Нева Маскарад: Ресейлік түсті ұзын жүнді мысық тұқымы

Breed of cat

The Neva Masquerade is a breed or sub breed of long haired domestic cat, which originates in Russia. It is the sister breed or colourpoint variant of the Siberian cat, a centuries old Russian landrace. The colourpoint markings are the result of a colourpoint gene originally found in Siamese cats. The Neva Masquerade is believed to be derived from crossing the Siberian cat with Asian colourpoint cats, such as the Siamese or Thai, or possibly cats related to those, such as the colourpointed Persian cats.

References of the ancient Siberian cat breed date back a thousand years, but the colourpoint variety did not appear until the 1970 80s. It is believed that colourpointed cats of Asian origin, or their descendants, were naturally or intentionally crossed into the Siberian breed to achieve the Siamese colourpoint gene. During the introduction of the Siberian cat to Western European countries and the USA in the late 1980s, the traditional coloured Siberians and colourpointed Neva Masquerade cats were both presented. and CFA accept the Neva Masquerade point colouration as being a natural coat colour within the Siberian cat breed. However, they are classified as a separate breed, the Neva Masquerade, by other registries, such as FIFe, WCF, CCA AFC,

The pointed Neva Masquerade always has blue eyes, All accepted colours are allowed in solid point or in combination with a tabby or tortoiseshell pattern. It is advisable and in most cat registries (and certain countries) mandatory to test (BEAR or OAE testing) white cats for this trait before breeding with them.

Known to be an exceptionally agile jumper, the Neva Masquerade is a strong and powerfully built cat, with strong hindquarters and large, well rounded paws. Their body lengths varies in size from medium to large. They will shed their heavy winter coat during spring.

The Neva Masquerade carries the same colourpoint gene (c.904G>A, a variant of the TYR gene) as the Siamese, which can also be found in other cat breeds related to the Siamese, namely the Birman, Himalayan (colourpoint Persian), Ragdoll and Toybob. which allows breeders to specifically target carriers of the popular point gene.

Although the Neva Masquerade shares many characteristics with the Siberian in terms of character and appearance, recent studies have shown distinctions between the two in terms of body language, and feline hereditary diseases. The heredity disease has not been found in the gene pool of traditional Siberians, however it is diagnosed in a Neva Masquerade male cat. The origin of the Neva Masquerade is unclear, and some believe it is related to the Persian cat, which may explain the prevalence of PKD in this breed. These differences between the two sister breeds seem surprising, as they are treated as one breed by many cat enthusiasts and are allowed to be mixed with each other by most breeding registries. Further studies are needed, as these study results are just the beginning of the research on the two sister breeds. Especially, the prevalence of PKD in the Neva Masquerade gene pool is of concern as crossbreeding the two sister breeds could potentially spread PKD into the Siberian breed.