discover the siberian cat... a wonderful experience!

The Siberian, Russia's native forest cat, first appeared in recorded history around the year 1000 and hails from the unforgiving climate of Siberia. It lived about 200 years in a natural state, in the cold Siberia. He is a pure cat with no human intervention. Siberians are considered one of the largest domestic feline because of it's large and dense bone structure. Its coat is semi-long haired and comes in many colors and color patterns. Because of the extreme cold, the Siberian has developped superior surviving qualities such as thicker skin, water resistant fur dense and longer.

The first official pedigree was established in Russia by the Kotefei in 1987. It came to the USA in the early 1990's by Starpoint Cattery and in Europe, same year, by the Newjskij Cattery in Germany. The Siberian Cat is recognized by many associations such as: TICA (The International Cat Association - 1998), the CCA, (Canadian Cat Association, FIFE (Fédération Internationale Féline d’Europe - 1997), CFA (Cat Fancier's Association - 2000), WCF (World Cat Federation) and the ACFA (American Cat Fanciers Association). Despite its popularity in Europe and its stunning characteristics, the Siberian is not well-known in North America and even less in Canada.

The breed is extremely slow to mature taking as long as 5 years. Adult males (12-15 pounds) are usually larger than the females (8-11 pounds) and allowances should be made for a size differential between males, females and young juveniles. No outside breeding is allowed.

to find out more about his personality

hypo-allergenic properties

Are you allergic to cats? Do you sneeze and wheeze? Do your eyes water around cats? The Siberian may be just the breed for you. Many long time allergy suffers have been very successful with the Siberian. Although it is not going to work for all allergy sufferers it has worked for many. It is working about 90 % of the time.

Many breeders claim that people with cat allergies can tolerate Siberians. Various reasons are given for this, the most popular being that Siberians produce little or none of the allergenic protein Fel D1. This protein, which causes allergic reactions in humans, is secreted via saliva and sebaceous glands and is spread onto the fur during grooming. Also, the dander produced by these cat's (FEL D1) is measurably less than that produced by most domestic cats and is considered to be hypo-allergenic.

The fact that a cat does not have fur (like the Sphynx) or has very short hair (like the Devon Rex) has nothing to do with reducing allergies because the protein is not produced in the hair but in the saliva. So far more people with cat allergies can tolerate the Siberian cat quite well as proven through hundreds of testimonials. However, little testing has been done to confirm this so it would be unwise to buy a Siberian solely on the basis of these claims. There is no scientific data available supporting this and also none that can disprove this either.

However, in order to know if the Siberian produced less Fel D1 than other cats, some laboraty tests were done in the US (Linda Tartof (member of TAIGA). She sent different samples of fur from different cats, different sex, pure or domestic. Results were conclusive and scientifics noticed that the Siberian has very low protein Fel D1. Also, the rate is modified if the cat is neutralized or if it is a male or a female. On the other hand, no conclusion has been achieved regarding colors.

Don't forget that you may be allergic to one Siberian and not another. Breeders have had experiences where allergy sufferers have not been allergic to a kitten but reacted to this kitten's mother. Is color a factor? Some breeders say yes and some say no. Is sex a contributing factor? Again some say yes and some say no. It all comes down to YOU and the individual cat/kitten near you at the time.

BUT DON'T FORGET THAT NO CAT IS TOTALLY HYPO-ALLERGENIC. WE CANNOT GARANTEE THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY ALLERGIES OR REACTIONS TO OUR CATS.

It is strongly advised that you see your doctor before purchasing a Siberian Cat or any other animal.

Update: October 28th, 2009