligence toys or clicker training should therefore definitely be provided.

As a shorthair cat, the Russian Blue has a very special coat: the top coat and undercoat are the same length. The double coat means that this cat breed hardly sheds any hair, making it a very popular breed for allergy sufferers. The Russian Blue needs little help with grooming. Nevertheless, you should regularly get out the brush so that you can form a bond with the animal and devote yourself to grooming together.

Unlike the breeding of many other cats, the Russian Blue is a natural breed that was not bred for its appearance. It is therefore very robust and less susceptible to disease. However, the gene pool of this cat breed is relatively small, which can make inbreeding a problem.

"For us personally, the Russian Blue breed was love at first sight. We immediately fell in love with the noble look. The character described above made the package perfect for us and a little later Milo and Juri moved in with us, and we don't regret a second of it!"

Character of Milo and Juri

"At the beginning, the two were more than full of energy. They romped around, played, ate a bit and fell asleep cuddling together before it started all over again. Only now that they are a little over a year old have they become much calmer and seek us out more often for cuddles. They find strangers incredibly interesting. Although they don't necessarily let everyone touch them straight away, they only really crawl under the bed when a dog comes into the flat. Their bond with us humans is very intense. They don't have a clear favourite, but they do differentiate exactly who they want to be stroked by at that moment, which they then demand loudly. If there are no strangers around, they are rather talkative, contrary to the usual breed description, and demand food, activity or cuddles. They allow themselves to be touched everywhere and are also very relaxed in your arms. They have never shown any form of aggression towards humans. Even when playing, they are very careful not to catch our hand."

Our tip: Additional info: Never let your kitten play with your hands. It may be cute at first, but once they've grown up and learnt that hands are potential prey, it can become very uncomfortable.

Living together with Milo and Juri

"They are incredibly careful in the home and even leave the decorations in place. However, they quickly get bored and if you don't keep them sufficiently occupied, they quickly start doing forbidden things to get attention. Anyone who is looking for a very intelligent, small indoor cat, and possibly also suffers from a cat hair allergy, should consider the Russian Blue. It is always advisable to take two kittens from one litter so that there is always a conspecific around and boredom does not arise so quickly. For someone who leads a structured life and has enough time to spend with the Russian Blue, I can only warmly recommend this breed."

_In collaboration with Marie from @milo.and.juri