Base colour
Blue-grey, even and clear
- Medium to lighter shade with a distinct and visible silver sheen.
About the Russian Blue
Origin: Russia
- Typical life span
- 15-20 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 3.2-6.8 kg
- Height
- 25-30 cm
- Registry status
- Recognised by TICA
- Breed group
- Short-haired
- Origin
- Russia
- Known hereditary risks
- 1 documented condition, with the test for each
About
What is a Russian Blue?
Medium-sized, elegant cat with distinctive blue-gray double coat and emerald green eyes. Known for reserved but affectionate nature.
Russian Blue history and origins
Natural breed originating around the Russian port of Arkhangelsk. Also called Archangel Blue. Nearly extinct after WWII but rebuilt using Scandinavian and British cats. Known for hypoallergenic qualities.
Russian Blue appearance and size
Typically 3.2-6.8 kg and 25-30 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
Russian Blue temperament and personality
Generally described as active, dependent, easy going, gentle, intelligent, loyal, playful, quiet and reserved.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
Breed reference from The Cat API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 4 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 2 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 1 condition documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Russian Blue
What you get with the Russian Blue
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Short, dense and very fine; standing up like plush”
- Commonly described as: “Active, Dependent, Easy Going, Gentle”
What you are taking on
- One documented hereditary condition, none of them classed as serious — each with the test to ask a breeder for, on the health guide tab.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FIFe breed standard; The Cat API. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FIFe standard · Russian Blue
Coat and colour
As the FIFe standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Short, dense and very fine
standing up like plush
soft and silky.
Double coat.
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FIFe’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FIFe standard RUS — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Temperament
ActiveDependentEasy GoingGentleIntelligentLoyalPlayfulQuietReserved
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the Russian Blue in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Russian Blue
Known hereditary risks for the Russian Blue breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
1 condition documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Eyes
Hereditary cataracts
Monitor
A pedigree study of Russian Blues found bilateral cataracts in around a third of the cats examined — usually small and not affecting vision, but occasionally more extensive and causing visual impairment or blindness. No causative gene has yet been identified, so there is no DNA test; screening relies on a veterinary ophthalmologist examining the eyes directly.
What to ask for
No DNA test exists (the causative gene has not been identified). Ask for a veterinary ophthalmologist's slit-lamp examination result for both parents.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Russian Blue owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Kittens
No kittens listed right now
That is not the same as none existing. Publishing a litter is part of a breeder's subscription here, so a Russian Blue breeder can have a litter and no listing — ask them directly.
See Russian Blue breeders