Nebelung cat
This is what Helmi says about this photograph, "This cat was a Regional Winner, Southeast Region, TICA, and was photographed at the 2007 SE Regional Awards Banquet and Cat Show in July of this year. He was tired of being shown at cat shows and was ready to do his part with the ladies (so to speak) so was pulled from the show after Saturday and only came in on Sunday to be photographed. We found him to be a good model and we think he enjoyed his time in the spotlight." 
Introduction The Nebelung Cat is not the rarest purebred cat but my calculation but the breed is one of the rarest (on a scale of 1-10 she'd rank 7).The founding cats of this breed are two siblings, a male (Siegfried) and a female (Brunhilde). These two cats were the offspring of a cross between a female Black Domestic Shorthair (a cat called Elsa) and a father cat that looked like a Russian Blue. Seigfried was born in August 1984 and Brunhilde some 5 months later. The father cat was a longhair resembling a black Angora in the words of founder/breeder Cora Cobb. The beginning of this breed then was from Domestic Shorthair (DSH) (moggie) and Domestic Longhair (DLH) stock as opposed to pedigree stock. Cora Cobb says that she was informed that the successful introduction of a new cat breed from non-pedigree purebred stock or by way of a genetic mutation had little chance of success in attaining championship status at TICA. (the CFA do not recognize this cat breed).  Lenny - Nebelung cat - much loved by the photographer photo ©Leamington-Malfoof under a creative commons license Lenny above looks a typical Nebelung cat. However his fur is probably too long. Development Siegfried and Brunhilde were two out of six in the litter. Siegfried had medium-long blue hair. He was an outstanding kitten, big and handsome. Brunhilde was born from the same parents some 6 months later. She was also a blue longhair and very pretty. Her hair was longer and silkier than Siegfried's hair. Cora thought that their outstanding appearance heralded the creation of a new breed of cat.In 1986 Cora mated Seigfried with Brunhilde. The result was a success with the kittens having the silky long hair of Brunhilde and Siegfried's Russian Blue type body. Cora decided to start a new breed and the long journey to achieve that objective began. I have gone over the beginning in some detail as it really is the most important part of this story. Cora found the TICA very helpful and the TICA registered the breed in 1987 under New Breeds. In 1997 the breed achieved full recognition as a Champion breed. In the early years of the breed she faced opposition from Russian Blue breeders. The breed is also one that did not start from a "standout" genetic change as happens in the mutated breeds (e.g. American Curl). Since the early years there has been a lot of careful breeding including crossing with the Russian Blue. The Nebelung although a rare breed is now well established. This breed is recognized by the World Cat Federation (WCF) and Livre Officiel des Origines félines (LOOF). It seems the breed is more established in Europe and Russian than in the USA and North America. The Nebelung is also accepted (I believe) with CFF (Cat Fanciers Federation) and TCA (Traditional Cat Association).  Nebelung cat - Buju - photo copyright and by V La (Vanessa) This photograph is published under a creative commons license History
Update 28-7-09: Comment from an unknown but I believe knowledgeable person: The Nebelung is actually a semi-longhaired cat--more on the length of a Somali versus an Aby. That is why Aleksandr is such a lovely boy, his fur is more the length wanted. The Neb that Cora found living in the Netherlands, Timofey, actually was imported from Russia as a Russian Blue, but his fur grew longer than normal...we have no contact anymore with Lettie, the breeder who imported him nor do we know what happened to him or his decendants. Again, the Nebelung is also accepted by many of the smaller, independant european registries, ie Neocat etc, in Europe. Appearance and Character Elegance, as the picture below shows clearly is one attribute of this cat breed. They have the Russian Blue body with long silky hair. The draft breed standard was based on the Russian Blue with an amendment to take into account the long hair. Otherwise the standard is the same as for the Russian Blue. The Nebelung "recreates" (Cora's word) the Russian Blue longhair.This breed is reserved with strangers but loving and close to their human companions. This cat should have long limbs supporting a long body with a long plumed tail. The eyes are green and there is a slightly old fashioned look about this handsome cat. The Nebelung looks a bit like the cats you see in the 1900s photographs. The breed is essentially a Russian Blue with semi-long body hair and long tail hair. Blue (blue/gray) is currently the only color. The fur is fine and light, and the Nebelung cat sheds a lot. Be prepared for lots of hair. She can be a lap cat. The voice may be whiny and this cat is laid back.  The Name The name "Nebelung" is, apparently, a fusion of two words, the German word for mist, Nebel, and the Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs) a German poem written between the 11th and 14th century. The source for this is the Wikipedia author. The Wikipedia author has assessed this to be the case but this is not "set in concrete". Anybody with something better, please tell us by filling in this form. Lenny Nebelung
cat - photo ©Leamington-Malfoof
under a
creative
commons license. This photo is a cropped version of the original. Cropping is allowed under the license. His fur is probably too long to be a perfect "type" but he is damned handsome. Breeders I have decided not to list from a Google search. There are not many. As I said on the rare breed page this is a fairly rare cat.NEBELHEIM CATTERY This is the cattery belonging to the founder Cora Cobb. I am not sure where they are located, possibly Denver as that was the last place Cora Cobb worked from in her description of the history of the Nebelung cat. I'd start here. Azadeh Nebelung Located I believe in the Netherlands. Run by Michel and Anke. Their champion stud boy illustrates the Wikipedia article on this cat breed. He's on this page here. Le Pors This cattery is not a specialist Nebelung breeder. Located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada (opens new window to a Google map). Paradigm Nebelungs Small website which doesn't say where they are. Not sure if they still function. Sources:
From Nebelung cat to Grey cat breeds 
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