Siberian

It is the Russian forest cat: a natural cat of the fields and forests of Siberia and northern Russia, bred in an organised way since the late 1980s, when clubs in St Petersburg and Moscow set its standard. It is robust and rounded, with strong legs and a powerful jump, and a three-layer coat that withstands extreme cold. In character it is brave and very sociable: it greets visitors, plays like a kitten into old age and gets on well with children, dogs and other cats. Its “hypoallergenic” reputation comes from the fact that some cats produce less Fel d 1, the main cat allergen protein, but it varies enormously from one individual to another and none is free of it.

Brushing once or twice a week; in the spring moult it sheds its undercoat in quantity and daily combing is a good idea. It needs vigorous play: it is a great jumper and hunter of toys. If you have allergies, spend several visits with the specific cat (not just the breed) before deciding, and ask the breeder whether the parents' Fel d 1 has been measured. Netting on windows and balconies: it is afraid of nothing.

A generally robust breed. The most relevant disease is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM): there is no breed-specific DNA test, so the responsible approach is regular echocardiograms of breeding cats. Cases of pyruvate kinase deficiency (PK-def, testable) and polycystic kidney disease have been described. Watch for weight gain after neutering.