Neva
Most colours are possible in Siberians including
the colourpoint, which is nicknamed the 'Neva Masquerade'.
No one knows for sure how or when the colourpoint gene
came to be present in Siberian cats but it seems that
it has been there for some centuries. It is probably
not surprising that colourpointed cats found their way
into the indigenous Russian cat population given the
old Eastern trade routes and the many borders Russia
shares with countries that would have colourpointed
cats. There are stories of Russian fishermen along the
river Neva trapping feral colourpointed cats, that
liked to swim and taming them, hence the name masked
cats from Neva. Many breeders breed colourpoints
together with traditional colours so it seems certain
that the colourpoints are here to stay. The Siberian
is the only forest cat that colourpoints are recognised
in.
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