Without a doubt the Siberian cat is one of our oldest cat breeds known In the memoirs of an old Muscovite there is an episode describing the merchants in Moscow having competitions for the cats and the fattest cat was the winner! Siberians first appeared in documented history in the year 1000. So history shows these to be a very old breed of cat indeed.
The history of the cat fancy in Russian has been controversial, there have always been cats in homes and strays in the streets, but they had only really been thought of as mouse catchers. Before 1917 there are isolated facts testifying cats being thought of as a breeding animal. There were some catteries but no breed clubs existed.
Siberians are a very hardy breed of cat and are built to survive the toughest of winters. They have a very muscular frame and are powerful leapers so these days we need to offer good scratching posts for them to use. They are an extremely hardy and healthy breed of cat and you can expect to have your pet with you for anything from 15 to 20 odd years of age.
The coat is its crowning glory and in the right climate the Siberian will have a dense fur to repel the snow and water. The Siberian is a semi longhaired cat although in our climate here they will not attain the density of coat that they would in their homeland, but it is still a fairly thick coat in our winter, which they will shed once the warm weather comes along. So good grooming will help to get the old coat out ready for summer. They will then have virtually none of the thick undercoat that they carry in the winter and this will help them in our heat.
They love to play and will interact for hours with whoever is happy to engage with them. So a good range of toys is a must. Chatting to their prey is a particularly funny thing to observe they are telling you that they have something special to show you. They have great speed when needed and can use it when playing, as they would have in the wild. Water holds a great fascination for them and they will happily help you with the dishes
Siberians are very intelligent and can be taught to fetch and return to you. They also take well to being walked on leads and many apartment dwellers teach them early so that it becomes a normal thing to do.
Siberians also will bond especially well with dogs and treat them as though they are another cat they will rubbing their bodies along the dogs body and mutual grooming along with sleeping with them.
They are very devoted to their families and male or female they are both a very affectionate breed of cat to be around...