Neva Masquerade Cat Breed Guide

May 02, 2024

Charming | Fluffy | Confident. The Neva Masquerade is a kitty that belongs to the Siberian cat furmily and has grown in popularity worldwide due to its charming purrsonality and striking good looks. They’re one of the largest breeds of cats, and with an affectionate and loving temperament, they’re the epitome of a BFG (big friendly giant). So if you’re thinking about adding one of these kitties to your own fur fam, or you’ve already got one at home, this is the breed guide for you.

NEVA MASQUERADE CAT BASICS

Average Lifespan: 10 - 18 years

Average Weight: 3.5 - 8kg

Coat Length: Long

Colouring: Pointed colouration (white body with darker extremities)

Shedding: Moderate

WHAT IS THE ANCESTRY OF THE NEVA MASQUERADE CAT?

As the Neva Masquerade cat is simply a Siberian cat with pointed colouration they share a similar floofy origins story. Siberian cats have been stomping around the frozen tundra of Siberia since at least 1000 A.D. However it wasn’t until the 1980s that the breed was founded.

Around this time, the point-coloured Siberian, the Neva Masquerade cat was also developed in St Petersburg, Russia and was named after the Neva river that runs through the city.

With their luscious long locks and fun-loving temperament, Siberian and Neva Masquerade cats grew in popularity across the globe, gaining recognition under the banner of the Siberian breed by TICA in 1992 and eventually making their way to the UK ten years later.

ANATOMY OF THE NEVA MASQUERADE CAT

Whilst slow to reach maturity, by the age of five Neva Masquerade cats sure are big boys! These fluff balls are one of the largest breeds of cats weighing up to 8kg. So make sure you’re keeping those bicep curls in your weekly gym routine so that you don’t injure yourself when cuddling these heavy kitties!

They have a thick luscious double coat of fur and large round paws with tufts of hair on the tips of their ears, giving them a wild cat appearance.

The colour of their coat is what sets them apart from their Siberian cousins, with the Neva Masquerade cat having a pointed colouration. This means their body is white and their extremities are darker in colour with their tails, head and tootsies being either brown, blue, cream, chocolate, cinnamon, lilac or fawn.

WHAT IS THE PURRSONALITY OF THE NEVA MASQUERADE CAT?

Like our resident Siberian cat Boo, Neva Masquerade cats are affectionate and fun-loving and enjoy playing with their pawrents. Once skilful hunters who prowled the Siberian wilderness, these kitties still enjoy expressing their inner desires to run, pounce, jump and climb so be sure to enrich their environment with plenty of toys, games, scratching posts and cat tunnels.

These kitties enjoy the great outdoors, however, If you’re unable to let your Neva Masquerade cat roam free outside, try to at least set up a secure cat run or cat balcony to allow these floofs some fresh air and to work off their moderate energy levels.

You won’t have to worry about these guys being shy, they’re super confident, often greeting strangers at the door without a care in the world or hopping onto the laps of new friends.

DO NEVA MASQUERADE CATS SHED A LOT?

Although Neva Masquerade cats are said to shed less than other longhaired cats, you’ll still likely be needing to vacuum every couple of days and have your lint roller on hand. These cats have a thick double coat that sheds moderately but more so at the change of the seasons in Spring and Autumn. Regular grooming with a slicker brush is a great way to save your black jeans as well as get some much needed cuddles and smooches in.

HOW TO FEED A NEVA MASQUERADE CAT

Some Neva Masquerade cats have been linked to a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which can cause swelling of the heart, making it more difficult for the heart to work effectively. If you’re concerned about your kitty, discuss this with your vet as they can screen them for the disease.

Other than this, Neva Masquerade cats tend to live long and happy lives, if fed a nutritionally dense diet that is high in animal protein. Cats are obligate carnivores so need a diet high in animal meat to provide them with the necessary nutrients they need to maintain their general health. They also need a purrfect balance of fats, vitamins, minerals, water and a small amount of easy-to-digest carbs like rice.

As these kitties have long thick fur, they’re more likely to suffer from trapped furballs than shorthaired cats. So, a cat food with added probiotics or prebiotics can be a great option for the longhaired Neva Masquerade, as it can help them better digest and eliminate these hairballs.

SCRUMBLES, THE PAWFECT FOOD FOR NEVA MASQUERADE CATS

Neva Masquerade cats are all about our deliciously meaty and gut friendly cat food!

Here’s why:

MEAT - We pack our recipes to the brim with delicious human-grade fish and meat to provide Neva Masquerade cats with the essential nutrients they need to live long into their nine lives.
Gut-Friendly - Your cat’s gut doesn’t just digest food. It also helps maintain their immune function and mental health. So, purrfect health really does start from the gut! That’s why we add either prebiotics or probiotics to all of our wet and dry cat food recipes to improve the health of our cat’s gut microbiome. This leads to less tummy upsets, less stinky farts and more pretty poops!
Anti-Furball - We add prebiotic slippery elm bark to our wet cat food recipes as well as our dental health cat treats and calming cat treats to strengthen and lubricate your cat’s digestive system to help eliminate nasty hairballs!
Nutritionally Dense Recipes - All of our recipes are FEDIAF-approved and our wet cat food and dry cat food are complete, meaning you can feed these meals to your Neva Masquerade cat every day. Whether it’s dry, wet or a mixture of the two, that’s up to your feline bestie’s purrsonal preference.
Climate Conscious - At Scrumbles we’re not just crazy about cat nutrition (and their poops), we’re also committed to reducing our carbon pawprint on this Earth and leaving it better than the way we found it. That’s why we use eco-friendly packaging, we try to reduce our food miles where possible by sourcing our poultry from British farms, and we’re proud to be a B-Corp member, which means choosing Scrumbles is the number one way you can improve your cat’s nutrition without foregoing your climate-conscious values!