RUSSIAN BLUE CATS, by Jason

I think it's about time to talk about cats, and since Piper doesn't seem to want to do it, I'm going to do it myself.  And the kind of cat I chose to talk about is the Russian Blue, since we have had our very own "blue boys" here who are supposedly Russian Blues.  Anyway, Gregor already got adopted last week, but Boris is still here, and lately he's been driving Mom nuts by climbing all over her and all over the computer keyboard and playing with the little arrow thing on the screen while she's trying to type.  Mom says I used to do the same thing, but I can't believe I was ever so naughty!

Okay, now I'm going to tell you about Russian Blue kitties, and first of all, I will say that they are a blue-gray in color.  If they have any white spots on them, like Boris does, they can't be in a cat show.  But Boris told me he doesn't care about that.  Well, actually, he said, "What's a cat show?" and I think that means he doesn't want to be in one.

Russian Blues have a double coat, and the outside coat is made out of "guard hairs" that are silver at the tips.  The undercoat is soft and furry.  Another thing that Russian Blues have is green eyes, like really deep green eyes, like one of those green bottles.  If they have yellow or blue eyes, then they are not Russian Blues.  Well, except when they are kittens, because all kittens have blue eyes at first.

The origin of Russian Blues was in Russia.  And to be exact, they probably came from a port city called Arkhangelsk, and that's why they are sometimes called Archangel Blues.  The breed just happened naturally, and not because somebody crossed one kind of cat with another kind.  The first Russian Blues got to England and Northern Europe by coming on ships in the 1860s.  And the first time a Russian Blue was in a cat show was in 1875, in England.  In the beginning, all kinds of blue cats were shown in the same class, but finally in 1912, the Russians got a class of their very own.

There were a few Russian Blues in America before World War II, but most of them stayed in Russia and Scandinavia until after the war.  Then American breeders started combining English and Scandinavian Russian Blues to come up with the breed that we have here today.  A lot of cats have bluish-gray coats, but it doesn't always mean they are real, true Russian Blues.

In the 1970s, a woman in Australia bred a solid white Russian Blue, and there is also a black Russian Blue.  I don't know about you, but when I try to think about a blue cat that is really white or black, my little brain starts feeling like it might explode, so I mostly avoid thinking about such things.  Anyway, even though the Australians have Russian White and Russian Black cats at their cat shows, here in the U.S., the Cat Fanciers Association is smart enough to know that a blue cat cannot be white or black.

Russian Blues are friendly, intelligent, and gentle cats.  They can be sensitive to how their human is feeling, and they get along well with children and other pets.  They love to play with all kinds of toys, and some of them will even play fetch.  They are kind of shy with new people, but they are very affectionate with people they know.  And in fact, they can be pretty demanding of attention.

Anyway, here's why I think Boris isn't a true blue Russian Blue kitten, although he might be a mix:
1.  He has white spots on his chest and tummy.
2.  He doesn't really have silver tips on his fur.
3.  His eyes aren't green enough.
4.  He doesn't have a pedigree, so who know who his parents really were?

On the other hand, Boris has mauve-colored foot pads, which Russian Blues are supposed to have.  But even if he isn't a purebred, that doesn't mean he's not a very nice kitten, and I've been having a lot of fun playing with him.  Hamlet likes to play with him, too.  We think Boris will get adopted this Saturday because a family is coming all the way from Fort Riley, Kansas to PetSmart to meet him.  We're hoping that Hamlet will get adopted on Saturday also, because if he doesn't, he is going to have to stay in a cage out there, just like I did, and I can tell you that it was no fun doing that!