Neva Masquerade

The "Newskaja Maskaradnaja" comes from Russia and was only acknowledged in 1978 there.

The first Neva Masquerade only came 12 years later.&

Neva Masquerade isn’t a separate breed, but a color combination of the Siberian cat with an own name; breeders in Russia invented this name which means “Mask cat of the Neva” since these cats were seen for the first time at the river the Neva which streams from St. Petersburg until deep in the cold North. This breed has developed itself in a natural way without human interference.      

The Siberian cat and the Neva Masquerade can be crossed with each other. It is however true that both parents must have the point factor in their genes in order to obtain Masquerade kittens. It is however still possible that point kittens aren’t born then. Even in case of crossings between a point cat and a known point carrier Neva Masquerade kittens aren’t born by definition. The Neva Masquerade is a pretty large, muscled half-long-haired cat with short paws and a comparatively heavy bone structure. A short wedge-shaped head with a wide skull, rounded snout and solid cheeks, which are accentuated by wide jaws. The head is wide. Wide round nose bridge. The profile has a slight slant above the nose bridge. The forehead is a bit round. Solid chin.

Pretty large ears with rounded tops, wide at the basis. The space between the ears is large. The inner ear has a strong growth of hair and plumes on the tops of the ears are desired. The ears point a bit forward.

Large ears, positioned a bit slantingly. The upper eye lid is almond-shaped and the lower eye lid is round.

The body is medium-sized, solid, muscled and pretty long with a horizontal back line. The neck is short and solid. The paws are solid, muscled and pretty short. Robust round feet with a tuft of hair between the toes.    

Long, hairy tail, wide at the implant and ending in a fine point.
 
  The growth of hair on the chest, the pant and the tail is long, shorter on the shoulders and the shortest on the neck. The collar starts at the cheeks and the chest is fully hairy. The uppercoat is solid, full and shining on the back, on the sides of the back it is thin and soft. The undercoat depends on the season.

A nice piece of information is the fact that the Neva Masquerade has an hypoallergenic fur, which only occurs with the Siberian cat.

What does this mean? All cats have the protein FELD-1 in their saliva. This is a protein which ends up on the fur due to the fact that the cat cleans himself and this causes a kind of dandruff, very small scales which cannot be filtrated from the air.

Many people, who are allergic, are allergic to these kinds of scales. With this breed this isn’t possible to become allergic. People who get an allergic reaction from a cat which wear scales can have a Siberian (Neva masquerade) cat without trouble.

It is however not true that anyone who is allergic to cats can have this breed. If you get an allergic reaction caused by the IGE late trigger, this breed will not be the solution then. 
 
If you purchase these kinds of cats you must be sure that the person is allergic to the fur scales.

In the USA much research is done concerning this fact and a lot of tests are done in order to get more clearness.

Pictures & breedinformation by: Neva Masquerade Cattery NevAbesh