To blue or not to blue
Of Ezekiel, I've had a couple of people say to me, "Oooh! You got a Russian Blue!" Feeling that this was not really realistic, as Russkies are purebreds and unlikely to be shelter kittens, I decided to do some research just to be sure. Just to remind you of what my little boy looks like, you can see his picture in the first post I made about him.
Superficially, he sure does look like a Russian Blue, but the breed standard is pretty stringent, to wit:
· Green eyes (not yellow, blue, or orange but a dark bottle green) Zeke's eyes are most definitely yellow.
· Solid blue all over with just the tips of the guard hairs being silver and producing a shimmering effect. Domestic blue cats will lack this tipping and be a flat blue. Zeke's a flat blue.
· A thick double coat. The first coat consists of the longer guard hairs. The second is the undercoat, which is very soft and gives the Russian Blue coat its unique feel. Looked at closely, these fine hairs appear wavy. Zeke does have this characteristic. I suspect that he's going to be magnificent as a mature tom.
· Mauve footpads. Most domestic blue cats have slate gray pads. Zeke's footpads are pinkie gray.
So, no, he's not a Russian Blue. I will think of him as a domestic blue, which is purrrfectly fine by me. We don't need none o' them furriner cats! Amurrican cats is what we likes! :-)
PS--Had to take my little boy to the vet today because his right eye has been weeping a bit. He got antibiotic eyedrops (shades of Spanky). He's also gained a pound in just a week!
Superficially, he sure does look like a Russian Blue, but the breed standard is pretty stringent, to wit:
· Green eyes (not yellow, blue, or orange but a dark bottle green) Zeke's eyes are most definitely yellow.
· Solid blue all over with just the tips of the guard hairs being silver and producing a shimmering effect. Domestic blue cats will lack this tipping and be a flat blue. Zeke's a flat blue.
· A thick double coat. The first coat consists of the longer guard hairs. The second is the undercoat, which is very soft and gives the Russian Blue coat its unique feel. Looked at closely, these fine hairs appear wavy. Zeke does have this characteristic. I suspect that he's going to be magnificent as a mature tom.
· Mauve footpads. Most domestic blue cats have slate gray pads. Zeke's footpads are pinkie gray.
So, no, he's not a Russian Blue. I will think of him as a domestic blue, which is purrrfectly fine by me. We don't need none o' them furriner cats! Amurrican cats is what we likes! :-)
PS--Had to take my little boy to the vet today because his right eye has been weeping a bit. He got antibiotic eyedrops (shades of Spanky). He's also gained a pound in just a week!