Standard
A standard is what makes a race distinguishable from others. When it comes to Russian Blue there are a few things that make it easy to recognize them.
Fur
Their most apparent feature is their grey fur. With just a few other races showing this color, what makes it really unique is the fact that this race has something known as double coating with the undercoat and the guard hair equal in length. This gives them the texture of plush. The tips of the guard hair are colorless which gives them a silvery shimmer that is not a genetic silver coloration.
Eyes
The next feature are their almond-shaped eyes that come in a variety of green, starting with a deep emerald green to gooseberry green, which might take up to one, sometimes even two years to show. Ideally the color changes from baby blue directly to green, however in most cases it changes from baby blue to yellow or ocher and turns green afterwards. This happens due to the fact that cats do not have green eyes, their eyes appear green because of the mixing of blue and yellow shades.
Ears, Face, Body
Their ears are quite big and pointy with a wide base and they stand vertical to the head. Ideally their forehead and their nose line up to a straight profile.
Their strong chin and their cat cheeks make it seem like they are smiling.
Physically they are well balances with fine, long extremities with their hind legs being longer than the front legs.
Behavior
Russian Blue cats choose one human in the household as their primary attachment figure. This person becomes the sun and the moon to them. They tend to be shy but not timid, they just need the opportunity to observe the situation from above until they feel comfortable enough to socialize. If they have physical contact to their human they tend to be fine with strangers around quite fast.
Russial Blue are subtile, not obtrusive and not very vocal. They prefer a steady environment and love to learn new things.
Types
If you are interested in a Russian Blue the breeder of your choice might ask what type you are looking for. They are known as:
British type, which is more muscular
American type, which has a lighter fur color that is almost silver and they are less shy
Scandinavian or Sibirian type, which is quite dark, almost anthracite in color and very shy
Continental type, a little shy
Interbreeding for the sake of genetic diversity is encouraged especially the continental and the scandinavian type.
The cats of Niflheimr belong to the continental type.