The
temperament of the Russian Blue |
RUSSIAN
BLUE
- THE CAT FOR
THE CONNOISSEUR
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The
Russian Blue is said to be the cat for the connoisseur, the cat for the person who really
loves the cat. It is "a true cat". The meaning of this is that it has many of the natural instincts of the cat
intact. It is lively and playful; cautious, but also curious; intelligent. The females are
almost without exception good mothers who raise their kittens perfectly.
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THE RUSSIAN BLUE AND ITS PEOPLE
Ofelia feels comfortable
on the lap of Dorthe |
The Russian Blue becomes very close attached to the people in its family; perhaps it gets
especially attached to one or two members of the family. It is not a cat for everybody.
You must be prepared to accept the devotion from the cat, and you must be prepared to give
lots of attention and love to the cat. The long and the short of it is that you must be
prepared to be the selected person and friend of the cat.
When the need of The Russian Blue for love and care is covered
from the people of the cat, it is not much interested in other people. The natural caution
does that many Russian Blues hold back when strangers are visiting its home. Some stay out
of sight, when guests are present, but most of them are so curious that they come to have
a closer look at the guests. Some can be allowed to stroke the cat, but it is not a thing
you can take for granted, and you can in no way say that the Russian Blue is pushy. In
return it has a very good memory, and has it once accepted the guest it will remember it
also the next time the guest is paying a visit.
A Russian Blue is never unpredictable or
aggressive. It is a cat you can trust, and it will never let you down.
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THE RUSSIAN BLUE AND OTHER CATS
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Apart from the lions no big cats are gregarious animals, and it seems as the Russian Blues
still have this instinct to a pretty high degree. Because of this it is doing fine as the
only spoiled cat of a family, but it also does fine with other cats, especially when they
are grown up together. In larger groups of cats there can be problems. Some of the Russian
Blues in a large group can be doing very fine, but others can feel that they are neglected
and un-cared-for, and this can cause behavioural problems.
On the whole we believe that if
you want to have a Russian Blue, you must realize that the numbers of cats in your home is
limited. A Russian Blue is not suited to live in a very large group of cats.
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THE INDIVIDUAL CAT
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Obviously not all Russian Blues have exactly the personality we have described; after all
none of them are clones. The personality of the individual cat also might alter when the
cat gets older. The kitten who happily greets all guests can easily withdraw when it gets
older - and in fact the opposite is also seen.
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A UNIQUE CAT
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We think that the classic personality of the Russian Blue is quite unique - though some
non-pedigree cats may have the same personality.
It makes demands of the owner of the cat, but if you are prepared to meet these demands,
you will have a wonderful companion. Certainly it is only the owners of the Russian Blue
who get a possibility to see what a lovely creature the cat is, and it can sometimes be a
bit annoying, but it is the price you must pay to have a cat who is so much your cat - and
only yours. If you want a cat which rubs itself against the legs of everybody, you should
choose a cat of a different breed, and a much more outgoing temperament is in no way a
rare thing for the pedigree cats.
Some think that the temperament of the Russian Blue should be changed, so it will be like
the temperament of all other breeds, but we hope that the classical temperament of the
Russian Blue will be preserved, so you can still find a cat for the connoisseur.
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To the top
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CATS ON SHOWS
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If you don't want to show your Russian Blue you can leave this passage, but if you think
it could be interesting to show your little blue wonder, you can go on
reading.
It is very stressing for a cat to be shown.
Often it has to be carried to the show far away. After that the cat has to be shut up in a
little pen in a hall filled with unfamiliar cats, new smells and noisy loudspeakers. Later
on at the judgement it is felt up by unfamiliar people, and the unfamiliar cats are very
close. Certainly this is more stressful to a cat that bu nature is cautious and not
exactly enthusiastic about strangers - this means to many Russian Blues, than to a cat who
doesn't care who pets it. Altogether probably only a few cats really enjoy to be shown,
and if it prefer the days at the shows to the days at home, something must be wrong about
in daily life.
We consider
shows as a mild cruelty to animals, and if the cat is very sorry to be shown you should
not do it. We have shown our cats ourselves and still do, but on some conditions. First
the cats must behave well at the shows. This is that they must neither be so afraid nor so
angry that they hiss or worse. Secondly the cats must be happy again at the very moment
they are at home.
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THE RUSSIAN BLUE AT SHOWS
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It can hardly surprise that some cats don't submit to shows. This goes for all breeds. The
Russian Blue is no exception, but we don't think you see an angry Russian Blue at a show
than an angry cat of another breed. Anyway it is no secret that the Russian Blue has a
reputation as a breed unsuited for shows, especially among certain breeders of other
breeds.
Fortunately there are
many more Russian Blues who can easily be at shows than Russian Blues who object to shows.
It is a problem though that it is very difficult for the breeders to tell which kittens
you should not show. That is that the most outgoing kitten who you think would be at the
show without batting an eyelid is the one that thinks that its limits are exceeded at
shows. The other way around the kitten that seems to be more withdrawn can behave
excellent at shows. We would never make any guarantees that a kitten from our breed is
suited for shows, this can be made up only when it is actually shown.
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