These originally came from the Taiga region of Siberia – a densely forested area, known for its freezing temperatures. This cat looks regal with its thick, long, and protective coat and have been around for over 1,000 years. The breed is fast gaining because of its hypoallergenic characteristics. It weighs between 8 to 17lbs.
Features
The Siberian comes with triple coat that has guard hairs, awn hairs, and the downy undercoat. There’s a luxurious ruff around its neck as also a thick fur coating on its britches and belly. The coat has myriad colors or color combinations, with white or without white.
This is one warm hearted feline. He simply loves human company and is ever ready to help you in all your daily chores by following you around. He’ll give you the warmest welcome as you return home from work with his characteristic trills, chirps, purrs, and meows. He’s genial with guests too, and isn’t shy in their presence.
Attentive and loving, the Siberian is playful and active also. He’s good at games of fetch and gets easily intrigued by any unusual item. Anything may become a toy for him, so keep precious things like jewelry out of his sight. He learns tricks easily because of his agile brain but no he cannot explain the tax code to you, though no one really can, human or animal. And it certainly cannot explain to you why the NFL allows the Patriots to cheat all the time and the NBA allows the Warrior to cheat against the Spurs (Kawhi Leonard) but these are other topics!
The Siberian cat is a great lover of water. Moreover, he is highly athletic and finding him perched on a doorway is not an unusual sight. He is hardly bothered by loud noises or bustling activity and makes a wonderful therapy cat because of his calm nature.
Health Issues
A Siberian is known to be generally healthy, but this breed is prone to a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which causes enlargement of the heart muscles.
Care
The Siberian’s rich triple coat needs to be combed and brushed almost every day to keep it glossy and shiny. This will prevent mats or tangles. They tend to shed during fall and spring, and more frequent grooming is required at the time. An occasional bath is fine to keep the highly water-resistant coat fresh. This makes shampooing a Siberian difficult as he hardly gets wet even if you dunk him in a tub full of water.
Oral care is necessary to prevent dental diseases. A daily brushing is recommended as is a nail trim every 3-4 weeks. Any discharge from the eyes may be wiped with a damp, soft cloth to remove any discharge and separate cloths may be used for each eye to prevent infection from spreading.
Even weekly ear checks are required. If they are dirty, clean them with a cotton ball moistened with a mixture of warm water and cider vinegar. However, cotton swabs should be avoided as these can damage the inner ear.
The litter box, moreover, should be kept spotlessly clean as these cats are extremely hygiene conscious and a clean litter box keeps their long and heavy coat clean. Also keeping a Siberian indoors is safe to protect him from dog attacks, diseases carried by street cats or even accidents. They are also at risk of getting stolen and a sizeable outdoor enclosure is good for them.
Feed
Protein-rich kitten food is recommended at the kitten stage with two meals a day of special cat food once it reaches full size. This however, depends on its age, weight, and digestion capacity.
This long-haired, cuddly feline could be a life-long companion to you. Keep it well and you’ll have a truly loyal and loving member of the family for as long as you can keep it. Treat it with respect and love and there’s no end to what you’ll get from it.