is Gunther a Russian Blue Hair...or nahh??

I don't have any papers on him. I don't know anything about him really, other than the fact that he's a he, he's super lovable, cuddly, and purrs 24/7, he kneads anything and everything, even the air, and he's a stray cat that followed me around and wouldn't let me leave till i took him home with me

He's been with me for a few days now...(since Sunday, not that long I know). I just figured he was a grey domestic short hair, until my room mate pointed out that he might be a russian blue. I didn't think that was possible. I mean, i found him as a stray..but after doing a bit of research..i'm starting to think he might be.

As far as his demeanor goes, i would say he is a russian blue hair. he's shy around strangers (that would be the BF as he spends the least amount of time with him). He's super friendly and very cuddly (towards me and my room mate who spend the most amount of time with him). He's very laid back. He's brave, and just wants to explore the whole house. He already acts like he owns the place. lol

I've read on certain sites, that when russian blues are kittens, they may have Yellow eyes, but as they get older they will turn into bottle green eyes. He's about 2-3 months old (i'm guesstimating, he hasn't been to the vet yet, so I can't confirm..I'm going based on size, and teeth)

Maybe you guys have better eyes than me...

THE NIGHT I MET GUNTHER. He just melted in my arms and fell asleep as soon as i picked him up


MAKING HIMSELF AT HOME (room mates room)


OBSERVING MY BF AND I (my bedroom)


WATCHING THE BF


EXPLORING


LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW


WITH ME HEHEH



BETTER PIC OF FACE AND EYES


FACE AND EYES


TRYING TO GET A CLOSE UP OF EYES



in person, and while he's moving around, his fur looks more silver...and a lighter grey. his eyes are a striking yellow color, but when you look carefully enough, you see the insides (part of iris around the pupil) his eyes are very green. 

any thoughts?? 

Thanks all. 

Now that is one beautiful boy :heart3:

I'm no expert on Russian Blues but two of our members are :nod: I think they would be best at answering this for you
@StefanZ
mservant

Thanks @GemsGem. He is quite the HAM!! lol

I can't believe you found him as a stray :lol3: He is soooo gorgeous !!! :love:

I want him It a good thing you don't live in England, otherwise I would kidnap him LOL :lol3:

i couldn't believe  a cat that looked like him was just walking around the streets like "hey wassup!"

he is a weird cat. he kept coming close to me, but wouldn't let me touch him at first. so i just walked way form him, but he started to follow me...and came closer and closer to me, until he allowed me to pick him up. and then the rest of history from there. i've never seen a cat like him. he just melted in my arms and didn't even fight to get off...instead he fought to stay

when i put him down to walk away, he almost followed me into the street. i picked him up a again and crossed the street to my parents car, and he was fast asleep in my arms, purring up a storm. 

Thank you for bringing this lovely little blue boy to my attention @GemsGem  , he is very pretty.

@Lamiatron  he sounds such a lovebug and very used to people.  Are you sure he is not being missed by anyone?  Not a question I would want to hear if I were you given how he seems to have attached himself to you but still one that needs checking out.  It certainly sounds that he has a very friendly, gentle and loyal character, but not too nervous as he is already taking over your home. 

The tough bit first is that without pedigree papers your little cat would not be classified as a Russian Blue.  That said, he has a lovely solid blue colour in your photographs, and the ghost stripes on his hind legs look appropriate for a young cat of perhaps 5 or 6 months.  Likely to fade over coming months I suspect, to leave his coat looking even more precious.  His ears are nice and big, with a slight offset from his head which is more of a TICA feature than here where Russians should have ears vertical and in line with the sides of their face.  The eyes do look more yellow in the photographs than green though one picture does show a more green shade, and his whisker pads are not very prominent in some of the pictures.  The whisker pads may be as much how he was holding himself at the time than his usual appearance (Mouse is terrible for tucking his back).  The eyes of Russian Blues are green, whereas large whisker pads and wide muzzle are a prized physical attribute and seen as an indicator of the quality of cat along with their general body shape, tail shape and being well muscled.   The most defining feature which would suggest closer relationship with the breed is the nature of the coat which is difficult to tell from photographs.

Can you describe for me the look and feel of Gunther's coat? Does it feel similar to your other short hair cats or very different?  What I am particularly interested in is whether the blue / grey colour continues right to the tip of each strand or fades at the tip, and also what it is like to touch.  Does his fur lay flat to his skin or stick upright?   Is there both downy undercoat and barb hair and are they different lengths to each other or the same?  With stroking his fur is there a definite direction to stroke him or can you comfortably stroke in all directions without feeling resistance or roughness? 

I look forward to hearing a little bit more about Gunther, especially what that blue coat feels like to touch and snuggle in to.   

you're right @MServant  , about him possibly belonging to someone else. And i seriously think that he did. I think at some point, someone may have cared for him. Who and where that someone is, I have no idea. The area where i found Gunther was a commercial area, with mostly restaurants, gas stations, and car dealerships, and it was right off a huge boulevard. being familiar with that area, i know that there weren't any houses any where near by. With that said, i also know cats can travel a lot and far distances if given the chance. I wondered if he belonged to someone, and could I have possibly just kitty napped this cute little guy??

When i found him, he was filthy. He was dirty, with black soot all over him, which wasn't easily visible, but it sure left a nice black imprint on my yellow dress that i was wearing when i found him and the skin on my arms and hands. and he stunk. like, he really smelled bad. like garbage, and piss, and i don't know what else. i feel he may have belonged to someone at some point, and he just kinda ran away, and got lost, and then became a stray, and i think he was a stray for quite some time. being familiar with the area where i found him, i'm pretty sure no other humans really paid him any mind, i'm sure he was given scraps of food here and there from the surrounding restaurants in the neighborhood. Its a heavy indian/bengali neighborhood (including the business owners there) where i found him...and most indians/bnegalis are not fond of taking in or caring for stray animals, with the exception of a few, there are always exceptions (including myself). He's also very frail, and underweight...you can feel bones when he's being carried.

I really think that he went out, lost his way, and just stuck in that neighborhood...where he got scraps here and there, and slept underneath cars, i would assume...which could also add to the stink he had...and when he saw me, initially he was afraid, as i said i tried to pet him but he wouldn't let me i started to walk away...i think he smelled my cats on me...and realized i would be someone that would care for him..and started to follow me. Poor kitty almost followed me into the street, and i didn't know what to do. I was scared that if I left him there, that he would try to follow me into the street again, and get hurt, or what i have no idea. I just knew i didn't want him to get hurt. i found him around 11pm on a sunday, and most of the places there were closed. When i got him home, and gave him a bath, the water ran black...not kidding. Had to shampoo him a couple times before the water started to run some what clear...the first night he was at my place he just wanted to be held. If i put him down to let him wander, or my room mate would put him down he would just cry and cry until someone picked him up. He really is so precious. lol

I will try to describe his fur to you the best that I can. i will get you more pics later tonight or tomorrow. but here goes! from memory

1) "Can you describe for me the look and feel of Gunther's coat? Does it feel similar to your other short hair cats or very different?"

--Gunther's coat feels very...light...if that's a way to describe it. I feel like charlie's fur, and Jet's fur feel a bit more dense, and his feels soft, but light, kind of rough?? I think this has to do with the fact that he's malnourished, so the condition of his coat is not the best right now, and i did just give him a bath a couple of days ago, so his coat is probably a bit fluffier due to that. so its really hard to tell exactly what his coat feels like, i just know that it feels different from Charlie's and Jets. His coat feels like a coat of an unhealthy, malnourished little kitty, similar to Jets coat when i first adopted her..

2) "What I am particularly interested in is whether the blue / grey colour continues right to the tip of each strand or fades at the tip, and also what it is like to touch."..."Is there both downy undercoat and barb hair and are they different lengths to each other or the same?"

--i will actually take pics of this and try to post later tonight. I can't really tell . To me it looks like the base of his coat is a much lighter color than the rest of the fur...his furs look like they are have light grey, and towards the tip they get darker. I can't tell if he has a downy coat, its not something i looked for...but tonight when I get home i'll try my best to inspect him and his fur, and get some pictures. I'm sure you guys will be able to tell better than me if he has a downy coat...

3)"With stroking his fur is there a definite direction to stroke him or can you comfortably stroke in all directions without feeling resistance or roughness?"

-- i'm able to pet him in one direction, i can pet him in any way I want, but then he just looks like his fur is all messed up. lol. It's easier to do this with him, not so much with Charlie or Jet. but quite honestly, like i said, his fur at this moment, his appearance, and the way he feels when i carry him, feels like that of a malnourished little kitty. I can't make any distinctive differences in how he feels compared to how Charlie and Jet feels because every time i touch him, he feels like "oh poor kitty his coat is so bad he's so malnourished"...i hope that made sense...

I do remember, when i found him, and he was in the car with me and i was holding him and petting him, his fur felt a bit rough, but that could be due to all the soot he had on him. once i gave him a bath, his fur was a bit softer, and fluffier...but then again, i did just give him a bath...

I also noticed his whiskers, they are all grey..like his fur. its definitely not black. and his paw pads like a reddish brownish color..i'll try to get a pic of this as well. Both Charlie and Jet's paw pads are black. Gunther's Paw Pads are a bit rough...its hard to see what color they really are...they look cracked...and dry, but they are definitely not black.

i'll get more pictures for you, and i'll try to take better pictures with flash, so you can see better.  

Oh, that poor little kitten.  He is so lucky you walked past and you gave him enough time to feel safe with you so he could be picked up and held.  I hope he has had some love in his life before, it is so sad to think that such a loving little cat has not had some comfort.

Your description of giving him a bath does raise a smile from me as I can't help but think of a photograph of a mischievous white cat who got covered in soot and could have passed as a grey kitty - that perhaps this little blue boy is not blue after all and a few more baths will uncover a lovely bright white!     But no, from the photos you have posted he is definitely a lovely solid blue colour. 

I think from your description it is most likely that Gunther has a domestic short hair coat rather than Russian Blue, and that the texture and condition of his fur will improve and soften as his health and nutrition pick up.  Not to mention the effect that stroking and pampering can have.      The Russian Blue coat is unusual in that the downy undercoat and barb hairs are the same length and as a result the fur both sticks up from the body and can be stroked in any direction without feeling resistance or roughness.  It is more like a deep, very soft,  velvet without nap (direction of pile).  Once you feel the Russian coat other short hair cats' fur feels very thin and flat in comparison.  

Are you hoping to keep Gunther and introduce him to the rest of your fur family?    I think Gunther is most likely to be a domestic short hair and this is good for you as less likely someone else has desperately been searching for him and would whisk him away if they knew where he was.   It also does not detract from his beauty or that wonderful purrsonality you have described. I would very happily describe him as a Maltese and want to see how he develops and grows over coming months.   He looks and sounds like quite a find!   

By all means more photos, both here and in the blue / grey cat thread which I have a link for in my signature.   

Oh, the other feature with Russian Blue fur, and with the white and black I think though I have yet to see one of them, is that the pigment in the fur is consistent along the shaft of the fur until close to the tip where there is no pigment; this then gives the silvery sheen to the fur when light shines on it.  Fur not laying flat and lack of pigment at tip shown here (obviously with fur in better condition than Gunther has currently):

Hmmm okay yea. I figured he was just a DSH, but since my room mate mentioned she thought he was a Russian blue hair, i figured why not...lets ask the experts (ahem ahem YOU GUYS!)

i am interested to see how he turns out as he gets older. Right now i feel like its difficult to tell anything with him, he just seems like a very unhealthy young kitty, but a beautiful one at that. his fur does resemble Charlies (the way it grows out), but everything else is so different from my other two, but then again, he is so skinny. looking at him, and then my other two cats, i feel like my cats are definitely well taken care of (they're both a bit pudgy hahaha)

I have thought about going back to that neighborhood, and ask some of the business that are there if they know Gunther. maybe i would have to give him back...but is his quality of life any better there??

when i found him he was filthy, and stinky, and just walking around the streets, right off of a busy boulevard. whoever owned him, if in that immediate area, didn't care if their cat was roaming the streets at night, hadn't taken him to the vet, and didn't care if the cat was dirty...and stinky as he was. 

if not that day, maybe one day he would have ran into the street, who knows. and the person who had him, or fed him scraps, wouldn't even know or care to take him to the vet to possibly be saved. If i had a cat running around outside all night, and he came home stinky and dirty, I would attempt to give him a bath...but Gunther didn't look like he had one in a very long time, or even ever. i don't know..my heart goes out to him. he definitely did miss whatever home he used to belong to, and he definitely missed human contact, or maybe feeling safe. even now when i carry him, he just melts into my arms and looks up at me and slow blinks me. lol. 

i'm seriously considering keeping him. first thing first tho, i need to get him to the vet to get checked out + fixed, probably this weekend or next Wednesday. I've already bonded with him so much, me and the BF, it would break out heart a little to let him go. Ultimately, it might depend on my cats, when they are properly intro'd to each other, and how the dynamic is between the 3. As of now, Gunther is super curious about the other cats in the house, he's smelled them on me the first night we met, and he smells them every where in the house. As mentioned in another thread, he has seen them both the very first night i brought him home, only because it could not be avoided. and he didn't hiss. Charlie didn't hiss. Jet was the only one. She hissed and then hid. but Charlie and Gunther just both seemed super curious. If it doesn't work out between the 3 kitties, I will be looking to people i know and trust to give him to them. that way I can also see him grow and be a small part of his life at least...

It certainly doesn't sound like he's been in a home for some time from what you have said earlier.  The sooner you are able to get him to a vet the better I think in case he has any health issues, parasites or anything, or any ID.  Then once you have an all clear from the vet you will be able to start that introductions process: hopefully Jet will only assert herself a little bit then decide to mother him a bit.    

Hopefully the vet can see if he's been chipped...but then again why would someone get the cat microchipped, and then not neutered?

i highly doubt Jet will assert herself in any way, she's such a scaredy cat!! LOL

UPDATE:

Okay,

just wanted to update you guys very quickly on what's been going on with Gunther.

I'm going to link another thread i started, when i first brought Gunther home, and was a bit confused with how to deal with a stray cat.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/282422/need-help-with-stray-cat

The above thread has pics of Gunther (updated) as well as him GETTING ALONG WITH MY OTHER TWO KITTIES!!! (and a bit more detailed)

me and the BF have decided to keep him. He's the feisty addition to our family. After we got the go ahead from the vet, we did cat intros. It was rushed, and there was hissing and some fighting, but all 3 of my babies get long so well now. They really are BFFs. 

Once checked out by the vet, we were able to determine that he was not chipped. He's scheduled to be neutered next month, when the vet thinks he turns 6 months old (based on size and teeth). 

@MServant  you were SO right about Jet becoming more assertive! it's crazy the differences that I've noticed in her!! as you know so well, she is super skittish, and not so confident. any time she's face with a "threat" instead of standing her ground, she just hides and disappears and acts so needy it breaks my heart. That's how she was with Gunther too, when we first started the whole cat intro process. she would just hiss and swat and hide and not even come out to eat. it broke my heart. but then i noticed that as the days passed, she just kind of stood her ground more. She would hiss at Gunther, but she wouldn't hide. She would stand her ground until he just walked away from her or left her territory. She's become more confident in a sense...and she just openly does whatever she wants, regardless of who's around her. She does hide in the presence of strangers, loud noises and sudden movements, still sends her gunning under the bed, but she now comes out about a minute later and just resumes her normal cat activities. Also, there is a maternal side to her that's coming out it seems. Although at first she seemed to really hate Gunther and wanted him no where near her, now Gunther is just glued to her. They are ALWAYS together. She grooms him, but doesn't allow Gunther to groom her. They sleep and play together. Watching them melts my heart. As expected, Charlie and Gunther got along right away. 

Here are some more pics. ENJOY  

CHARLIE AND GUNTHER PLAY FIGHTING ON MY YOGA MAT


CHARLIE AND GUNTHER ON MAT, JET OVER LOOKING THEIR SHENANIGANS FROM VERTICAL SCRATCHING POST


JET AND GUNTHER CHILLING. I SWEAR THEY LOOK LIKE MOMMA CAT AND BABY CAT


GUNTHER TALKING AS ALWAYS. HE'S VERY VOCAL AND VERY LOUD


JET AND GUNTHER'S FAVORITE PASS TIME - BIRD WATCHING AND NAPPING BY THE WINDOW



GUNTHER LOVES JET SO MUCH



TAKEN THIS MORNING



ALL 3 ON THE SCRATCHING POST/CAT PERCH


ALL 3 BEGGING FOR FOOD. 


TINY LITTLE GUNTHER. WATCHING ME CLEAN


CLOSE UP OF GUNTHER. HE'S SOO HANDSOME


SUNBATHING. JET AND GUNTHER



SHE'S IN LOVE WITH GUNTHER TOO. 

Oh wow, what progress!  I am so pleased for you, it looks and sounds like your little fur family are getting on great now.  Jet sounds like she's claimed the boss position for now and feeling relaxed with it and Gunther is very happy to be mothered and pampered to bits.  Charlie happy to have a wrestling partner.  LoL. They are all adorable.

This picture is so precious!

AlyssaM said:

 
This picture is so precious!

Click to expand...

   I just noticed Gunther's handsome boy collar!     I love it.     If Mouse got to wear a collar that would be the one!     (Sadly you're advised not to put a collar on Russian Blues as it tends to rub away the fur underneath).

mservant fun fact about that collar: the skulls glow in the dark. Perfect for a kitten that still likes to hide in dark corners. I took the bells off of all their collars, I imagine it's super annoying to have a bell jingling in your ear all the time, so to be able to see his collar helps me know where he's at. Also that's Charlie's old collar, from when he was a kitten. Lol. I took turns putting the other cats collars on gunther so that he would smell like them (during the Intro process).

alyssam thank you. This picture is quite adorable. Lol. Jets spoils gunther so much, but only when she feels like it. Lol. My princess is pretty independent and prefers to be left alone by the other cats.

What gorgeous kitties.  Gunther is so very lucky you were there to find him and take him in.

I love the pictures.  He reminds me of my long-gone Wally-cat.

I love that they are all getting along.  He is so cute!!!!!