Wychwood Russian Blue Cats

The Russian Blue Cat

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The Russian Blue cat is of foreign body type, which is lithe and slender. They have small oval paws and are fine-boned, with an athletic musculature. Their heads are a modified wedge-shape, made of seven flat planes, and the corners of their mouths are turned upwards in a secret smile. Their ears are almost as wide at base as tall, and although they appear pointed, they are slightly rounded at the tip. We strive to breed true to the TICA standard, which states that the ears should be set as much on top of the head as to the side, as we feel that this gives our cats a very natural appearance. The TICA standard also calls for green, rather large, round eyes with just a hint of oval, oriental slant to them. Perfect eye colour is one of the goals that we have set ourselves, along with excellent colour and coat.

It is worth spending some time describing the coat of the Russian Blue cat, since this is the most defining feature of this natural breed. It is easy to believe that these cats were bred for their fur, many years ago in Russia and the cold Northern countries. Nothing compares to the extraordinary double coat of the Russian Blue cat. Unlike other short-haired cats, which they clearly resemble at first glance, the fur of the Russian is plush, and so thick, that it is quite possible to draw patterns into it with an idle finger, and for these to remain until smoothed out. The colour is a clear, medium blue throughout, but with distinctive ‘silver tipping’ to the guard-hairs, which gives them a frosted, silvery sheen, and makes them appear lighter in colour.

In character, the Russian Blue cat is gentle and affectionate, and they retain their kittenish behaviour throughout their lives, and enjoy playing games of fetch. They are softly spoken and will adapt well to family life, as they are soft with children, but will also amuse themselves until their family returns home at the end of the day. Often it is said that the Russian Blue is a cat for cat lovers, who will enjoy their independent natures, and their joy in perching on the highest surface they can find in the house, all the better to survey their domain! All cats will have their own characters and personality traits, but here at Wychwood Russian Blue Cats, we have taken extreme care to obtain the very best of lines in our queens and studs, so that they produce healthy, well-adjusted, joyful kittens.

Our foundation queen, Malevitch Fancy Face Freja is a careful blend of winning, Danish and European lines, as is our first stud, Malevitch Rain in Blue. Between them, they have produced our first litter of sparkling kittens. Our second litter was sired by Katzenhof Kosmos, who is from Finland, of Finnish, Canadian, American and French lines. Our own home bred princess-in-waiting: Wychwood Belaya, combines the lines of Freja and Kosmos. We are passionate about blending compatible Russian Blue lineages from around the world, to create well-balanced cats of distinction and character, who will also benefit from genetic diversity and vibrant good health. Indeed, Russian Blue cats are reported to live well into their teens without any more medical care-needs than one would expect to provide any other cat of similar age, regardless of breed, including moggies. This may be due to the fact that the Russian Blue is one of the rarely occurring ‘natural’ cat breeds.