Personality
The typical Siberian loves people and wants to be near them, so expect this affectionate breed to follow you around (dog lovers usually have a great appreciation for this breed of cat). Often times your Siberian cat will be eager to tell you about their day with a variety of pleasant trills and chirps with some meows and purrs included.
Siberians are also very active, playful, and agile. Their powerful rear legs allow them to jump to surprising heights with ease and grace, while the flying feather toy will get them showing off their acrobatic abilities!
Their nature is generally also very calm and easy going, which gives them the potential to be a therapy cat. And although your Siberian loves attention, they are generally not needy, and will wait patiently until you are ready for him to sit on your lap while you pet and comb his fur.
History
The Siberian, Russia’s native Forest Cat, had first appeared in arround the year 1000. It was officially mentioned in an 1892 book by Harrison Weir, “Our Cats and All About Them – 1892 edition”, who organized and wrote about some of the earliest cat shows in England.
Siberians first arrived in the United States in 1990. By 2006 the Siberian had become an officially recognized breed by many North American cat associations.
Size
The Siberian cat is a medium – medium large size with surprising weight for it’s size. The overall appearance should be one of strength, presence, and alertness with a sweet facial expression.
Siberians are a slow maturing breed, and can take up to 5 years before they fully mature.
Health
Both pedgireed cats and mixed-breed cats have varying incidences of health problems that may be genetic in nature. Siberians are generally a healthy breed. Responsible breeders will test for known health issues (HCM – Hypertropic cardiomyopathy, PKD – Polycystic kidney disease, and Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency) as well as for infectious diseases (Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and Feline leukemia virus (FeLV).
