Meet the Siberian

We Siberians are as Russian as they come – and as ancient. Sometimes called Siberian Forest Cats or Norwegian Forest Cats, we’ve been around for about 1,000 years (and we’re still purrin’)! At heart, though, we’re hunters – in our earliest days, we helped shopkeepers, homeowners, and farmers keep rodents away from food and crops. (And we did a good job of it, too!) Thankfully, we were able to keep warm through the cold Russian winter because of our triple coats, which make us the fluffy and adorable kittens we are today.

Later, we retired to a life of luxury, becoming furbulous domestic cats for all pet owners – but not before we had our moment at cat shows in both England and New York in the 19th century. And as previously mentioned, we also appeared in Russian folklore and fairytales, some particularly famous examples of which can be found in a book called “Our Cats and All About Them” by Harrison Weir. But we didn’t come to the United States as pets until 1990, and we weren’t recognized by the International Cat Association until 1996 (and other cat clubs recognized us even later). In other words, we’re old cats, but we’re still quite new to the U.S.A!

However, our playful and affectionate nature has landed us at the #18 spot on the Cat Fancier’s Association (CFA) breed popularity list. We’re easygoing and lovable, we like attention but don’t demand too much, and we love to play but aren’t bursting with energy. And, of course, we’re not too bad to look at – we have luscious, long-haired coats and beautiful round eyes in shades of green, gold, green-gold, and copper. (Some White Siberians even have blue eyes, or eyes that are two different colors!) The bottom line? Russia may be cold, but we’re not – and we can’t wait to warm up to our humans!