History the Siberian cat is full of myths and legends and has at least a thousand years.
The place of origin of the breed is Siberian taiga, which served as the ancestors of the modern Siberian cat natural habitat. Together with the Norwegian forest cat and the Maine Coon breed belongs to the group of forest cats.
The Siberian cat is the only Russian native breed, it owes its origins to nature. As is often the case with native species, to trace their origin completely is not always possible. According to one version, the first representatives of the breed appeared as a result of contact with wild cats of the Urals with Pets, which brought with them settlers from the West. The ancestors of the Siberian breed of cats was a wild forest and steppe cats are ruthless predators and excellent hunters.
These qualities, as well as their large size and weight, made of Siberian characters of Russian fairy tales, where they often acted as protectors. Legends, according to which the Siberian cats were faithful companions of the monks in the Russian monasteries and even served as watchdogs, patrolling the building at night and warning the monks of the approach of intruders.
For rodent protection, the owners of retail stores have traditionally kept at least one Siberian in the room and organized their own unofficial exhibition of cats, competing with neighbors in the weight and size of their Pets. Their participation was recorded in the first exhibitions in England in the eighteenth century.
Beginning professional work with the breed coincided with the development of felinology in Russia, which in itself is symbolic. In the 90-ies was approved breed standard of the Siberian cat and began the work of breeders over the identification of its typical qualities. The popularity of Russian furry cats quickly began to spread outside our country, including overseas.
One of the main fans of the Siberian breed of cats – the Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. His cat Dorofei once even accompanied the policy during the meeting "without ties" with the family of U.S. President Barack Obama.
