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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." The Nebelung Cat is a rare cat indeed judging by the very limited supply of photographs on the internet of this cat. The founding cats of this breed are two siblings, a male (Seigfried) 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. They were born in August 1984. 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.
Siegfried and Brunhilde were two out of six in the litter. Seigfried 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 Seigfried'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 Seigfried's Russian Blue 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.
The breed is also one that did not start from a "standout" genetic change as happens in the mutated breeds (e.g. American Curl). Clearly 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. The breed is essentially a Russian Blue with semi-long body hair and long tail hair. Blue is currently the only color. The "moggie" background would indicate that their are no inherent health issues. The Nebelung has a long body and long legs but is not delicate having broad shoulders. The eyes are green. The breed has the look of a 1900s cat. Nebelung is German for "Creature of the Mist". Sources:
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