- Powerful exterior, which allowed to bring the race in the category of big domestic cats.
- An unusual color is both the beige color of a fur coat and striped curls of different intensity, characteristic of a tiger color of Siberian cats.
- Sky blue eye color, characteristic of Siamese representatives.
There are two ‘types’ of Siberian cat, the ‘classic’ and the ‘Neva Masquerade’. Their morphologies are identical but they are distinguished at the level of the fur (colors and patterns) and the color of the eyes (necessarily blue for the neva).
Here is a little overview of the different colors of the Neva Masquerade cat. I hope this will give you a bit more insight into what the Neva Masquerade looks like and the different colors allowed by the breed standard.
FIFe’s official documentation on the Neva Masquerade and Siberian Cat
The fur of neva masquerade cats
The color point has blue eyes and a more marked color at the ends. This color can be brown (seal), red (red), blue (a bluish gray)
What does “tabby” mean?
The color at the ends may be plain or have patterns. The addition of the word “tabby” simply indicates a striped pattern on the dress (fur).
Tortie
Some females can be tortie, i.e. have red in addition to another color. This red can be so discreet that it cannot be guessed even as for Flanelle.
Silver or smoke
In addition to all these elements, a cat can have the gene silver or smoke. In this case, again, this is more or less visible. The result is silvery reflections that darken or lighten the dress. To be silver, one of the parents must be silver.
A fur that can evolve.
The fur is genetically programmed, but our Siberians are full of surprises. From one year to another, they can manifest more intensely certain characteristics. Flannel, a year old, had a very clear back; the year after, very dark; the year after with red. And the year after? still a very clear back. Others may be more constant.
What color will the kitten be?
At birth, neva masquerade kittens are born white. The fur is drawn gradually. It is difficult to guess even if genetics gives us some leads. The first clues appear on the ears.
Some dresses (fur) evolve more gradually than others. Red Tabby Point kittens stay longer white and the marks can grow stronger over the years! Silver or smoke can be guessed, diminish, strengthen. However, we declare a loof dress but some very discreet characters can go unnoticed as silver or smoke.
Between one and two months, we are fixed on the main characters. We can then distinguish the seal point, the seal tabby, the blue or the red tabby!
What types of errors are unacceptable for the Neva Masquerade breed?
- Chocolate lilac color.
- Excessive darkening of the mantle.
- Disproportionate disproportion of the body.
- Eyes small and distant.
- Eyes of different colors (for example, blue and yellow).
- Ears short and rounded.
- Care of the eye color on the green or yellow side.
Related article: The Neva Masquerade Cat Breed And Its History
List of colors of the Neva Masquerade
- Seal point
- Red point
- Tortie point
- Seal point and white
- Red point and white
- Tortie point and white
- Blue point
- Cream point
- Blue point and cream
- Blue point and white
- Cream point and white
- Blue point and white cream
- Tabby
- Seal tabby point
- Red tabby point
- Tabby point and white seal
- Red tabby dot and white
- Torbie and white
- Blue tabby point
- Cream tabby point
- Blue cream tabby point
- Blue tabby dot and white
- Dot and white tabby cream
- Blue point and white tabby cream
Silver Units
- Seal smoke point
- Red smoke point
- Tortie smoke point
- Seal smoke point and white
- Red smoke point and white
- Tortie smoke point and white
- Blue smoke point
- Cream smoke point
- Cream blue smoke point
- Blue smoke point and white
- Cream smoke point and white
- Cream blue smoke point and white
Silver Tabby
- Seal silver tabby point
- Red silver tabby point
- Black silver tortie tabby point
- Seal silver tabby dot and white
- Red silver tabby dot and white
- Black silver tortie tabby dot and white
- Blue silver tabby point
- Cream silver tabby point
- Cream blue silver tabby point
- Blue silver tabby dot and white
- Point and white tabby silver cream
- Cream blue silver tabby point and white
Suggested article: Do Siberian Cats And Neva Masquerade Spray?
Siberian fur
Dresses for the Classical Siberian
In the Siberian we can have all the dresses and patterns. Like all cats, the Siberian born with little color but dark with age, especially during the winter period when the boss takes shape. In the Siberian breeders prefer that there is a good contrast between dark points and points of light.
The eyes can be all colors except the blue reserved only for Siberians Neva Masquerade. The fur is dense and bushy, consisting of 3 layers of lush hair (guard, jar and undercoat). In the summer, this fur falls is becoming much shorter and classic.
Related article: The Average Weight and Size for a Neva Masquerade
Dresses for the Neva Masquerade
The ears, tail, legs and face are more colorful depending on the color, while the body is much brighter. The eyes are always and necessarily blue
All colors are allowed for Neva Masquerade, the primary colors in combination. The coloring can at the same time lead to wild colors, tiger cats, etc.
Note: Following many crossbreeding by some breeders, Siberians with dresses not authorized by the standards appeared: Chocolate, Lila, and Cinnamon.
Let us look at a more detailed description of the Neva Masquerade breed:
Appearance
- The head. The classic representatives of the Neva race have a large trapezoidal head. The standard has a broad rounded front, moving gently towards the back of the nose. Chin wide and powerful, not exceptional. Cheeks are tight.
- The ears are of medium size, acute angular shape, widely spaced, and the distance between the two shells is larger than the dimensions of the shells themselves. In the breed, the benefits of getting outside kittens, for example, with brushes on the ears.
- The eyeballs have a rounded shape, the eyes are set to a medium width, slightly inclined due to the rounded shape of the upper eyelid. The lower eyelid has a classic rounded shape. The color of the iris is usually sky blue. But this can vary from blue gray to deep blue. There are shades of lavender, blueberry, sapphire. This is due to the genetics of the Siamese progenitor.
Body
The outside of the body of the Neva Masquerade is due to its unusual combination of statistics and muscular strength directly transmitted to Russian and Oriental ancestors. The large bone system, the long legs were presented to them by the Siamese predecessors and they owe their long physique and their good muscular component to the domestic serpents of Siberia.
Directly involved in strengthening the qualities of the breed. The body of the Neva Masquerade can be described with an almost perfect rectangle. Their strong legs are proportionally combined with a perfectly curved spine and maintain a harmoniously distributed load. The legs themselves at the ends may be lighter or darker than the usual coat tone. Between the fingers, as a rule, the hair grows.
- The tail is enlarged at the base, and as it grows, it has the same thickness and the tip is usually rounded. It has a soft, generally feather-like shape.
- The mass of an adult male can reach 7 to 9 kilograms, the females are a little smaller and their average weight is 5 to 6 kilograms.
This is a great resource for understanding how to identify a Siberian Cat
Wool
Wool plays almost the main role in the appearance of the breed but, besides its visual characteristics, it also has invaluable practical qualities. The hair of small kittens is little polluted, slightly wet and does not go astray in the mats.
In an adult cat, coat length varies according to the season and climate in which the animals live. Thus, women with four fingers in the south have a shorter wool hair length than their counterparts in the more northern regions. In addition, the length of the hair varies throughout the body: the longest hairs grow shoulder blades and up to the base of the front legs, and the shortest hairs of the muzzle. The structure of the lateral layer is generally a little softer than that of the back and legs.
Related article: Are Siberian and Neva Masquerade Cats Safe for Allergy?
The variety of Siberian colored dots has an unusually luxurious undercoat in the pants and collar area, which is virtually lost during the offseason molt.
The sebaceous glands of the Neva masquerade cats secrete virtually no secretion, so this cat is considered one of the most hypoallergenic varieties.
Wool color coat
At first glance, the color of the Neva Masquerade may seem “mundane”, given the external characteristics of the progenitors, however, there is a wide variety of color combinations:
- The silver color or “seal color” is characterized by shades of beige or gray-beige wool, with easy and progressive maintenance at a smoky or brown tip on the legs.
- A red dot is a combination of beige wool on the main body with a transition to a bright red or a fawn on the paws and muzzle.
- A bluish point – implies a gradual shift of beige or gray-beige accents to smoky tones.
- Tortoise Point – involves a fragmented cocktail of multiple colors and is genetically inherently only to the females of the breed.
Most often, there are Neva masquerades with a hint of silver or a hue of silver to all other shades of wool.
If there are socks or white boots on the legs, there is usually a grain or “asterisk” of the same color on the face.
