No, it’s not a fancy feline off to a party in Venice (although it does sound like it, doesn’t it?).
There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of this curious kind of kitty before.
But by the time you’ve finished this article, you’ll have learned all the things you never knew you needed to know.
The first ones were established around 1970 and were the result of cross-breeding Siberian cats with Siamese cats in Russia. The goal was to have the physique and fine long coat of the Siberian with the blue eyes and colorpoint of the Siamese.
The breed is named after the Neva River near St. Petersburg, the area in Russia where it was first developed and, coincidentally, a lot of masquerade parties took place.
They’re pretty rare, especially outside of Russia. There are a few select breeders in the US, but they’re few and far between, so litters are less common.
Some organizations don’t recognize the Neva Masquerade as a separate breed but rather as a sub-breed of Siberians because of their numerous similarities.
The main differences are in the distinct pointed colorings that people love, so they’re often categorized as Siberians with different colorations.