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Breed guide · Cats
He's under the bed before the doorbell stops ringing. I tell my guests he's real.
Last updated 13 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Gone before the doorbell stops ringing, and back out an hour after your guests leave.
What's going onThey are devoted to their own people and shy with everyone else. Give them somewhere to hide, and ask visitors to ignore them. They will often come out once nobody is looking for them.
At home
Waiting by the bowl at the same minute every evening, and unsettled for a day when the tray moves.
What's going onRoutine is how they feel safe. Meals and play at the same times, the tray where it always is. When something has to change, change it slowly and keep their own corner as it was.
At home
A neat, fine-boned cat who looks the same from one month to the next.
What's going onRussian Blues are prone to putting on weight from their junior years, and extra weight raises the risk of Diabetes Mellitus (when the body cannot control blood sugar) later. Feel for their ribs every week. On a slim cat, you should find them easily.
At home
Fur so thick it stands away from the body, and a shimmer of silver where the light catches it.
What's going onTheir short coat is very dense. It sheds little and needs only a weekly comb, but it still keeps heat in. Leave the air conditioning on for them in summer.
At home
Sleeps a great deal, plays in short bursts, and looks perfectly well.
What's going onHypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is a risk for the breed from kittenhood, and it can give no signs for a long time. Fast or shallow breathing while resting should be discussed with your vet immediately, within the same day.
At home
A friend with a cat allergy says they barely notice this one.
What's going onRussian Blues are often better tolerated by people with cat allergies, but nothing guarantees one will not set off yours. Spend real time with the breed before you bring one home.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their coat
Built for: A northern cat in a winter coat.
In Dubai: A Dubai summer, kept cool and lean by you.
Their nerves
Built for: A shy cat, happiest with their own people.
In Dubai: A doorbell or a moved sofa, and the evening under the bed.
Their health
Built for: A quiet heart risk, and a habit of keeping problems to themselves.
In Dubai: Fifteen years or more with you, if you notice the small changes.
Give them a steady routine, and places to hide.
Keep them cool and lean as well. The ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around what a Russian Blue is prone to at every age, from their heart and weight to their kidneys and thyroid, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Their coat sheds little, so the weekly comb is less about fur and more about getting a shy cat used to hands.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Their coat sheds little, so the weekly comb is less about fur and more about getting a shy cat used to hands.
What to do
A few minutes with a fine comb or a rubber brush, with a treat as you go. Run your hands over their whole body while you are there. Stop before they want to leave.
Cats sweat only through their paw pads, and it does little to cool them. They are slim, but their coat is very dense, and a cat who pants is already too hot.
Every age, most of all kittens and older cats
Why
Cats sweat only through their paw pads, and it does little to cool them. They are slim, but their coat is very dense, and a cat who pants is already too hot.
What to do
Leave the air conditioning on for them in the hot months, and give them a tiled floor to lie on. Keep them off the balcony in summer, and never leave them in a parked car. If they pant or breathe with their mouth open, contact your vet now.
Russian Blues are prone to putting on weight from their junior years, and that extra weight raises the risk of Diabetes Mellitus (when the body cannot control blood sugar) in their mature years.
Every age, most of all from 7 months to 10 years
Why
Russian Blues are prone to putting on weight from their junior years, and that extra weight raises the risk of Diabetes Mellitus (when the body cannot control blood sugar) in their mature years.
What to do
Weigh their daily food, and ask your vet to reset their portion from the day they are neutered. Weigh them monthly: step on the scales holding them, then without them, and take the difference. Feel for their ribs once a week. On a fine-boned cat, you should find them easily. Weight-management counselling is in your plan from their junior years, with body condition scoring (a check on whether they are the right weight) after that.
They are still hunters at heart, and they like to know what comes next.
Every age, slower games from 11 years
Why
They are still hunters at heart, and they like to know what comes next.
What to do
Two short wand-toy sessions a day, at the same times, before their meals. Move the toy along the floor like a mouse, end with a catch, then feed them.
They are reserved with strangers. A cat with nowhere to go when the doorbell rings gets stressed, and stress shows up in the tray.
Every age, start the day they come home
Why
They are reserved with strangers. A cat with nowhere to go when the doorbell rings gets stressed, and stress shows up in the tray.
What to do
A covered bed, a box or a gap under furniture, plus a high shelf or cat tree, in each room they use. Never pull them out to meet someone. Their tray needs a quiet spot too: one per cat, plus one.
Russian Blues are prone to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle), and it can be silent for years.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Russian Blues are prone to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle), and it can be silent for years.
What to do
Fast or shallow breathing while resting should be discussed with your vet immediately, within the same day. If they breathe with their mouth open, pant at rest or suddenly go weak in their back legs, contact your vet now. Cardiac auscultation (listening to the heart) is in your plan from kittenhood, with a baseline echocardiography (an ultrasound scan of the heart) from 2 years.
Urinary tract disease (bladder and urinary problems) is a risk in their junior and prime years, and their kidneys need watching from their mature years.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Urinary tract disease (bladder and urinary problems) is a risk in their junior and prime years, and their kidneys need watching from their mature years.
What to do
Give some wet food every day, and set out two or three wide water bowls away from their food and tray. Scoop daily and notice the clumps. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day. A urinalysis (a urine test) and hydration advice are in your plan from their junior years.
A shy cat pulled from under the bed for the vet remembers it, and the next visit starts with a longer hide.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
A shy cat pulled from under the bed for the vet remembers it, and the next visit starts with a longer hide.
What to do
Leave the carrier out all the time as a bed, with a blanket that smells of home. Once a week, touch their paws, ears and mouth for a second, then give them a treat. On the day, cover the carrier with a towel.
Dental disease is a risk from their junior years, and cats keep eating with sore teeth.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Dental disease is a risk from their junior years, and cats keep eating with sore teeth.
What to do
Lift their lip and look at their teeth and gums. Start brushing as a kitten, a few seconds at a time, with cat toothpaste. Tell your vet if they drop food, chew on one side or go off their dry food. An annual dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) is in your plan from their junior years.
They can live 15 to 20 years. Osteoarthritis (worn, painful joints) is a risk in old age, alongside their kidneys and thyroid.
Every age, most of all from 11 years
Why
They can live 15 to 20 years. Osteoarthritis (worn, painful joints) is a risk in old age, alongside their kidneys and thyroid.
What to do
Notice whether they still jump onto the bed or go up in stages, and whether they drink or eat more. Add steps to their favourite spots as they age. A joint and mobility evaluation (joint and movement exam) is in your plan from 11 years.
Five of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Russian or British
For years Russian Blues were shown beside every other blue cat, including the heavier British blues. In 1912 they were given a class of their own, set apart by build as much as by coat. A Russian Blue is medium-sized and fine-boned, with vivid green eyes. A round, heavy blue cat is more likely a British Shorthair.
Colours
Almost every Russian Blue you meet is an even blue-grey, each hair tipped with silver so the coat shimmers as they move. In the UK, Russians also come in solid black or solid white, with the same green eyes and the same dense coat.
The first months
Invite one calm visitor at a time, and let your kitten watch from their hiding place. Let them come out in their own time. A kitten who gets used to visitors from where they feel safe grows into an adult who comes out more often.
Getting the home ready
A covered bed or a box, and a shelf or cat tree to climb, in every room they will use. A tray somewhere quiet, and meals at the same times from the first day. Then keep it all where it is: change unsettles them more than it looks.
Before you commit
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is a risk for the breed from kittenhood. Their first evaluation includes listening to the heart and checking for anything they were born with. And if anyone at home has a cat allergy, spend real time with the breed first.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
He'll still vanish when the doorbell goes. If he starts vanishing when it doesn't, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Before the 1860s
The story goes that the Russian Blue comes from Arkhangelsk, a port in the far north of Russia, where short-coated blue cats lived through long, cold winters. Nobody designed them.
What they still carryA coat so dense it stands away from the body, and a wariness of strangers.
1875
Sailors are said to have brought blue cats like them to Britain in the 1860s. In 1875 one was shown at Crystal Palace in London as the Archangel Cat.
What they still carryThat coat, still the first thing people notice.
1912
After decades shown beside every other blue cat, the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy finally recognised the Russian Blue as a breed of its own.
What they still carryThe fine bones and green eyes that set them apart.
The 1940s
After the Second World War, breeders in Britain and Scandinavia rebuilt the breed from a handful of cats. By 1949 the Russian Blue had been taken in by the Cat Fanciers' Association in America too.
What they still carryA small family tree, rebuilt with care.
Today
A pedigree companion living indoors, in air conditioning.
What they still carryA shy, loyal cat who likes routine, in a winter coat, in a flat with a doorbell.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Russian Blue suits you, so might these.
ChartreuxThe same kind of cat: another quiet blue cat from Europe, sturdier, with copper to gold eyes and a woolly coat
British ShorthairThe same kind of cat: the round, solid British cat, often blue too, even calmer, with a coat that sheds more
Norwegian Forest CatThe same calm, reserved temperament and moderate play, in a much bigger cat with a long coat to brush
BurmeseA similar size and the same easy short coat for flat life, in a far chattier cat who wants to be with you
