So, the other day I was browsing some cat pictures online, you know how it goes, down the rabbit hole. And I stumbled across this term: brown Russian Blue cat. That stopped me right there. I thought, wait a minute, Russian Blues are, well, blue. That distinct silvery-grey color is their whole thing, right? Along with those green eyes.
It got me really curious. Did I miss something? Was there some new variation I hadn’t heard about? I’ve been around cats for ages, had a couple myself, visited shows back in the day. A brown one sounded totally off. So, I decided to dig into it a bit, just see what was out there.
My Little Investigation
First thing I did was just search around online using that exact phrase. Lots of pictures came up, sure, but were they actually Russian Blues? Most looked like regular brown cats, some sleek, some not. A few kinda had the body shape, maybe? Slim, elegant. But the color was just… brown. Like chocolate, or coffee.
Then I started looking at actual cat breed standards, checked out a few breeder sites I know, and forums where cat folks hang out. Here’s what I basically found:
- Official breed standards for Russian Blues only mention blue/grey coats. No brown allowed if you’re talking purebreds for shows and stuff.
- Some people online call their brown cats “Russian Blue mixes” if they have the sleek body or maybe greenish eyes. It’s more of a casual description, not an actual breed thing.
- There are other breeds that are naturally brown and sleek! Like the Havana Brown, which is this gorgeous warm brown color all over. Sometimes people might confuse them, maybe?
- Could also just be a regular domestic shorthair cat that happens to be brown and has a similar build. Genetics are wild, you get all sorts of combinations in mixed-breed cats.
So, yeah. After poking around, it seems like a true, purebred brown Russian Blue isn’t really a thing according to the official definitions. It’s more likely a mix-breed cat that someone thinks looks like a Russian Blue but happens to be brown, or maybe just a case of mistaken identity with another breed.
It was an interesting little detour, though. Always fun to learn, even if it’s just confirming what you kinda already figured. Makes you appreciate the distinct traits of the actual Russian Blue even more, that unique shimmery blue coat is really something special.
