Talk:Russian Blue

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1 Strangers and affection
2 Archangel Cat?
3 broken link
4 Allergy
5 :O
6 Yellow Eyes
7 Regarding yellow eyes:
8 Pointed colours
9 Photograph Changes

[edit] Strangers and affection

The article states that Russian Blues are not shy around strangers. However, most profiles of this breed indicate that the cat, whilst loving and affectionate with people it knows, is very wary of people it does not know, usually hiding from them and observing the newcomer from a distance. See the websites listed in the article-links for examples of such profiles.

This would certainly tally with my own experience of the breed. My Russian loved his family but would set up an exclusion zone around strangers and take his time in negotiating a relationship. --192.11.185.115 10:11, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

I've updated the page to reflect this. --192.11.185.115 13:03, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

Not that it matters anymore, but I third the hiding from strangers and loving the well-known persons thing. --maru (talk) contribs 00:51, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Archangel Cat?

I've read many cat breed handbooks and quite a few of them have listed that the Russian Blue Cat breed is also known as an "Archangel Cat" because of it's distinct origins. I suggest that this be noted in the article...

Provide legit sources and you can do it. If I see anything I'll let you know. -Emevas 19:14, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Arkhangelsk means "Archangel" in Russian. It's already (kinda) in the article. Idsfa 06:56, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Nevermind, found a citation and added it to the page. Same citation also supports the Siamese mixing and the Black and White colors. Don't know how/if I could indicate that ... still a newb here.Idsfa 16:53, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] broken link

This link (Dr. Eric Johnson's home page) was on the article's page under external links. Since it appears to be broken, I moved it here for safe keeping. [1] Keesiewonder 00:44, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Allergy

Hello: I was wondering if people are allergic to this breed of cat.

I suppose as with any allergy, it is possible. I have never known a cat allergy to be discriminatory to race, but maybe. Come to think of it, I had a friend who was allergic to cats, and she was also allergic to my Russian Blue, so more than likely. -Emevas 19:14, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

I do recall reading that the Russian Blue causes less of an allergic problem than the typical cat, but I cannot find a source at the moment.--SmokeyJoe 11:48, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Please. If you could verify this it would be helpful, thank you :)

I, like Emevas, also have a friend who is allergic to cats and who is also allergic to my Russian Blue. However, it is said here and there that Russian Blues are less of a problem with respect to allergies. Three not particularly good references returned by google are below:

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet/breeds/Russian_Blue.htm

“Grooming & Upkeep Like most shorthair breeds the Russian Blue does not require much grooming … “ “Shedding Little”

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/lp_cats/article/0,2041,DIY_14060_2272979,00.html

“they don't shed, and they don't have hairballs. The former makes them a good choice for people who may have allergies to other breeds.”

http://www.gopetsamerica.com/profiles/russianblue.aspx

“Shedding: Little” “Cause Allergies: None”

So, it is said that Russian Blues are less of a problem with respect to allergies, but my opinion is that this information is unreliable. I think it is little more that due to the fact that Russian Blues tend not to leave fur around, and so you are less likely to end up breathing it. SmokeyJoe 10:01, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] :O

Is that Happycat?!

No, I thik that might be a grey tabby, Id need a better pic. --Emevas 01:45, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, here's another one, if it helps. --ZBrisk 20:00, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Yellow Eyes

Emevas wrote:

Hello, I saw the comment on the rewording of Russian Blue having Yellow Eyes.

Although I agree with your rewording, I am wondering if you have a source proving that yellow eyes are an imperfection found only in non-pedigrees. If you can prove this, I would like to see it, becasue my russian blue had yellow eyes, and he was a pure bred. Thanks. --Emevas 06:41, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Hi Emevas, I hope you don't mind me copying your question here. I think it is an interesting question about Russian Blues.

I made the edit to a statement about yellow eyes being rare. Yellow eyes are not rare, in my opinion. Green eyes are the official standard, and so yellow eyed Russian Blues are not presented at cat shows, and, I suspect, tend to be more readily sold to non-breeders. Yellow eyed Russians are certainly found in pedigrees, I too have seen them. The breed, as per any breed, is not "pure", but contains variations. Unfortunately, none of my books on cats, or the websites I have found, comment on yellow eyes, and I too would like to see more sources added to the article.

I did comment "yellow eyes are an imperfection, common in non-pedigree russian blues", but by this I did not mean to suggest that yellow eyes are a sign that a cat is non-pedigree. SmokeyJoe 09:33, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Thank you. I did in fact hope that this would get cleared up. I think it's an interesting question. I have seen a few (about 4 or so including Ozy, one was his sister) Russian Blues with yellow eyes -Never at a catshow- but I have. Probabally just some kind of genetic mutation in the breed, after all, Yellow eyes are a superior gene, where as green or blue eyes are reccesive. We should try to get the ball rolling on finding out more on the topic.

Thanks! --Emevas 19:49, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Regarding yellow eyes:

a yellowish eye colour can be found in Russian Blue kittens (see TICA breed standard), however are, according to the breed standard of TICA and FIFE, regarded as a fault in adult Russian Blues.

Consequently yellow eyes would mean fewer points in the show ring, however I am unsure whether yellow eye colour would actually disqualify an adult cat from the ring. After reading the breed standards it does not appear so...

Breed standards of the Russian Blue(the links can perhaps be included at the bottom of the article?)(ah they are already included... good work): FIFE(Fédération Internationale Féline): http://www.fifeweb.org/wp/breeds/breeds_prf_stn.html CFA: http://www.cfa.org/breeds/standards/russian.html GCCF: http://www.russianblue.org.uk/intro.html (NB: This link is from the British Russian Blue Association who have reprinted the breed standard with permission from the GCCF). TICA: http://www.ticaeo.com/Content/Publications/Pages/RB.pdf

Any purebred Russian Blue may have faults, however these faults does not make these cats any less lovable, or endearing, only less qualified as show cats:)

Lunde 23:17, 30 January 2007 (GMT)

Yeah, I loved my kitty. He had the same temperment of any other blues, especially his mother. My theory is that since yellow eyes are a superior gene in cats, that it could just be a genetic mustation. Or perhaps some female blue a ways back got "tainted" from breeding with one with yellow eyes, and thus the trait keeps happening. Either way, it is appearently increasingly more common. --Emevas 02:16, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

- :) Probably, adorable creatures these Russians anyways...

Example of Vivid green eyes from the Finish Wiki Russian Blue page, perhaps we can use this picture? However, not sure if I understood the copyright laws in Finish though...

Vivid Green Eyes
Russian Blue.

[edit] Pointed colours

I removed, the text on pointed colours. I have never read anything like this, and if it to be reintroduced I hope a source to a breed profile which actually says this can be included. Hope this is ok:0)

[User:Lunde|Lunde]] 15:08, 09 February 2007 (GMT)

You removed Brando71's image and caption. I guess that the "pointed" colours that he refers to is the same as the silve-blue "tipping" described in the first paragraph of the article. As such, there is no need to repeat the description, unless a special point is being made, and certainly not using a different term. The image does show the silve-blue tipping well, but unfortunately, it is in poor focus. Interestingly, Image:ReinaAriel.jpg happens to show an example of a russian blue with yellow-green eyes. SmokeyJoe 23:13, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

As far as I know pointed cats are cats with darker spots, like the Siamese, or the Birman. Consequently it would not only be unnecessary, but wrong to say the Russian has a pointed pattern, even silver... (See Fife on pointed patterns: http://www.fifeweb.org/wp/breeds/breeds_ems.html#Patterns) Yes, I agree, the yellow-green eyes aspect is interesting, especially after the discussions...:D Perhaps the cat was young?

Lunde 02:15, 13 February 2007 (GMT)

[edit] Photograph Changes

I removed the third picture from the sidebar after Brando71's latest edit replacing with . Not only was the picture improperly sized (crushing the article text over to the left), but the image did not illustrate anything not already shown in the other images. Neither did its predecessor. I understand the temptation to put up pictures of your own pet, but please restrict these to pictures which add to the article. Idsfa 22:44, 26 February 2007 (UTC)