Nebelung

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Nebelung
Aleksandr van Song de Chine.jpg
Nebelung male
Other namesLong-haired Russian Blue
Origin United States, Russia, the Netherlands
Foundation bloodstock Blue domestic longhair and Russian Blue cats
Breed standards
TICA standard
WCF standard
ACF standard
ACFA/CAA standard
GCCF standard
LOOF standard
Domestic cat (Felis catus)

The Nebelung is a pedigree breed of domestic cat. Nebelungs have long bodies, wide-set green eyes, long and dense solid blue-coloured fur, and mild dispositions. The Nebelung was developed to resemble the early blue-grey cats imported from Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, combined with a semi-long coat. [1] [2] The cat is related to the Russian Blue, but with longer, silkier hair, and is in fact sometimes (incorrectly) called the Long-haired Russian Blue. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

The breed holds full recognition with the ACF and TICA, and enjoys preliminary status with the GCCF. [6] However, given the relatively recent foundation of the Nebelung in the 1980s, it has yet to gain recognition from the other major cat fancier organisations. [6]

Origin

Early origins

Longhaired blue cats resembling the Russian Blue were first exhibited at the first Cat shows held at the Crystal Palace in the UK in 1871, but disappeared from the spotlight in the early twentieth century as the cat fancy contracted. [3] [5] [7]

International Champion male adult born in the Netherlands to the offspring of founding cats Siegfried and Brunhilde from the US Nebelung Male, Aleksandr van Song de Chine.JPG
International Champion male adult born in the Netherlands to the offspring of founding cats Siegfried and Brunhilde from the US

Development in the US

The modern Nebelung was developed in the 1980s by Cora Cobb of Nebelheim Cattery in the US. The foundation cats were Siegfried (1984) and Brunhilde (1985), both longhaired blue kittens born to a black domestic shorthair, Elsa, and a blue domestic longhair male. Cobb, advised by TICA geneticist Dr Solveig Pflueger, drafted a standard based on the Russian Blue but with semi-long hair, naming the new breed Nebelung (“creature of the mist”; see Nibelung ). Russian Blue breeders in TICA objected, and the standard was revised to describe a new distinct breed. [2] [3] [4] [7] [9] [10]

Russian and European lines

In the early 1990s, longhaired kittens began to appear in Russia from Russian Blue parents, confirming the presence of the recessive longhair gene in the population. In 1993 a Dutch breeder, Letty van den Broeck, imported a Russian Blue male, Timofeus, from a Russian cattery. He proved to be semi-longhaired and became the first known longhaired Russian Blue stud in Western Europe. He demonstrated that the longhair gene was naturally present in the Russian Blue breed. [7] [9]

After this revelation, Cobb acquired Winterday Georgin of Nebelheim, a Nebelung male bred in Moscow by the Zimnij Denn cattery. These Russian Nebelung lines went on to produce many offspring, several of which won titles in cat championships worldwide. This exchange marked the consolidation of Russian and US Nebelung lines. Breeding spread in Western Europe in the early 2000s, supported by imports from both Russia and the US. [7] [9] [10]

Two kittens Ozar en Palaya Azadeh.JPG
Two kittens
Young kitten Palaya Azadeh.jpg
Young kitten

Registration and popularity

The Nebelung is now recognised by several registries; the American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA), [11] Australian Cat Federation (ACF), [6] Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), [3] Livre Officiel des Origines Félines (LOOF), [5] The International Cat Association (TICA), [1] and World Cat Federation (WCF). [12] The Russian Blue is permitted as an outcross in most registries. [1] [3] [6] [13]

However, the Nebelung remains a relatively rare breed, [4] with only a few active breeders worldwide as of 2025, predominantly in Europe and Russia, and a handful in Australia. [14] [15] [a] In the UK, only 2–4 kittens were born in 2023–2024, [19] whilst in France the breed is more popular with approx. 45 kittens registered each year in 2018–2022. [20] However, they still only account for 0,07% of all French pedigree cats. [20] Data from TICA, one of the largest cat registries globally, indicates that between 1979 and 2013, a total of just 413 Nebelung cats were registered with them. [21] As of 2025, there are no Nebelung breeders listed by TICA. [22]

Characteristics

Physical characteristics

The Nebelung is a medium-sized cat of semi-foreign type, characterised by a long body, semi-long coat, and even blue solid colouring with a silver sheen. The head is a modified wedge with width at eye level, high cheekbones, and a straight profile forming a distinctive angle at the eyes. The whisker pads are prominent, the chin is strong and aligned vertically with the nose tip, and the ears are large, pointed, and set to continue the wedge. The eyes are wide-set, oval to almond in shape, and vivid green-coloured in adult cats; kittens may show yellow or mixed colours that typically develop into green as they mature. [1] [13] [23]

The body is long, firm, and muscular, with medium to long legs, medium boning, and rounded paws showing tufting between the toes. The tail is proportionately long, tapering, and well-furnished. The coat is semi-long, soft, and silky, with a fine undercoat and longer guard hairs; seasonal variation occurs, with denser coats in winter and lighter coats in summer. Feathering behind the ears, pantaloons on the hind legs, and a ruff in males are commonly present. [1] [13] [23]

The coat colour is an even medium solid blue, sound to the roots. Silver tipping on the guard hairs produces a characteristic sheen, although this may be less visible on parts of the body. Nose leather and paw pads are mauve-grey to pinkish-lavender in shade. An adult Nebelung weighs between 3.5–5 kg (8–11 lb) for females to 4.5–6.5 kg (10–14 lb) for males. [1] [13] [23] [24]

The Nebelung was featured on the Animal Planet show Cats 101 . [25]

The Nebelung is one of the animals which can be given as a Patronus in answer to the user's personality test on Pottermore. [26]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The Nebelheim cattery [16] of Cora Cobb was the first and last breeder active in the US, but has retired. [10] All Nebelungs registered between 2015-2025 with the worldwide pedigree database PawPeds are born in European countries, Russia, and Australia. [17] All World Cat Federation Best Cat ranking Nebelung cats are based in European countries and Russia. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "TICA Nebelung breed standard" (PDF). The International Cat Association. 2004.
  2. 1 2 "Nebelungs". nebelungs.org. Archived from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nebelung". gccfcats.org. Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Nebelung". TICA - The International Cat Association. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Caractéristiques de la race - LOOF". loof.asso.fr (in French). Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Breed Comparisons - Nebelung - World Cat Congress". worldcatcongress.org. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "History of the Nebelung (till 2009)". nebelung.forumotion.com. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Nebelung.nl:Aleksandr_van Song_de Chine". www.nebelung.nl. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 Cobb, Cora (2007). "Nebelung History by Cora Cobb". nebelung.forumotion.com. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Cobb, Cora. "Website Nebelheim Cattery". home.earthlink.net. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "American Cat Fanciers Association". www.acfacat.com. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  12. ↑ kd-deuter. "WCF - World Cat Federation". wcf-online.de. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Nebelung Breed standard" (PDF). www.gccfcats.org. Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  14. ↑ "List of Nebelung breeders in the world - January 2015". nebelung.forumotion.com. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  15. ↑ "Breeders". www.raccs.co.uk. The Russian & Abyssinian Cat Club of Scotland. Archived from the original on 14 June 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  16. ↑ "Nebelung Cat Breeders List". www.catbreedsjunction.com. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "The PawPeds Nebelung Database of cats born after 01-01-2015". www.pawpeds.com. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  18. ↑ "WCF Best Cat" . Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  19. ↑ "Registered breeds" (PDF). www.gccfcats.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  20. 1 2 "LOOF - Races/annee". bis.loof.asso.fr. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  21. ↑ The International Cat Association (TICA) (28 August 2013). "2013 Annual Board Meeting" (PDF). Bellevue, Washington, USA. p. 156.
  22. ↑ "Browse All Breeders". TICA - The International Cat Association. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  23. 1 2 3 "Nebelung breed standard" (PDF). www.acf.asn.au. 2020.
  24. ↑ "Nebelung breed standard" (PDF). World Cat Federation. 2010.
  25. ↑ Cats 101: Nebelung. Animal Planet. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  26. ↑ "Pottermore's Patronus quiz: Complete animal list". 22 September 2016. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
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