Cambridge Encyclopedia :: Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 65

Russian blue

A breed of domestic cat; foreign short-haired variety; thick blue-grey coat, each hair often with a silver tip; large thin ears and green eyes; also known as an Archangel cat.

Russian Blue

Russian Blue cat
Country of origin
Russia
Breed standards (external links)
AACE, CFA, ACFA, TICA, CCA,
ACF, FIFe
Notes
The ACF also recognizes Russians
in white and black.

Unlike many modern cat breeds, the Russian Blue is a naturally occurring breed which is believed to have originated in the port of Arkhangelsk, Russia (hence the name), although the evidence for this is purely anecdotal.

Although they have been used on a limited basis to create other breeds (such as the Havana Brown) or add type to a breed in creation (the Nebelung), Russian Blues themselves are shorthaired, blue cats.

Russian Blues should not be confused with 'British Blues' (which are not a distinct breed but rather a British Shorthair with a blue coat), nor the Chartreux or Korat which are two other naturally occurring breeds of blue cats.

During the early 1970s, Mavis Jones, a Russian Blue breeder in Australia, mated a domestic white cat with a Russian Blue with the intent to create a solid white Russian Blue.

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