Siberian Farm Cats Have Absolutely Taken Over This Farmer’s Land, And They’re Absolutely Majestic

Are Maine coons Forest cats or even Siberian cats found outside Siberia / America ?

Gayle- I volunteer in a shelter with most cats there are above the age of 15. They have spent their WHOLE life there. However, there are people with severe allergies that desperately want a pet, dog or cat. There is no guarantee from a shelter what you are getting as it's impossible to test all cats to see their allergen levels. You think you get a Siberian only to find it's a cross or just a domestic long hair cat. Also, it stresses the animal to be brought into a strange environment only to be returned. Believe me, I am ALL for adoption as my heart breaks for the animals in my shelter. However, if a person can have a companion from a breeder that has the benefit of low allergens because of their asthma, etc, I believe a breeder has it's uses. Not all Siberian's have low Fel-d1. Smart breeders try to breed cats to continue that low level.

it's such a shame that people buy animals when there are approximately 860,000 cats put to death every year. Breeding and buying them just displaces those that need homes. Such a sad thing to see in my opinion. Animals don't deserve this when we chose to domesticate them.

Siberians are totally fine with warmth, especially if they are brought up in it since kitten. I mean at least normal European warm, I don't know about Africa or something :D We have had many generations of them already in Prague and they are absolutely fine. The only "problem" is that their majestic fur happens because of the lower temperatures. So that means in our climate lots of them don't have a thick coat like on these pictures. But some do. It helps when you don't overheat your flat/house and if they get a lot of fresh air, if they get outside. Three or four of our cats were given to my grandma eventually who lives in countryside most of the year. It's colder than Prague and they get out a lot. And all of them properly "bloomed" there, got better coat. But on the other hand this also could have connection to neutering, that also helps them to develop their features better and get a better coat.

In my opinion you should never have a forest cat in a hot climate or hot apartments. Their fur coats disappear completely and they become a very pitiful sight indeed. They are meant to be outdoors in the cold. We should respect the fact that they are genetically used to that. The beauty of a forest cat is in its fur coat and other wild features.

Mine does fine in warm weather. That being said, we also have A/C in the house...

I have heard that Siberians lack a protein in their saliva that when dried contributes to the dander which is what most allergic folks react too. I have cat allergies but I do not react to our Siberian.

There is no hypoallergenic cat unfortunately. However, Siberians produce much less of Fel-D1 allergen protein then any other breed. Because of this, the siberian cat is often a good choice. A good test is ask a breeder if you can spend time with their cats. Be prepared to pay for a Siberian, as in my area (United States Minnesota) they run $1500 and up. Also, it's the saliva not the fur you have to worry about.