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The above is a portrait of a cat given me many years ago,
whose parents came from Russia, but from what part I could
never ascertain. It differed from the Angora and the Persian
in many respects. It was larger in body with shorter legs.
The mane or frill was very large, long, and dense, and more
of a woolly texture, with coarse hairs among it ; the colour
was of dark tabby, though the markings were not a decided
black, nor clear and distinct ; the ground colour was
wanting in that depth and richness possessed by the Persian,
having a somewhat dull appearance. The eyes were large and
prominent, of a bright orange, slightly tinted with green,
the ears large by comparison, with small tufts, full of
long, woolly hair, the limbs stout and short, the tail being
very dissimilar, as it was short, very woolly, and thickly
covered with hair the same length from the base to the tip,
and much resembled in form that of the English wild cat.
Its motion was not so agile as other cats, nor did it
apparently care for warmth, as it liked being outdoors in
the coldest weather. Another peculiarity being that it
seemed to care little in the way of watching birds for the
purpose of food, neither were its habits like those of the
short-haired cats that were its companions. It attached
itself to no person, as was the case with some of the
others, but curiously took a particular fancy to one of my
short-haired, silver-gray tabbies ; the two appeared always
together. In front of the fire they sat side by side. If one
left the room the other followed. Adown the garden paths
there they were, still companions ; and at night slept in
the same box ; they drank milk from the same saucer, and fed
from the same plate, and, in fact, only seemed to exist for
each other. In all my experience I never knew a more devoted
couple.
I bred but one kitten from the Russian, and this was the
offspring of the short-haired silver tabby. It was
black-and-white, and resembled the Russian in a large
degree, having a woolly coat, somewhat a mane, and a short,
very bushy tail. This, like his father, seemed also to be
fonder of animals for food than birds, and, although very
small, would without any hesitation attack and kill a
full-grown rat.
HarrisonWeir
I have seen several Russian cats, yet never but on this
occasion had the opportunity of comparing their habits and
mode of life with those of the other varieties ; neither
have I seen any but those of a tabby colour, and they mostly
of a dark brown. I am fully aware that many cross-bred cats
are sold as Russian, Angora, and Persian, either between
these or the short-haired, and some of these, of course,
retain in large degree the distinctive peculiarities of each
breed. Yet to the practised eye there is generally - I do
not say always - a difference of some sort by which the
particular breed may be clearly defined. When the prizes are
given, as is the case even at our largest cat shows, for the
best long-haired cat, there, of course, exists in the eye of
the judge no distinction as regards breed. He selects, as he
is bound to do, that which is the best *long-haired* cat in
all points, the length of hair, colour, texture, and
condition of the exhibit being that which commands his first
attention. But if it were so put that the prize should be
for the best Angora, Persian, Russian, etc., it would make
the task rather more than difficult, for I have seen some
"first-cross cats" that have possessed all, or nearly all,
the points requisite for that of the Angora, Persian, or
Russian, while others so bred have been very deficient,
perhaps showing the Angora cross only by the tail and a
slight and small frill. At the same time it must be noted,
that, although from time to time some excellent specimens
may be so bred, it is by no means desirable to buy and use
such for stock purposes, for they will in all probability
"throw back" - that is, after several generations, although
allied with thoroughbred, they will possibly have a little
family of quite "short-hairs." I have known this with
rabbits, who, after breeding short-haired varieties for some
time, suddenly reverted to a litter of "long-hairs" ; but
have not carried out the experiment with cats. At the same
time I may state that I have little or no doubt that such
would be the case ; therefore I would urge on all those who
are fond of cats - or, in fact, other animals - of any any
particular breed, to use when possible none but those of the
purest pedigree, as this will tend to prevent much
disappointment that might otherwise ensue. But I am
digressing, and so back to my subject - the Russian
long-haired cat. I advisedly say long-haired cat, for I
shall hereafter have to treat of other cats coming from
Russia that are short-haired, none which I have hitherto
seen being tabbies, but whole colour. This is the more
singular as all those of the long-hair have been brown
tabbies, with only one or two exceptions, which were black.
It is just possible these were the offspring of tabby or
gray parents, as the wild rabbit has been known to have had
black progeny. I have seen a black rabbit shot from amongst
the gray on the South Downs.
I do not remember having seen a white Russian "long-hair,"
and I should feel particularly obliged to any of my readers
who could supply me with further information on this
subject, or on any other relating to the various breeds of
cats, cat-life and habits. I am fully aware that no two cats
are exactly alike either in their form, colour, movements,
or habits ; but what I have given much study and attention
to, and what I wish to arrive at is, the broad existing
natural distinctions of the different varieties. In this way
I shall feel grateful for any information.
Harrison Weir 'Our Cats' (1889),
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