Does anyone have a Russian Blue cat??

[Jennxling]

Hey I was wondering if anyone on YT have a Russian Blue cat because I'm thinking of adopting one. I'm allergic to cats, but I read that they produce less of the F1 allergen so it's more tolerated by people who are allergic to cats. I see so many cats in shelters and I really want to adopt one...I found ELEVEN rescued Russian Blue kittens on petfinder and am interested in adopting one...However, before I do so, I want to make sure it's the right choice...so I would like to see if anyone have experience with Russian Blue cats.

1) Do they really not cause (less) allergy reaction?
2) Will my yorkie like/accept a kitten...?
3) Do they cost a lot to care for? Do they need the same things as dogs, such as hartgard, frontline, etc.?

I have never owned a cat before...so I have no idea what owning a cat is like...

[Cha Cha]

If you are adopting a kitty/cat, I would not put a lot of emphasis on it being a Russian Blue in particular unless the kitty was surrendered by a breeder. Domestic cats can commonly be blue in color. I don't know about the allergy thing with the Russian Blue but most short haired cats do shed. I would hate for you to adopt a cat thinking it does not cause allergies only to find out later that it does. Good luck in your search.

[lexi43]

Okay maybe I can help. I have 15 cats and 5 dogs. I have one cat that is at least half Russian Blue. I have asthma and I have no problem with him being near me. My dogs and cats get along very well I haven't had any negative incidents with them. The cats do their own thing and when the dogs get on their nerves they just go downstairs to our finished basement where they have their toys, kitty condo and littler pans and play. My cats are all indoor cats and we really haven't gotten them on heart gard. They are not as delecate as dogs but they do require shots each year. As far as your Yorkie goes, it depends on how old your Yorkie is and the terperment of the dog. If you get a puppy and a kitten they will grow up together and become pals. If you have an older Yorkie you may have a problem with them. As I said I have no problem because our house is big and they keep out of each other's way most of the time.

[Kristy4]

Kittens have high energy. Also kittens have sharp claws. If they do play together, keep an eye on them. My friend brought over her kitten to play with my Sissy (a cat) about a month ago, she scratched Sissy in the eye and I had to take her to the vet for some eye drops to help it heal. She is all better now. But you just have to watch kitttens. Now if you get an older cat, they are calmer and not so high energy. My Sissy is a short haired cat, like a Russian Blue is, and my sister still sneezes when she comes over. lol

[Jennxling]

Originally Posted by Kristy4

Kittens have high energy. Also kittens have sharp claws. If they do play together, keep an eye on them. My friend brought over her kitten to play with my Sissy (a cat) about a month ago, she scratched Sissy in the eye and I had to take her to the vet for some eye drops to help it heal. She is all better now. But you just have to watch kitttens. Now if you get an older cat, they are calmer and not so high energy. My Sissy is a short haired cat, like a Russian Blue is, and my sister still sneezes when she comes over. lol

never thought about that! Thanks for the heads up! If I do get kittens, I will have to watch them so it doesn't hurt my yorkies.

Originally Posted by Cha Cha

If you are adopting a kitty/cat, I would not put a lot of emphasis on it being a Russian Blue in particular unless the kitty was surrendered by a breeder. Domestic cats can commonly be blue in color. I don't know about the allergy thing with the Russian Blue but most short haired cats do shed. I would hate for you to adopt a cat thinking it does not cause allergies only to find out later that it does. Good luck in your search.

I looked on petfinder...and they have 11 purebred russian blue kittens up for adoption and they hold adoption events at petco. I really don't want to buy one because there's so many at the shelter. I would have wider variety to choose from if I didn't have stupid allergies I searched online that russian blue and siberian cats have less F1 allergens so more "hypoallergenic". Even yorkies are "hypoallergenic", but my family members still get allergy from them. I also will get itchy eyes and nose from time to time when my babies lick me in the face.

Originally Posted by lexi43

Okay maybe I can help. I have 15 cats and 5 dogs. I have one cat that is at least half Russian Blue. I have asthma and I have no problem with him being near me. My dogs and cats get along very well I haven't had any negative incidents with them. The cats do their own thing and when the dogs get on their nerves they just go downstairs to our finished basement where they have their toys, kitty condo and littler pans and play. My cats are all indoor cats and we really haven't gotten them on heart gard. They are not as delecate as dogs but they do require shots each year. As far as your Yorkie goes, it depends on how old your Yorkie is and the terperment of the dog. If you get a puppy and a kitten they will grow up together and become pals. If you have an older Yorkie you may have a problem with them. As I said I have no problem because our house is big and they keep out of each other's way most of the time.

15 cats and 5 dogs?!?! What a wonderful house you live in!! I've never had a kitten/cat before and my babies have never been exposed to them as well...my babies are around 1.5 years old and I will be adopting a kitten if I get one. I read that russian blues get along with dogs and stuff. Their temperament sounds really good...a little too good to be true. No health problems, low maintainence, good with other animals, calm, etc. I will first check the kittens out and see how it goes. Of course, I have to get bf's approval first...

[trin7]

My suggestion would be to find a Russian Blue forum - I'm sure there's got to be one online. Ask if they really are good for people with allergies. I used to raise Bengal cats for about 10 years and was told they're great for people with allergies - not true. I also read they were supposed to be extremely quiet (ha, ha, ha, ha)!! I'm sure they are much better then other breeds, but my mom and sister were extremely allergic to them. I still have one 15 year old Bengal and she gets along great with our two yorkies and Pyrenees x. Some times it works and other times it is a lot of heartache. Good luck what ever you choose!

[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by Jennxling

I looked on petfinder...and they have 11 purebred russian blue kittens up for adoption and they hold adoption events at petco. I really don't want to buy one because there's so many at the shelter. I would have wider variety to choose from if I didn't have stupid allergies I searched online that russian blue and siberian cats have less F1 allergens so more "hypoallergenic". Even yorkies are "hypoallergenic", but my family members still get allergy from them. I also will get itchy eyes and nose from time to time when my babies lick me in the face.

Sorry, I just don't want you to be dissappointed when you get the cat home that it is not what they say. Especially since allergies are an issue for you. I checked my own area and there are two pages of Russian Blues, so they say. In fact, every cat with gray color they called a Russian Blue. Russian Blue cats are very rare, and it takes a trained eye to really tell one that is a true Russian Blue. If indeed they are adopting them out as Russian Blues, I would certainly ask for the name of the breeder who turned them in.

Why that shelter cat probably is not a Russian Blue

Every Russian Blue enthusiast has heard any or all of these statements at some point in time. What’s the probability that any of them contain an element of truth? Probably less than one percent.

The facts are that Russian Blues are not a common breed of cat and are not running wild reproducing or hybridizing randomly. In 2003, The Cat Fanciers’ Association registered only 541 Russian Blue kittens born that year.(compare this to the number of more popular breeds registered - 1417 Abysinnians, 2265 Maine Coons, and 20431 Persians, and one realizes how few Russian Blues there really are!) Add to this number some additional kittens registered in other associations and the total number is still significantly small. The Russian Blue breed is carefully protected and maintained by reputable breeders who place pet kittens with neuter/spay agreements or are altered prior to placement. There just simply are not the numbers of unaccounted for Russian Blues there to support the claims of all these additional cats being Russians.
Several other facts come into play as well.

Color does not make a breed.
Feral and random-bred cats can and do produce solid colors. Dilute colors such as grey (called “blue” in the cat world) and cream, without tabby markings, are less common than solid black, solid white or patterned (tabby) cats.
Often siblings of blue domestic shorthairs are not blue. This would not occur in a pedigreed Russian Blue litter. Nor does hybridizing (a "mix") necessarily produce blue kittens.
Many people believe that every animal must be some sort of breed
Whether it be cats, or dogs, or any other animal, in the minds of many people an animal has to BE some breed or at least a mixture of a breed. This may be a need to label and categorize things, or just not knowing that a population of domestic/non-pedigreed/random bred animals exists.
Veterinarians do not know the nuances of individual breeds.
They go to school to learn to heal animals, not to be cat judges. In the course of their careers, they will probably have limited experience with actual purebreds, and far less with a minority breed such as the Russian Blue.
Shelter workers usually have no real breed knowledge
Intake personnel at a shelter usually have no experience with actual pedigreed cats either. Like the majority of the population, to them all point-restricted color cats are Siamese, all longhairs are Persians (unless they are very large longhairs and then they are Maine Coons). Therefore, all blue cats have to be Russian Blues, right? Sometimes the surrendering owner just tells them that it is a Russian Blue and they are relying on the owner’s statement - whether it has any basis in fact or not.
Shelters and adoption groups may even label a cat as a Russian Blue to make it more adoptable
Their primary interest is in finding the cat new home and that is understandable. They may even actually believe that the cat is a Russian Blue. If categorizing the cat as a known breed will move it more quickly, then it will be called that regardless of the reality of the situation. Shelters’ webmasters have even been known to steal a photograph from cattery or association website and claim that this is the cat they have for adoption! (note: in addition to being a false claim, this is also a direct copyright violation and subject to legal proceedings).
A recent survey of shelters advertising through Petfinder's website showed that 396 cats listed at that time were described as "Russian Blues." Remembering the earlier statistic that only 541 Russian Blues were even *registered* in a single year, one will quickly come to the conclusion that few if ANY of these cats are actually Russian Blues.
The disturbing facts in this situation is that:

- It promotes the myth of a large number of purebreds in the shelters.
- It leads the new owner into believing that they have something that they do not.
In other words, it is a misrepresentation.

None of this is to say that a found, random-bred blue cat is less loving or less deserving of a special home than a Russian Blue. EVERY cat deserves to be the center of someone’s universe. But 99.9 percent of “found” blue cats simply are not Russian Blues, and no amount of rationalizing or hypothesizing is going to change that. The numbers and environmental factors are simply against it.

[Jennxling]

Originally Posted by Cha Cha

Sorry, I just don't want you to be dissappointed when you get the cat home that it is not what they say. Especially since allergies are an issue for you. I checked my own area and there are two pages of Russian Blues, so they say. In fact, every cat with gray color they called a Russian Blue. Russian Blue cats are very rare, and it takes a trained eye to really tell one that is a true Russian Blue. If indeed they are adopting them out as Russian Blues, I would certainly ask for the name of the breeder who turned them in.

Why that shelter cat probably is not a Russian Blue

Every Russian Blue enthusiast has heard any or all of these statements at some point in time. What’s the probability that any of them contain an element of truth? Probably less than one percent.

The facts are that Russian Blues are not a common breed of cat and are not running wild reproducing or hybridizing randomly. In 2003, The Cat Fanciers’ Association registered only 541 Russian Blue kittens born that year.(compare this to the number of more popular breeds registered - 1417 Abysinnians, 2265 Maine Coons, and 20431 Persians, and one realizes how few Russian Blues there really are!) Add to this number some additional kittens registered in other associations and the total number is still significantly small. The Russian Blue breed is carefully protected and maintained by reputable breeders who place pet kittens with neuter/spay agreements or are altered prior to placement. There just simply are not the numbers of unaccounted for Russian Blues there to support the claims of all these additional cats being Russians.
Several other facts come into play as well.

Color does not make a breed.
Feral and random-bred cats can and do produce solid colors. Dilute colors such as grey (called “blue” in the cat world) and cream, without tabby markings, are less common than solid black, solid white or patterned (tabby) cats.
Often siblings of blue domestic shorthairs are not blue. This would not occur in a pedigreed Russian Blue litter. Nor does hybridizing (a "mix") necessarily produce blue kittens.
Many people believe that every animal must be some sort of breed
Whether it be cats, or dogs, or any other animal, in the minds of many people an animal has to BE some breed or at least a mixture of a breed. This may be a need to label and categorize things, or just not knowing that a population of domestic/non-pedigreed/random bred animals exists.
Veterinarians do not know the nuances of individual breeds.
They go to school to learn to heal animals, not to be cat judges. In the course of their careers, they will probably have limited experience with actual purebreds, and far less with a minority breed such as the Russian Blue.
Shelter workers usually have no real breed knowledge
Intake personnel at a shelter usually have no experience with actual pedigreed cats either. Like the majority of the population, to them all point-restricted color cats are Siamese, all longhairs are Persians (unless they are very large longhairs and then they are Maine Coons). Therefore, all blue cats have to be Russian Blues, right? Sometimes the surrendering owner just tells them that it is a Russian Blue and they are relying on the owner’s statement - whether it has any basis in fact or not.
Shelters and adoption groups may even label a cat as a Russian Blue to make it more adoptable
Their primary interest is in finding the cat new home and that is understandable. They may even actually believe that the cat is a Russian Blue. If categorizing the cat as a known breed will move it more quickly, then it will be called that regardless of the reality of the situation. Shelters’ webmasters have even been known to steal a photograph from cattery or association website and claim that this is the cat they have for adoption! (note: in addition to being a false claim, this is also a direct copyright violation and subject to legal proceedings).
A recent survey of shelters advertising through Petfinder's website showed that 396 cats listed at that time were described as "Russian Blues." Remembering the earlier statistic that only 541 Russian Blues were even *registered* in a single year, one will quickly come to the conclusion that few if ANY of these cats are actually Russian Blues.
The disturbing facts in this situation is that:

- It promotes the myth of a large number of purebreds in the shelters.
- It leads the new owner into believing that they have something that they do not.
In other words, it is a misrepresentation.

None of this is to say that a found, random-bred blue cat is less loving or less deserving of a special home than a Russian Blue. EVERY cat deserves to be the center of someone’s universe. But 99.9 percent of “found” blue cats simply are not Russian Blues, and no amount of rationalizing or hypothesizing is going to change that. The numbers and environmental factors are simply against it.

WOW! Thanks for sharing!! I guess I will just check out the kitten and see if I get allergic reactions...

[chachi]

i have a gray blue cat but I dont know if shes a russian blue. She has a super thick coat a very round head and beautiful eyes