13 Week Old Siberian - Neva Masquerade?

My fiance and I recently purchased a Siberian cat. He has mild to moderate cat allergies, but has miraculously adapted to my cat, Cookie. He rubbed his face on her before we got our new kitten, to be sure, and had no reaction. My cat has been pining for my previous roommate's cats since they left in May. She was unable to follow because my roommate already had 2 cats and was moving to a much smaller place in an area where it is typical for leases to allow a maximum of two cats. We wanted a friend for Cookie, and knew that her territorial nature necessitated that it be a kitten, but we didn't want to rock the boat with my fiance's allergies, so we got a 13 week old Siberian kitten from a local TICA registered breeder. My fiance went with me to the cattery and sat in a large room with all the kittens and two of the queens while we talked to the breeders and checked out the kittens. He made a point to play with the queens as well, to expose himself to the adult allergen levels. Through all of this, he didn't wheeze or sniffle at all.

We picked a gorgeous kitten who looks very different from her siblings and parents. She appears to have the Neva Masquerade coloring. I did some research when I got home and learned that some consider this a child breed of the Siberian, and that there appears to be controversy over where it stands in relation to the more common Siberian color patterns. I find this ancestry difference to be confusing, given that her family look like traditional Siberians, including all of her un-adopted siblings. Of concern to me is the assertion that what tenuous (and we knew it was tenuous) claim Siberian cats have to being hypoallergenic, is absent in Neva Masquerade cats, due to the mixed breeding assertion that many state is the source of their color pattern. Given that my fiance was able to adapt to a mutt DSH rescue cat, getting a Siberian as our second cat was only a precaution, but I still would like to have a better understanding of what's going on here. It seems odd that my kitten would be a "Neva Masquerade", and a totally different sub-breed, while her family is not, if this is a genetic distinction.

I'm on my lunch break at work, so I'm unable to provide many pictures, so I will attach one from the breeder. When I get home I can provide more pictures of her, and track down pics of her siblings to compare, if requested. Thank you for your time.

As you say, for purists is a pointed siberian an abominance.  They track them down 20 generation back and stop breeding on all possible carriers.  At least, ien Russia where the gene poole is practically unlimited.

In countries where the gene poole is limited, like USA and Sweden, they aren as fussy.   As the kitten born is healthy by itself, there is no reason to stop the parents from breeding.   This kittens isnt not used in the breeding programme of Siberians. Just being neutered and sold as pet.  Or nowadays since a couple of years, may be registered as Neva Masquerade and used for breeding there if he is suitable and of a good type.  

As  the several years old breed of NM has been accepted as a sibling breed of Siberians last year or so.

If the point gene changes the fur structure and the salivia type - low-allergenic with standard Siberians - I dont know.  I hope it doesnt.

Nice chap you got there!

If you want some tips for allergic cat ownere,  you can ask.  I have them somewhere.

Good luck!

Just found your July post; hope this is still timely and you might find it useful. For the past six months, I've been trying to educate myself about Siberians and Neva Masquerades after adopting a beautiful young "medium hair tabby" from a shelter, then learning he's actually a Neva Masquerade. I'm pretty severely allergic to cats, so my domestic partner (who's a "cat person" and really, really wanted a cat) and I have been delightfully surprised to find I am not allergic to this cat. I'll try to summarize what I've learned so far about the "traditional" Siberian versus Neva Masquerade controversy.

Siberian cats are believed to have evolved over hundreds of years or more through repeated crossing of hardy, native Russian forest cats, similar to Norwegian forest cats and Maine Coons, with domestic cats, resulting in a very hardy, adaptable and people-friendly breed that comes in every pattern and color.

There seem to be two theories about colorpoint cats like yours and mine.

One theory is that colorpoints are just another color of Siberian, resulting from domestic Siamese, Birmans and Himalayans mixing with Russian cats through natural selection over a long time. Because it was wealthy people and royalty who imported such cats, colorpoint Siberians, also known as Neva Masquerades, are associated with St. Petersburg and the Neva River. While the Siberian is known as "the national cat of Russia," the type of Siberian kept by the current prime minister of Russia and proudly gifted as kittens to important foreign visitors is the Neva Masquerade.

The other theory is that most Neva Masquerades recently have been artificially manufactured by breeders crossing in non-Russian colorpoint cats like Siamese and Birmans and fraudulently selling the offspring as Siberians, to profit from international demand for colorpoint cats generally and for the previously rare colorpoint Siberian, specifically.

As I understand it from a U.S. breeder's website:  Even if reputable Siberian breeders have no problem acknowledging that some colorpoint Siberians may have occurred through natural selection in the past, they may feel they cannot afford now to allow the colorpoint gene in their breeding stock for fear of being associated with disreputable breeders. As you noted, a colorpoint kitten can result from two non-colorpoint parents, so DNA testing and careful recordkeeping are necessary to keep Neva Masquerades separated from "traditional" Siberian lines.

Best wishes with your Neva Masquerade! I hope you enjoy yours--allergy free--as much as I do mine. My cat has white feet so probably has some Birman somewhere in his lineage, in the long ago past or last year, who knows? But since I don't intend to breed or show him, all that matters to me, and I suspect to him, is that he's 100% beautiful, intelligent, healthy, and all-round extraordinary CAT and companion.

Just found a direct answer to your question in a good reference on Russian cat breeds:  http://messybeast.com/russian-breeds.htm

"It is claimed that Siberians [they're including Neva Masquerades if you read above in the same article] are hypoallergenic due to producing less of the Fel d1 allergen in their saliva than other breeds. Scientific studies between 1999 and 2010 found that only around half of the Siberians surveyed produced less Fel d1 allergen, while others produced high levels of the allergen. With such great variation between individuals, the breed cannot be considered allergen-free."

Sounds like the "rub my face on this cat and see if I can still breathe" test - and good luck - is the only way to go.

I'm an official siberian cat breeder, so I hope I can answer your question if it wasn't answered yet.

Neva Masquerade cats are the same as Siberian cats, only they are the point colored variant. If you put 2 colored Siberian cats on one-another, and both wear the point gene but don't show (as it's a recessive gene) they can give point kittens (25% chance for the kittens to show point). 

Siberian cats (including neva's) aren't always a solution for people with allergies. It depends on what you are allergic to (siberian cats have a reduced FELD-1 level in their saliva, which is what many people are allergic to, but not always) and how severely you are allergic. There's also a difference in the amount of FELD-1 a siberian cat produces. Some lines are lower, some lines are higher. Some kittens from a litter are lower, while their siblings can be higher again. Kittens are also still higher with FELD-1 than when they would be when grown up.

It's best to go to the breeder and sit with the kittens/parents for a while. See if your reaction to cats is different than it would have normally been. If you feel like you still respond more than you would want, go to another cattery and try again. As said above, it can differ per line and thus it can differ per breeder. When you have found the line that you don't respond to, and you are absolutely sure (I would suggest testing multiple times), take a kitten from them if you want to.

Also, some catteries suggest taking your pillowcase with you, rubbing the cat in it, and sleep on it. DO NOT DO THIS, as it can be extremely dangerous. I would personally suggest you take a shirt or something you can wear with you and keep that close to you while you are awake. That way you can continue testing even when not at the cattery. Do NOT sleep with it.

Good luck! The kitten looks absolutely beautiful btw.

Biancavd said:

 
Also, some catteries suggest taking your pillowcase with you, rubbing the cat in it, and sleep on it. DO NOT DO THIS, as it can be extremely dangerous. I would personally suggest you take a shirt or something you can wear with you and keep that close to you while you are awake. That way you can continue testing even when not at the cattery. Do NOT sleep with it.

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This is a wise warning, especielly if you have astma allergies.   With  exema-allergies it isnt that dangerous.

The danger is, if a severe astma attack begin to build up while you are sleeing, and you perhaps thinks its just a bad dream.  And when you wake up, the attack is in full gale.  Its a deadly danger.  People had passed away for less.

Thus, we dont advice trying cats if you have severe astma allergy.  Dangerous.  But if you want to try on your own risk, be sure you always have effective anti-astma medicines prescribed by your doc,  nearby, so they are always easy to find by you and your companions, even in full panic, and you  can break down the attack.

And dont do this test alone, be sure someone knowleable and forewarned is with you.

Also, as Biancavd   hints in her post, adult neutered cats are somewhat safer than kittens, and they are also safer than fertile cats.  This is in all breeds.

@Tamsyn    @katyan