| Neva or No Neva??? |
| ....That is the question. |
| First, for those not familiar with the term Neva; this word is referring to the Neva River in Northern Russia. A Neva Masquerade is a term used to describe a Colorpoint Siberian, and is most commonly used in Russia and the EU, while in the US, we tend to use the latter descriptor. |
| Colorpoint is a term used to describe the markings on the face, feet/legs, and tail in many different breeds, most familiar being Siamese and Persians (Himalayans). A Colorpoint Siberian is the Tabby Cat we are used to seeing, just with the points being marked with a tabby pattern. You will notice still the real distinct tabby marking to the forehead and around the eyes, and the striped pattern along the legs, and tails - some more distinctly seen than others. |
| As in any Breed, there are differences of opinion about various aspects of the breed. This is just one controversy in the Siberian Cat World. Many 'purists' or 'traditionals' see the Siberian "Forest" Cat as developing between matings of the feral wild cats that were around in the towns and nearby forests breeding with Persians and Angoras that were part of the trade market across Russia after the invasion and conquering by the Mongols. And so could not possibly have Colorpoint markings. |
| Purists attribute the Neva markings as being introduced in more modern times, perhaps at the beginning of the 20th century. Now, the reason they believe this is hazy at best. Some say cats were introduced to ravage the rat population after the Northern Russian Cities were under siege. Some say this coloration was discovered on the eastern banks of the Neva River, with their distinct coloration. Others still believe a noted Russian entreprenuer brought back a Siamese cat to Russia in the 1800's, and these bred with Siberians, leading to the coloration seen. None of these theories can be verified by historical record. Many, thus, do not see a Neva as a "true" Siberian. |
| But ancient history has always been foggy as to the Siberian's beginnings anyway. The only history that is well known is that which immediately preceded Perastroika, and following this time when democratic reforms allowed the Russian people to now formally own cats, and they formed their own breed clubs establishing the Siberian (see Sib History for more on this) |
| When purists are breeding, they are attempting to breed to a Standard that doesn't include the Colorpoint (CP) markings. However, that is easier said than done. It appears that a large number of Siberians, if not all by now, carry the genes for "CP". Many breeders do not find out until a breeding brings about a resulting Neva kitten or two. |
| This begs the question, "if the majority of Siberians are CP gene carriers, than what really IS a TRUE Siberian?" |
| This is where the other side of the issue, the pragmatists, take a stance. They believe that the Colorpoint is just one other variation in coloring of a True Siberian. This is the stance that Keitta Siberians takes, while acknowledging the quest of other breeders to try to breed strictly non-colorpoints, or 'Traditional' colorations. |
| An interesting footnote - one of the "foundation cats" - the original breeding cats used to develop the Siberian breed, was actually a gorgeous Blue Tabby Colorpoint by the name of Mars. |
| Catreba Nakesha |
| Catreba Taisha |
| Katy McFurr Sargon |
| Dikaya Krassa Lel |
| Catreba Naglaya |
| Dikaya Krassa Lubin of Catreba |
| Special thanks to Carolyn from Catreba Siberians in the UK and Eva from Bella Bohemia for letting us present pictures of their gorgeous babies!! |
| Mars |
| Katy McFurr Savka |
| *WufnPur Katarina |
* Cattery No longer breeding
| Bella Bohemia Tolstoj Stella Felicita |
| -Neva's are born almost totally white, and start to develop a "shadow" appearance of their markings by 4-6 weeks of age (you can start to actually see a little color by about 3-4 days old), making it challenging to determine and predict their exact future coloration. -The Neva's full coloration will not complete its transformation until they reach maturity (between 4 - 5 yrs) -The Neva is recognized by most Cat Fancier's Associations Internationally and Nationally as a Siberian color variation, rather than a separate breed. -This controversy is very similar to the one in the Persian breed - it was decided in the last decade or so that Himilayans were a variation in color of the Persian, not a separate breed, as they were identified before this time. |
| Some other interesting trivia regarding the Neva: |
| Riddle me this: A paired mating of 'Traditional' Siberians yields 5 tabby kittens and 2 colorpoint kittens. Are the 5 (five) tabby kittens the 'real' Siberians? And what of the 2 (two) colorpoints? Can you have both Traditional Siberians and Colorpoints in the same litter? Do you define them differently from each other? Does the Traditionalist Breeder retire one or both breeder cats immediately? Food for thought. FOOTNOTE: these hypothetical situations happen all the time in not-so-hypothetical situations; even with 'Traditional' Siberians that supposedly have been tested for and do not carry the colorpoint gene. |
February 23, 2010
| Keitta Lady Echo of Katy McFurr |
| Keitta Enya |
