🐾 Nebelung cat: Your new pet
It has a wonderful and stunning look, looking like the snow ghost; it is a beautiful kitten medium-sized, with an incredible bluish grey fur. It is the Nebelung kitty, the perfect mix between a blue Russian and a common long hair cat.
From the hands of its American raiser, it was born in the United States, a new and beautiful cat breed, known as Nebelung, name given for a German word which means snow, as a reference to its beautiful color.
The emergence of this breed came in the 80s, when a raiser mixed a cutie American long hair cat without pedigree, with a male blue Russian. From there she saw that the next generations kept the outstanding color of the father with the long fur of the mother. The mixes kept until it fine-tunes these new breed characteristics; by the 90s, a standard was finally defined and these new cats were designated as Nebelung.
The beauty of these domestic felines increased its popularity quickly and helped for it to be accepted by different felines’ organizations all around the world. But there are others which question the originality of the breed, based on some stories of the XVIII century which talk about a variety of the blue Russian with long hair, which with the past of the time got extinct or modified to the cat now everyone knows as blue Russian.
However, the Nebelung is stunning cats. Its poise and style are unique, it reminds to distinguish and elegant cats; its size is medium, with a thick, robust, and compact body, with strong musculature, and has a tail that looks like a long duster, and have amazing almond eyes, with tones that go from yellow to blue, giving to this cat a deep sigh and a look of an incomparable beauty.
Besides looking like a reserved and cautious feline, the Nebelung is a kind and sociable kitty, very close to its family and likes to demand attention. Even when they aren’t very patients with kids, it likes people in general, is friendly with other pets, cats or even dogs. These kitties love toys, adore climb things and adventuring to pry and explore every corner of the house; it doesn’t need big spaces, if they can move freely it would be enough, so they can live as well in houses or departments.
Its diet has to be rich in high-value proteins to let them have good muscular development, and guarantee it has a shiny and soft fur. Fortunately, besides the human intervention to its creation, the Nebelung is one of the strongest and long-lived cat breeds that exist. Stories tell that they can live even 20 years.
Best of all is the fact that they don’t need special attention, different to most of the pets; maybe the thing to care more about is its fur, by brushing it a couple of times a week to keep it soft, shiny and without knots.
Go adventure to know this precious domestic cat breed, the Nebelung, below.
🐾History and origin
The Nebelung are striking cats, beautiful, with an imposing and shocking look. This breed represents the mix of the best physical characteristics about the fur from both, the American long hair and the blur Russian cat.
While the American long hair cat is a common cat with no pedigree, the blue Russian cat is a feline of an ancient breed which belongs to the cold lands of the north of Russia, and due to its looks, quickly became popular in other Europe countries and was exported to America. Some descriptions reveal that at the beginning, the blue Russian cat had a dense and long fur, but it lost it with the past of time, and nowadays it has a short and dense hair.
A lot of times the Nebelung cat is confused with a blue long hair cat, and in fact, some records of the felines histories talks about that in the XVIII century, existed a felines exemplars which belong from Russia, and had a long bluish silver fur.
From these two ancients the Nebelung cats history start. It begins among the year 1986, being a relatively young breed. All started in Denver, Colorado, USA, where the mix between a long hair female called Terrie with a blue Russian male, had place.
As a result of this mix, three kittens were born, two females and one male. These kitties has a beautiful long bluish silver fur that immediately catch the attention of the raiser, Cora Cobb, who wanted to establish and perfect the characteristics of the breed in the coming generations, to boost specially the characteristics of a grey silver long fur. Later cruises were made under Cobb’s supervision, so the develop of the breed continued; numerously cruises came until the born, by the 90s, of the first two kitties considered as Nebelung. Their owner and feline raiser Cora Cobb, named them Siegfried and Brunhilde.
The name of the Nebelung breed is a composed word with German origin, was thought to describe the principal characteristics of the breed. The first part of the word “Nebel” is translated as “fog”. So there is made a notable reference to the long, dark bluish fur which represents this cat breed.
The particular and obvious attractive of this felines breed made them be known quickly, became popular just a few years after their birth. Soon, the Nebelung started to be accepted by the principal felines associations around the world. However, there still are some conflicts about its official recognizing as a new breed by part of some international organizations, the raisers have keep in constant work for the develop and maintenance of the breed, reaching the acceptation by important entities as the Livre Officiel des Origines Félines (LOOF), the American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA), and the World Cat Federation (WCF).
Nowadays, the Nebelung cats are very popular in diverse regions of the United States, also are known in many places around the world, where they are very loved.
🐾Breed characteristics
The look of this kitty reminds a lot to its relative the blue Russian, with the difference of its fur length, besides there are many who think that is a variation of a long hair blue Russian cat.
The Nebelung cat is a feline with medium to big proportions, which weight in case of males is above the 8.8 and 13 pounds, while females are smaller, above 6.6 and 11 pounds. The height comes from 8 to 10 inches, being bigger in males. Its body is strong, with a thick and robust complex, have a long trunk, with a straight back and a width chest. In the back of the trunk, you will find a long tail, which looks like a grey duster, is thicker at the base, and goes thin to the end, and have a lot of long hairs.
The legs are also thick, strong and muscular. They are very skilled and ideals to work, also let them climb easily, and are very flexible. The Nebelung cat’s feet are rounded, with paws of a dark color, very padded.
About its head, the cranium shows the form like a triangle with rounded angles; it is medium-sized in proportion to the body and there it can be distinguished a prominent and straight angle snout. The pads where the whiskers rest are very marked. We can also check that above the head are a pair of big ears, triangular, with a remarkable separation between them, the top angle of the triangle is rounded; these ears are located straight and are a little bit curved to the front. On the other side, its nose is width and straight and has a dark color.
Its sight is deep and penetrant, characterized by a pair of blue, yellow, or dark green eyes that match with its fur, has an almond form and is medium-sized.
The most attractive characteristic of this breed is the fur. The Nebelung has a dense coat of long bluish-grey with silver tips fur, lookalike it’s relative the blue Russian. Its hair is soft and straight, dense and silky, thick for its all body, more abundant and longer in the tail, and also in the base of the legs and around the neck where it is very thick. All these fur characteristics let it withstand cold climates.
How you can see, this is one of the most attractive and stunning domestic felines breed that exists. Its look is strong, strong, and very elegant. Thanks to its particular and attractive look, the breed is known and became very popular nowadays. Nevertheless, some associations are still in the middle of controversy to recognize or not this breed as one.
🐾Behavior and personality
Even when the look of the Nebelung kitty makes you think about a strong and reserved personality, it is the opposite of this breed. The Nebelung kitties of snow ghost just have the color, because they are domestic felines simply adorable.
The Nebelung cat character describes as happy, caring, close to its family, and loving. In the first moment, it can show reserved and cautious when are strangers at home, but aren’t aggressive nor suspicious, on the contrary, the Nebelung is friendly and sociable.
With other pets use to be patient and tolerable, and to reach this we can help it to develop good customs making the Nebelung cat coexist since a young age with other cats and pets, which will stimulate a positive socialization process in this pet and avoiding when it became adult it shows distant or scary about strangers.
The best thing to do is to start among the 3 months of life with this training, but if you had adopted an adult Nebelung you don’t have to worry too much, because these kitties are very smart and with a good character, so you will need just a little patient to teach them.
About its behavior and activity grade, the Nebelung cat is characterized for being a playful feline, very active, which enjoys being curious and explore around him. It gets involved in games and family activities, and even invites its owners to play with it.
A disadvantage of this cat is that it isn’t very patient tolerating in a good way the overflowed levels of energy and activity of little kids, so you should avoid to let the little of the house play with them, so you will not cause accidents or inconveniences. By another side, the Nebelung is good by playing with other felines and other species pets, like dogs.
These kittens prefer to have company most of the time, so if you have to work for many hours outside home, get sure to find a partner for your Nebelung or something to keep it entertained, because for it moderate needs of attention, these cats are prone to suffer from anxiety, depression, and stress because of lonely.
The Nebelung isn’t a very demanding breed, it lives with no problems and equally happy in a big house or a small apartment, but it likes to have the freedom to move without problems.
Sometimes the behavior of the Nebelung is described as a kind of bipolar because in some cases you will find a docile cat, quiet and serene, while in other times your kitty will be a curious feline, energetic, naughty, and explorer.
It is a kitten easy to train, always in alert, smart and intelligent, something that is showed in its deep sight, and has a certain sensibility, because are capable to show empathy with the emotions of its family members.
One of its favorites games to play is climbing doesn’t matter if are furniture or trees, it also likes to search for balloons, and hide in the most unexpected corners of the house. It keeps the characteristic Independence of cats. It is a good company feline for the family.
🐾Diet and feed
All cats, including of course the Nebelung, are carnivorous animals. This is why your feline pet needs enough quantity of proteins and fats with a high nutritional value, as derived from animal foods, and giving to your cat a balanced diet which reaches all the needs for its organisms.
For your Nebelung cat the food options are variable and at the same time are similar to the foods for the rest of felines. Recently there is a strong trend with the publicity that looks every second more promising about home diets for our pets, talking about advantages like provide healthy and natural food.
The reality is that this feed strategy may be a good option as long as you have enough time and willingness to prepared menus adequate to satisfy your Nebelung cat nutritional needs.
Some considerations and advice about home foods diets talk about you must offer the biggest amount of animal proteins, and these foods have to be perfectly cooked because in case of being raw are highly harmful to its gastrointestinal health. Likewise, you can add some vegetables, making sure the carbs portions are just a little part of all.
How you can see, natural food diets made at home requires a big knowledge and precision at the time to prepare food about the portions your cat needs. This is why is recommendable for you to visit a specialized nutritionist in home diets for felines, to make the menus cover all the dietetic requirements of your Nebelung cat.
On the other side, for practical and busy owners the best options are the prepared elaborated in dry feed grains are a great advantage. These products are elaborated with proteins, fats, and carbs carbohydrates, inadequate portions depending on the age and breed of your feline, to offer the nutrients mix it diets need.
Another advantage is that they are easy to acquire, cheap, and very easy to serve, also when it chews the dry feed grains, your cat erases tartar from its teeth and prevent oral diseases. Consult with your veterinary about which are the best brands to offer your Nebelung cat, remember you have to provide quality food all the time.
To have a little variety in its diet and make it attractive, you can play sometimes with the food flavors of cat canned food. These are rich in proteins and fats that are also a fount of energy for your pet; however, you shouldn’t make it something routine in its diet.
Also remember that the food portions will be in function of some aspects like the age, your pets’ habits, the physical activities it does, the kind of breed, and if it has any disease as gastrointestinal, renal, or metabolic. In average portions go around the 50gr.
Finally, you must provide to your Nebelung a bowl of fresh and clean water to drink anytime it wants to; water is very important for its organism’s functionality.
🐾Health
The Nebelung kitties, besides of coming from a breed that was created with the intervention of the human hand, and besides the afraid that exist about the relation of these “not natural” breeds for the incidence of genetic problems, are one of the strongest and healthy feline breeds that exist. Most of the exemplars live for over 15 years, and many reach the 18 and are some stories about Nebelung cats that reached to live for a little more of 20 years.
Fortunately, this beautiful breed of snow ghost cats doesn’t have congeneric diseases or inherited associated or related. The diseases that may affect them are practically the same that the rest of feline cats can suffer. One of them is the trichobezoar.
The trichobezoar is practically a ball of hair that forms in the cat’s intestine as a consequence of the hair that is degutted swallowed while they groom, and is a common problem in domestic felines, especially in those that have abundant long and straight hair. In the bowel light, the trichobezoar acts like stranger bodies, that in severs cases could obstruct the bowel light; making severs gastrointestinal problems that could arrive in surgical treatment. The best wait to deal with them is by preventing its formation.
In the case of Nebelung cat, you can brush it hair regularly and more in summer days when the shedding starts; by brushing you remove dead hairs and decrease the percentage of hair they swallow in the groom. You can also give it some medicines bases in vegetable oil to expulse the bezoar.
Another illness that you must prevent in your kittens is the parasitosis. Nebelung cats, as many felines, especially long-haired ones, are susceptible to contract ectoparasites as fleas or ticks, the reason why you have to always check them, especially when they go back home after their walks. Also buy anti-fleas collars, antiparasitic, or consult with the veterinary about the recommended products to keep them free of this illness.
The vaccinations are important, as well as the deworming, to prevent the gastrointestinal problems that may cause the endoparasites. To keep updated these treatments remember to always take your kitty to the veterinary, at least twice a year, he would be the one in charge to keep an eye on the health of your Nebelung cat.
Other affections that these breed cats could have are problems as eye infections, or ear infections, caused by the difficulties they have with its hygiene most of the time. This is why you have to make sure to ask the veterinary if you can apply tears or collyrium to the clean of these important parts of your Nebelung.
Last but not least, don’t forget to be careful about the diet. The Nebelung cats are felines with a compact and thick body and have moderated activities needs, it’s not usual for them to suffer overweight, but anyways and inadequate feed added to poor healthy life habits could cause overweight and diverse metabolic problems.
🐾General Cares
Give good care of a pet as a Nebelung cat is a very easy job. This breed has the fortune to be integrated by exemplars that are extremely strong and healthy, so taking care to their basic needs, that is the same off to those which any other feline has, you could enjoy of your Nebelung kitten for its long hope of live, ¡more than 15 years!
The Nebelung, just like any other pet, need for you to keep attention to its feed, guarantying the best quality products, rich in proteins, which let them keep a strong and robust complex. Likewise, this kitty needs to visit the veterinary regularly to look out its grown and develop, and also provide the vaccines and necessary treatments to fortify its health.
The hygiene is also a key point of the general care of any pet animal. Cats have the particularity to be very clean animals, but there are a few things you can do to help them maximize this hygiene. Offer to your Nebelung cat a sandbox in a good place at home, it may be the laundry or backyard, where your cat goes to make its necessities, and remember to change the sand daily, to avoid the appearance of undesirable smells.
Inside of this context, at least once a week, clean its eyes and ears with delicacy. You can find a sterile dressing and wet it with saline solution to clean its eyes removing lizards and to clean its ears and take off the accumulated dirtiness. Consult with a veterinary about if it’s necessary some drops or collyriums.
To make these clean routines an easy task, it is a good idea to reward it with some snacks to make your Nebelung a most docile and quiet cat while you clean it. It is good advice to check its mouth and gums periodically; sometimes they may suffer from periodontal illness.
To make the kitty feel comfortable in its home, it’s good for you to condition an area where your Nebelung cat can rest. It may be a little cat bed that you can find in any pet store or a makeshift and padded basket where the Nebelung kitty can rest and sleep. Don’t forget these felines prefer homes where they can move with freedom, so if your home has backyards it would be happy.
You don’t have to forget about the care of its fur. This is the shiniest characteristic of the Nebelung cats, so to keep their hair bright, soft and smooth, you must brush it frequently, a couple of times a week, this way you will prevent to make it tangle and will help for it to have a better cutaneous circulation, fortifying, even more, its beautiful fur. Use a brush with firm bristles and with a blunt tip. In case you need to bath it, but especial cat shampoos, so you will keep the health of its fur.
These are basic and easy cares, what this kitty needs, and as a result, you will have a beautiful feline as a pet: a Nebelung cat to admire, presume and enjoy with family.